Treasury Gardens, Melbourne
Encyclopedia
East Melbourne, Victoria
East Melbourne is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, adjacent to Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, East Melbourne had a population of 4,330....
, 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...
. The gardens are bounded by Wellington Parade, Spring Street
Spring Street, Melbourne
Spring Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly north-south, and is the easternmost street in the Hoddle Grid. The street travels from Flinders Street in the south, to La Trobe Street and the Carlton Gardens in the north...
, Treasury Place, and by the Fitzroy Gardens
Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne
The Fitzroy Gardens are 26 hectares located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne Central Business District in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
across Lansdowne street to the west. They form part of a network of city gardens including Fitzroy Gardens, Carlton Gardens
Carlton Gardens, Melbourne
The Carlton Gardens is a World Heritage Site located on the northeastern edge of the Central Business District in the suburb of Carlton, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, Flagstaff Gardens
Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne
Flagstaff Gardens is the oldest park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, first established in 1862. In 2005 it is one of the most visited and widely used parks in the city by nearby office workers and tourists...
and Kings Domain. The gardens are 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...
for their historical, archaeological, social, aesthetic and scientific (horticultural) importance for its outstanding nineteenth century design, path layout and planting.
The Gardens are a short walk from Victoria’s Parliament House
Parliament House, Melbourne
Parliament House in Melbourne, located at Spring Street in East Melbourne at the edge of the Melbourne city centre, has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, since 1855 .- History :In 1851, even before the colony of Victoria acquired full parliamentary self-government, Governor...
and are overlooked by the old Treasury buildings, and State Offices. They create a landscaped setting for office workers to enjoy during lunch with large areas of lawn and walking paths lined with mature trees. Due to their central location close to the city, they are a popular spot as the starting or ending point for political rallies, demonstrations and festivals. The gardens are also enjoyed by business people and tourists staying at the Hilton Hotel on Wellington Parade, who are able to wander through on their way to the city.
The Victorian heritage listing says "Fitzroy is unique in comparison for its scale and uninterrupted landscape. There are some horticultural similarities between Fitzroy and the Treasury Garden, attributed to the initial work of Clement Hodgkinson
Clement Hodgkinson
Clement Hodgkinson was a notable English naturalist, explorer and surveyor of Australia. He was Victorian Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey from 1861 to 1874.- Exploration in New South Wales :...
, however Fitzroy Gardens is unique due to the layering of history and mosaic of different landscaping styles. The avenues of mature Elms and Moreton Bay fig are some of the best tree lined avenues in Victoria."
Mature tree species include Moreton Bay Fig
Moreton Bay Fig
Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as the Moreton Bay Fig, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the Moraceae family that is a native of most of the eastern coast of Australia, from the Atherton Tableland in the north to the Illawarra in New South Wales, and Lord Howe Island. Its common name is...
(Ficus macrophylla), Deodar Cedar
Deodar Cedar
Cedrus deodara is a species of cedar native to the western Himalayas in eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, north-central India , southwesternmost Tibet and western Nepal, occurring at 1500–3200 m altitude...
(Cedrus deodara), English Elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
(Ulmus procera), White Poplar
White Poplar
Populus alba, commonly called abele, silver poplar, silverleaf poplar, or white poplar, is a species of poplar, most closely related to the aspens . It is native from Spain and Morocco through central Europe to central Asia...
(Populus alba), Dutch Elm
Dutch Elm
Although all naturally occurring Field Elm × Wych Elm hybrids are loosely termed 'Dutch elm' , Ulmus × hollandica Major is a distinctive cultivar that in England came to be known specifically as the Dutch Elm...
(Ulmus x hollandica), Dutch Elm (small-leaved form), Port Jackson Fig
Port Jackson Fig
Ficus rubiginosa, the Rusty Fig, Port Jackson Fig, or Little-leaf Fig, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to eastern Australia...
(Ficus rubiginosa), Platanus
Platanus
Platanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae....
x acerifolia]], Pedunculate oak
Pedunculate Oak
Quercus robur is commonly known as the Pedunculate Oak or English oak. It is native to most of Europe, and to Anatolia to the Caucasus, and also to parts of North Africa.-Taxonomy:Q...
