Johnstone Park is a landscaped garden

Garden

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...

 in Geelong, Victoria

Geelong, Victoria

Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is bounded by Railway Terrace, Gheringhap Street, Little Malop Street, Fenwick Street, and Mercer Street. The park is surrounded by civic buildings including the Geelong Town Hall

Geelong Town Hall

Geelong Town Hall is a civic building located on Gheringhap Street in central Geelong, Victoria. It was originally built for the City of Geelong, which became the City of Greater Geelong in 1993.-Construction:...

, Geelong Art Gallery

Geelong Art Gallery

The Geelong Art Gallery is a major regional gallery in the city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia. The gallery has approximately 4,000 works of art in its collection...

, Geelong Library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

, Geelong Law Courts, and the Geelong Railway Station. A war memorial

War memorial

A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...

 and bandstand

Bandstand

A bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts...

 feature in the centre of the park.

History

The area occupied by Johnstone Park was originally known as Western Gully, a watercourse

Watercourse

A watercourse is any flowing body of water. These include rivers, streams, anabranches, and so forth.-See also:* physical geography* Environmental flow* Waterway* Hydrology* Wadi-External links:...

 that drained towards Corio Bay

Corio Bay

Corio Bay is one of numerous bays in the southwest corner of Australia's Port Phillip, and is the bay on which abuts the City of Geelong. The nearby suburb of Corio takes its name from Corio Bay.-Name:...

. In 1849 a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 was built at the downstream end of the gully, near the present Gheringhap Street roundabout

Roundabout

A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...

. The dam was fenced off in 1851 after at least one person and several horses drowned. The area was made into a park

Park

A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...

 in March 1872, named after former Geelong mayor Robert De Bruce Johnstone. The park stretched from Gheringhap Street to Latrobe Terrace. In December that year the first band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 concert

Concert

A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

 was held by the Geelong Artillery Corps band. A octagonal wooden bandstand was erected in the park during November 1873. The Belcher Fountain was installed near the park in 1874, in the middle of the Gheringhap Street roundabout. The fountain

Fountain

A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....

 was a gift to the City of Geelong from former Mayor George Frederick Belcher.

The park was divided in 1872 when the Geelong

Geelong railway line, Victoria

The Geelong Line is a regional passenger rail service operated by V/Line in Victoria, Australia. It serves passengers between state capital Melbourne and the regional city of Geelong....

 railway was extended south to Winchelsea

Winchelsea, Victoria

Winchelsea is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is in the Surf Coast Shire local government area and located on the Barwon River 115 km south-west of Melbourne and close to Geelong .- History :...

 in 1876. A footbridge

Footbridge

A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...

 was provided across the railway line. Johnstone Park was further reduced in size in 1887, when the Gordon Technical College

Gordon Institute of TAFE

The Gordon Institute of TAFE is the TAFE institute servicing Geelong since 1888. It has 26,000 students studying on-campus, off-campus and in business or industry ....

 was built on western part of the park across Fenwick Street.

1915 saw the Geelong Art Gallery

Geelong Art Gallery

The Geelong Art Gallery is a major regional gallery in the city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia. The gallery has approximately 4,000 works of art in its collection...

 built upon the Little Malop Street side of the park. A war memorial was built in the park in 1919 to remember the local lives lost in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The memorial consisted of a row of columns on Railway Terrace, a new bandstand in the centre of the park, and the peace memorial beside the art gallery. The bandstand is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register

Victorian Heritage Register

The Victorian Heritage Register lists places of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 1995 which establishes Heritage Victoria as the permit authority...

. The Belcher Fountain was relocated to Johnstone Park in 1912 when the roundabout was altered for the introduction of trams to Geelong, being moved back to its original location in 1956 with their withdrawal. The fountain was again moved in 2006 for the purpose of restoration and relocation. It was re-installed in 2008 near its original location at the north-east corner of the intersection of Malop and Gheringhap Streets.