In 1958, Sydney City Council was awarded the Sydney Morning Herald's Metropolitan Garden Competition Trophy, 2nd Prize for the Public Parks Section for Sandringham Gardens. The gardens were designed by Sydney architect Dr Epstein and sculptor Lyndon Dodswell and paid for by public subscription and the NSW Government, as a joint memorial to the late King George V and King George VI. The gardens, which feature memorial gates, pathways, pergola, steps, ornamental lamp standards and a fountain, continue to provide a colourful spring highlight in the centre of the city.

Sandringham Gardens in Sydney's Hyde Park North were developed to commemorate the intended visit in 1952 of King George VI. The memorial was designed as a sunken garden with a reflecting pool partly enclosed by a pergola, and its association with the Kingšs home at Sandringham, Norfolk, England was to be marked by the a gift of 12 oak and elm trees. Due to the sudden death of the King, the Royal Tour was cancelled and plans for the garden were suspended. In 1953, it was decided to dedicate the gardens as a joint memorial to the late King George V and the late King George VI. The memorial gates to Sandringham Gardens were unlocked on 5 February 1954 by the late King George VI's daughter, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, using a ceremonial key designed to incorporate the mural crown from the city's coat of arms.