(Quercus robur), Agonis flexuosa
Agonis flexuosa
Agonis flexuosa is a species of tree that grows in the south west of Western Australia. It is easily the most common of the Agonis species, and is one of the most recognisable trees of Western Australia, being commonly grown in parks and on road verges in Perth.The species is commonly known as...
, Phoenix canariensis, Washingtonia robusta
Washingtonia robusta
Washingtonia robusta is a palm tree native to western Sonora and Baja California Sur in northwestern Mexico. It grows to tall, rarely up to . The leaves have a petiole up to long, and a palmate fan of leaflets up to 1 m long. The inflorescence is up to long, with numerous small pale orange-pink...
, Butia capitata
Butia capitata
Butia capitata, also known as Pindo Palm or Jelly Palm, is a palm native to Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.This palm grows up to 6m in a slow but steady manner...
, Chamaerops humilis, River Red Gum
River Red Gum
The River Red Gum is a tree of the genus Eucalyptus. It is one of around 800 in the genus. It is a plantation species in many parts of the world, but is native to Australia, where it is widespread, especially beside inland water courses...
(Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla), Brachychiton x roseus, and Grevillea
Grevillea
Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Sulawesi. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville. The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 0.5 m tall to trees...
(Grevillea hilliana). Along the embankment of Treasury Place there are hydrangea
Hydrangea
Hydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea...
s, ivy
Ivy
Ivy, plural ivies is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan.-Description:On level ground they...
and flax
Flax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
. The gardens are highly populated with the native common brushtail possums
Common Brushtail Possum
The Common Brushtail Possum is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, it is native to Australia, and the largest of the possums.Like most possums, the Common Brushtail is nocturnal...
many of which are tame and accustomed to people petting them.
The gardens contain an ornamental pond and a number of memorials:
- Sir William John ClarkeWilliam John ClarkeSir William John Clarke was an Australian pastoralist, cattle-breeder and philanthropist.-Early life:Clarke was the eldest son of William John Turner Clarke and his wife Eliza, née Dowling and was born in Van Diemen's Land...
Memorial. Marble bust, circa 1902, located by the Treasury building. Erected by public subscription and unveiled by the Governor of Victoria on 22 July 1902.
- Robert BurnsRobert BurnsRobert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
Memorial. Bronze replica sculpture by G.A. Lawson of an original erected in the poet's birthplace of AllowayAllowayAlloway is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns, and as where he set his poem "Tam o' Shanter"....
in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Commissioned by the Caledonian Society in Melbourne, and first erected in St Kilda RoadSt Kilda Road, MelbourneSt Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004 and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city....
in 1904, and moved to the Treasury Gardens in 1970 due to roadworks.
- President John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
Memorial. Bronze bas-relief by sculptor Raymond B. Ewers. Erected in 1965 and located beside the specially landscaped pond and water fountain.
History
- 1850s - The area of the gardens was left as open space after failure to sell allotments due to the swampy nature of the land.
- 1867 - Clement HodgkinsonClement HodgkinsonClement Hodgkinson was a notable English naturalist, explorer and surveyor of Australia. He was Victorian Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey from 1861 to 1874.- Exploration in New South Wales :...
designed the Gardens as a pattern of diagonally crossing paths lined with trees. Willow trees were planted around an ornamental pond.
- 1902 - William GuilfoyleWilliam GuilfoyleWilliam 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,...
, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, MelbourneRoyal 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...
transforms the ornamental pond into a Japanese Garden. This garden is demolished after the Second World War.
- 1929 - management of the Gardens was transferred to the City of MelbourneCity of MelbourneThe City of Melbourne is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. The city has an area of 36 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 93,105 people. The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "She gathers strength as she...
- 1934 - Treasury Gardens was used by the community to celebrate Victoria’s centenary
- 1939 - Toilet block built for the Spring Carnival and floral festival. Acknowledged as being of architectural importance for its uncommon art decoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
design, decorative pattern brick and tile construction and extensive use of wrought iron detailing, including grills, gates, lamps, signs and brick planter, exhibiting outstanding craftsmanship.
- 1965 - Monument was erected to the American President, John F Kennedy
- 1996 - Fitzroy and Treasury Gardens Master Plan was adopted by Council