King's Domain, Melbourne
Encyclopedia
Kings Domain is an area of parklands in Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia
. It surrounds Government House
Reserve, the home of the Governors of Victoria
, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
, and the Shrine Reserve incorporating the Shrine of Remembrance
.
The park was established in 1854, extending the Domain Parklands further north-west, it covers an area of 36 hectares of lawns and pathways set among non-native and native Australian
mature trees, a mixture of deciduous and evergreens. In the 19th century the Kings Domain was managed by the Director of the Botanic Gardens, so many of the trees were planted by Baron Ferdinand von Mueller
and later by William Guilfoyle
. Around the Domain are scattered memorial statues and sculptures, each with their own story.
Kings Domain is part of a larger group of parklands directly south-east of the city, between St. Kilda Road and the Yarra River
known as the Domain Parklands, which includes;
A memorial to Sir John Monash
, as Commander in Chief of the Australian Forces during World War I
, is commemorated in a bronze equestrian statue created by William Leslie Bowles. It was unveiled by His Excellence the Governor-General of Australia, William McKell
on 12 November 1950.
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The statue is a result of a public subscription and was unveiled on 15 June 1911, by his Excellency Sir John Fuller
, accompanied by Prime Minister, Billy Hughes
.
, an Aboriginal activist group calling itself "Black GST" (Genocide, Sovereignty, Treaty) set up a campsite there in protest against Aboriginal living conditions and the absence of a treaty between the original indigenous inhabitants of the area and the present Government. On 11 April 2006, they were granted a further 30 days to keep their fire going, despite a Supreme Court order that they remove their tents by 2pm on 13 April 2006. The aboriginal protesters have since removed their tents, but are now sleeping in a dilapidated caravan parked in an all day car park. The Melbourne City Council has since started fining them $50 per day for overstaying the time limit. Protection (under a Court order) for the fire expired on 10 May 2006 and shortly after midnight on that date, council workers extinguished it.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, 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 surrounds Government House
Government House, Melbourne
Government House, Melbourne is the office and official residence of the Governor of Victoria. It is set next to the Royal Botanic Gardens and surrounded by Kings Domain in Melbourne. It was the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia from 1901 to 1930...
Reserve, the home of the Governors of Victoria
Governors of Victoria
The Governor of Victoria is the representative in the Australian state of Victoria of its monarch, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level...
, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Sidney Myer Music Bowl
The Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain, close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct...
, and the Shrine Reserve incorporating the Shrine of Remembrance
Shrine of Remembrance
The Shrine of Remembrance, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Australia was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war...
.
The park was established in 1854, extending the Domain Parklands further north-west, it covers an area of 36 hectares of lawns and pathways set among non-native and native Australian
Flora of Australia
The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 20,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens...
mature trees, a mixture of deciduous and evergreens. In the 19th century the Kings Domain was managed by the Director of the Botanic Gardens, so many of the trees were planted by Baron Ferdinand von Mueller
Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, KCMG was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist.-Early life:...
and later by William Guilfoyle
William Guilfoyle
William Robert Guilfoyle was a landscape gardener and botanist in Victoria, Australia, acknowledged as the architect of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne and was responsible for the design of many parks and gardens in Melbourne and regional Victoria.-Early life:Guilfoyle was born in Chelsea,...
. Around the Domain are scattered memorial statues and sculptures, each with their own story.
Kings Domain is part of a larger group of parklands directly south-east of the city, between St. Kilda Road and the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
known as the Domain Parklands, which includes;
- The Royal Botanic GardensRoyal Botanic Gardens, MelbourneThe Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are internationally renowned botanical gardens located near the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the south bank of the Yarra River. They are 38 hectares of landscaped gardens consisting of a mix of native and non-native vegetation including over...
- Kings Domain
- Alexandra GardensAlexandra Gardens, MelbourneThe Alexandra Gardens are located on the south bank of the Yarra River, opposite Federation Square and the Melbourne Central Business District, in Victoria, Australia. The Gardens are bounded by the Yarra River to the north, Princes and Swan street bridges, with Queen Victoria Gardens and Kings...
- Queen Victoria GardensQueen Victoria Gardens, MelbourneThe Queen Victoria Gardens are Melbourne's memorial to Queen Victoria. Located on 4.8 hectares opposite the Victorian Arts Centre and National Gallery of Victoria, bounded by St Kilda Road, Alexandra Avenue and Linlithgow Avenue....
Structures & other features
- The Sidney Myer Music BowlSidney Myer Music BowlThe Sidney Myer Music Bowl is an outdoor performance venue in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located in the lawns and gardens of Kings Domain, close to the Arts Centre and the Southbank entertainment precinct...
