The Fitzroy Gardens are 26 hectares (64 acres) located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne Central Business District in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Clarendon Street, Albert Street, Lansdowne Street, and Wellington Parade with the Treasury Gardens across Lansdowne street to the west.
The gardens are one of the major Victorian era landscaped gardens in Australia and add to Melbourne's claim to being the garden city of Australia. Set within the gardens are:
- an ornamental lake
- kiosk and cafe
- Conservatory
- Cooks' Cottage - a house where James Cook reputedly spent some years of his childhood (the cottage was in England at that time).
- Sinclair’s Cottage (Visitor information)
- Model Tudor village
- Fountains and sculptures
- Band Pavilion
- the Rotunda
- the fairy tree
Horticulture
The most notable feature of the Gardens is the wonderful trees that have been used to line many of the pathways.
The gardens were initially designed by Clement Hodgkinson and planted by park gardener, James Sinclair, as a dense woodland with meandering avenues. The land originally had been swampy with a creek draining into the Yarra River. The creek was landscaped with ferns and 130 willows, but that did not stop it smelling foul from the sewage from the houses of East Melbourne. The creek was used for irrigation of the western side of the gardens for fifty years. In the early 1900s the creek water substantially improved when sewerage mains were installed to the residences of East Melbourne.
In the early years quick growing blue gums and wattles were planted to provide wind breaks. Elm Trees were planted to create avenues along pathways, which created a pattern in resemblance to the Union Flag.
Clement Hodgkinson described the landscaping design:
During the 1880s and 1890s many of the blue gums and elms were removed to create more room for existing trees, as well as sweeping lawns and ornamental flowerbeds.
Heritage Listing
The listing on the Victorian Heritage Register states in part:
Scarred tree
A scarred tree in the gardens has been preserved. The plaque at the bottom of the tree reads:
History
- 1848 the Fitzroy Gardens were permanently reserved as public gardens, with title shared by the State Government and City of Melbourne. The gardens were known as Fitzroy Square until 1862, named after Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, a governor of New South Wales.
- 1857 James Sinclair appointed head gardener, and worked in the gardens until his death in 1882.
- 1860 responsibility for Fitzroy Gardens taken over by the Lands Department. Clement Hodgkinson, the head of the Lands Department, takes a detailed interest in the planning and development of the city parks, including Fitroy Gardens.
- 1862 Path network established and band pavilion built
- 1864 Sinclair's Cottage and Small Tudor style gate keepers lodge built
- 1873 Neo-classical rotunda "Temple of Winds" built
- 1880 Removal of many Blue Gums
- 1890 Every alternate Elm tree on Avenues removed
- 1901 Nursery and stable yard transferred from centre of gardens to present site
- 1908 timber style Kiosk opened
- 1915 External picket fence replaced by stone edging
- 1917 Control of gardens passed onto City of Melbourne
- 1927 Plant Managers house built
- 1930 Conservatory for displaying glass-house plants opened
- 1934 Cook's Cottage erected after being bought, shipped to Australia, and donated by the Grimwade family. Artist Ola Cohn completes carving the Fairies Tree and donates it to the children of Melbourne.
- 1960 Kiosk damaged by fire
- 1960s Central section of creek piped underground
- 1964 New kiosk opened
- 1970s Eighteenth Century Cottage garden added to Cook's Cottage
External links
- Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne is at 37°48′45″S 144°58′49″E / 37.8125641°S 144.9803925°E / -37.8125641; 144.9803925 Coordinates: 37°48′45″S 144°58′49″E / 37.8125641°S 144.9803925°E / -37.8125641;
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