Speakers' Corner form was banned following a serious riot between Catholics and Orangemen. However, following the formalisation of free speech in Speakers' Corner in London it was decided in 1878 that The Domain would be the place for free speech in Sydney. In 'Diary of a Voyage to Australia, New Zealand and other lands' (published 1896), Robert Roberts notes that "On the west side [of a particular location] is a feature peculiar to Sydney in all the world - a preaching park. There are of course, parks in other cities where open-air spouting is practiced on Sundays, such as Hyde Park, in
Speakers' Corner, Singapore even more". In 2008, Speakers' Corner was the scene for meetings held over several weeks by Tan Kin Lian, former chief executive of insurance company NTUC Income, to advise people of their legal recourse after structured products they had purchased became virtually valueless upon the collapse of Lehman Brothers. On 23 January 2009 during an event at Speakers' Corner, the National Solidarity Party gave its views on the national budget one day after it was announced, criticizing the Government for not doing enough to assist unemployed breadwinners during the recession. The Party's secretary-general, Ken Sunn, said the event was to