- a world standard, architecturallyArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
significant, tensile structureTensile structureA tensile structure is a construction of elements carrying only tension and no compression or bending. The term tensile should not be confused with tensegrity, which is a structural form with both tension and compression elements....
and outdoor performance venue. It was officially opened by Prime Minister Robert MenziesRobert MenziesSir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
on 12 February 1959 with an audience of some 30,000 people, and has remained a popular location for Melburnians.
- The Shrine of RemembranceShrine of RemembranceThe Shrine of Remembrance, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Australia was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war...
is one of the largest war memorialWar memorialA 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:...
s in Australia. It was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who died in World War IWorld War IWorld 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...
, but soon came to be seen as Australia's major memorial to all the 60,000 Australians who served in that war.
- Governor La Trobe's CottageLa Trobe's CottageLa Trobe’s Cottage is a historic cottage in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, built in 1839 for the first superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, Charles La Trobe, and his family. The cottage was constructed out of prefabricated materials imported from England on 50,000 square...
is an historic cottage built in 1839 for the first superintendent of the Port PhillipPort PhillipPort Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
District of New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Charles La TrobeCharles La TrobeCharles Joseph La Trobe was the first lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria .-Early life:La Trobe was born in London, the son of Christian Ignatius Latrobe, a family of Huguenot origin...
, and his family. The cottage was constructed out of prefabricated materials imported from EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on five hectares of land at Jolimont. It is one of the few surviving examples still standing of prefabricated houses from this period of history and gives an insight into early colonial domestic architecture and living arrangements. In 1963 the cottage was relocated to the Kings Domain as an historical landmark, and is now located backing on to Dallas Brooks Drive.
- Government House, MelbourneGovernment House, MelbourneGovernment House, Melbourne is the office and official residence of the Governor of Victoria. It is set next to the Royal Botanic Gardens and surrounded by Kings Domain in Melbourne. It was the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia from 1901 to 1930...
is the office and official residence of the Governor of Victoria. It has also been used as the official residence of the Governor-General of AustraliaGovernor-General of AustraliaThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
from 1901 to 1930 and from 1934 has been used continuously as the residence of the Governor of Victoria. Built between 1871 to 1876 in the Victorian Period Italianate style, it reflects the extravagant style of the period arising from a booming economy due to the Victorian gold rushVictorian gold rushThe Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
es.
- The Pioneer Women's Garden was designed by Hugh Linaker and features a sunken garden area, with a blue-tiled grotto, which contains a small bronze figure of a woman, in tribute to the European pioneer women of the colony. The garden was opened in 1935 during the centenary year of the founding of Melbourne.
- A Memorial for the remains of indigenous people can be seen as a cluster of five painted eucalypt poles, adorned with the spirit people, the Rainbow Serpent and red ribbons, stands above a granite Burial rock honouring the Aboriginal people of Victoria, including the local WurundjeriWurundjeriThe Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia...
. The skeletal remains of 38 Aborigines are buried here, after they were handed over to the Aboriginal Community in 1985 by the Melbourne MuseumMelbourne MuseumMelbourne Museum is located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia, adjacent the Royal Exhibition Building.It is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere, and is a venue of Museum Victoria, which also operates the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks Museum.The museum has seven main...
under threat of legal action by the Koorie Heritage Trust. The burial of the remains was performed as a tribute to the people whose long relationship with the land was destroyed with European settlement. The poles were made in 1995 by Megan Evans and Ray Thomas.
John Monash
General Sir John Monash GCMG, KCB, VD was a civil engineer who became the Australian military commander in the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the War and then became commander of the 4th Brigade in Egypt shortly after the outbreak of the War with whom he took part...
, as Commander in Chief of the Australian Forces during 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...
, is commemorated in a bronze equestrian statue created by William Leslie Bowles. It was unveiled by His Excellence the Governor-General of Australia, William McKell
William McKell
Sir William John McKell GCMG , Australian politician, was Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947, and was the 12th Governor-General of Australia. He was also the oldest Governor General of Australia, at 93 when he died....
on 12 November 1950.
- An interactive sculpture consisting of three bronze bells commemorates the life of Tilly AstonTilly AstonMatilda Ann Aston , better known as Tilly Aston, was a blind Australian writer and teacher, who founded the Victorian Association of Braille Writers, and later went on to establish the Association for the Advancement of the Blind, with herself as secretary...
, a blind disability activist who founded the Victorian Association of Braille Writers, and later went on to establish the Association for the Advancement of the Blind. On the sculpture there is an embedded image of Tilly Aston with text in embossed lettering and in brailleBrailleThe Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
. The memorial was created by Anton Hasell in 1999.
- A memorial statue of Sir Thomas BlameyThomas BlameyField Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, ED was an Australian general of the First and Second World Wars, and the only Australian to date to attain the rank of field marshal....
stands on the corner of Government House Drive and Birdwood Avenue. It was sculptured from granite and bronze by Raymond B. Ewers and presented to the city in February 1960. It recognises Australia’s first Field Marshal and his insistence to the British command that Australian forces remain as cohesive units under Australian command.
- South African War Memorial (Memorial to Fallen Soldiers). A central obelisk with a lion on each of four corners is the memorial for the Australians who died in the South African War of 1899-1902 (Boer War) Sculptored by J. Hamilton and erected in 1904 with members of the 5th Victorian Contingent Victorian Mounted Rifles.
- The Walker Fountain was donated by Ron WalkerRon WalkerRonald Joseph Walker AC CBE is a former Lord Mayor of Melbourne and Australian businessman, renowned for his work in managing sporting events.-Biography:...
, Lord Mayor of Melbourne in 1981. It is located on Linlithgow Avenue and consists of a small lake with hundreds of streams of water, including underwater lights.
- A statue of Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop is made from bronze, granite and metal spikes from the Burma-Thailand Railway in 1995 by Peter CorlettPeter CorlettPeter Corlett is an Australian sculptor, known for his full-figure sculptures cast in bronze, especially his memorial works.Corlett studied sculpture at RMIT University, Melbourne, from 1961 to 1964. In 1975, he was awarded a special projects grant from the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council...
. Weary Dunlop was known as a courageous leader and compassionate doctor, and showed great leadership whileserving as prisoner of war in Changi prison and on the Burma-Thailand Railway during World War 2World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. On the steps leading to the sculpture are the names of other doctors who were also POWs at ChangiChangiChangi is an area at the eastern end of Singapore. It is now the site of Singapore Changi Airport/Changi Air Base, Changi Naval Base and is also home to Changi Prison, site of the former Japanese Prisoner of War Camp during World War II which held Allied prisoners captured in Singapore and Malaysia...
.
- English Nurse Edith CavellEdith CavellEdith Louisa Cavell was a British nurse and spy. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides without distinction and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I, for which she was arrested...
is remembered in Melbourne with a marble bust erected by public subscription. Cavell helped English and French prisoners escape from Belgium during World War IWorld War IWorld 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...
, and was tried by the Germans and executed on 12 October 1915. The bust was sculptored by Margaret Baskerville, and unveiled in 1926.
- Facing St Kilda Road near the entry to Government House Drive stands a bronze equestrian statue of Lord Hopetoun, more properly called John Hope, 1st Marquess of LinlithgowJohn Hope, 1st Marquess of LinlithgowJohn Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC , also known as Viscount Aithrie before 1873 and as The 7th Earl of Hopetoun between 1873 and 1902, was a Scottish aristocrat, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his brief and controversial tenure as the...
, also known as the first Governor-General of AustraliaGovernor-General of AustraliaThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
.
The statue is a result of a public subscription and was unveiled on 15 June 1911, by his Excellency Sir John Fuller
Sir John Fuller, 1st Baronet
Sir John Michael Fleetwood Fuller, 1st Baronet KCMG , was a British Liberal Party politician and colonial administrator....
, accompanied by Prime Minister, Billy Hughes
Billy Hughes
William Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
.
- The King George V Memorial was created by William Leslie Bowle after a public meeting on 6 February 1937 decided to erect a memorial for the late King and launched a public appeal. Construction of the bronze, granite and sandstone sculpture was delayed by World War 2World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was completed in 1951.
2006 Aboriginal Protest Campsite
In March 2006, during the Commonwealth GamesCommonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
, an Aboriginal activist group calling itself "Black GST" (Genocide, Sovereignty, Treaty) set up a campsite there in protest against Aboriginal living conditions and the absence of a treaty between the original indigenous inhabitants of the area and the present Government. On 11 April 2006, they were granted a further 30 days to keep their fire going, despite a Supreme Court order that they remove their tents by 2pm on 13 April 2006. The aboriginal protesters have since removed their tents, but are now sleeping in a dilapidated caravan parked in an all day car park. The Melbourne City Council has since started fining them $50 per day for overstaying the time limit. Protection (under a Court order) for the fire expired on 10 May 2006 and shortly after midnight on that date, council workers extinguished it.
External links
- Disability information
- Herald Sun story on the Aboriginal protest
- The Age story on the protest
- Wikinews coverage of the protest
- Stolenwealth website