Adelaide Botanic Garden
| Adelaide Botanic Garden | |
|---|---|
 The garden's 1877 tropical palm house |
|
| Type | Botanical |
| Location | Adelaide, South Australia |
| 34°55′05″S 138°36′39″E / 34.9181°S 138.6107°ECoordinates: 34°55′05″S 138°36′39″E / 34.9181°S 138.6107°E | |
| Size | 125-acre (51 ha) |
| Opened | 1857 |
| Website | botanicgardens.sa.gov.au |
The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a 125-acre (51 ha) public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace (between the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the National Wine Centre) and behind it the Botanic Park (adjacent to the Adelaide Zoo). The Adelaide Botanic Garden, together with the Wittunga and the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, comprise the three Botanic Gardens of Adelaide.
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Gardens [edit]
From the first official survey carried out for the map of Adelaide - Colonel William Light intended for the planned city to have a 'botanical garden'. To this end : he designated a naturally occurring Ait of land that had formed in the course of the River Torrens. However, it wasn't until 1854, after a public appeal to Governor Sir Henry Young that gardens were established at the current location. They were founded the following year and officially opened in 1857. The garden's design was influenced by the Royal Gardens at Kew, England and Versailles, France.
One of the garden's nineteenth-century directors was the botanist Dr Richard Moritz Schomburgk, brother to the German naturalist Robert Hermann Schomburgk. He was a major advocate for the establishment of forest reserves in the increasingly denuded South Australian countryside.[1] Dr Schomburgk's successor, Dr M. W. Holtze I.S.O., did much to make the gardens more attractive to the general public.[2]
Amongst other scientific and educational displays of native and international horticulture, the gardens hold one of the earliest propagated specimens of the Wollemi Pine tree, which was discovered as recently as 1994.[3]
Palm house [edit]
The Palm, or tropical, house is a Victorian glasshouse located to the west of the main lake. It was imported from Bremen, Germany in 1875, opened in 1877 and restored in 1995. As of 2007 it held a collection of Malagasy arid flora.
Rose garden [edit]
Begun in 1996, the National Rose Trial Garden is the first garden of its kind in Australia where roses are tested for their suitability for Australian climates. The Garden is a joint venture between the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, the National Rose Trial Society of Australia and the rose industry. It has been built on part of the former Municipal Tramways Trust Hackney Depot. Roses are planted in groups such as, Noisette Roses, Bourbon Roses, Tea Roses, Ramblers, and Perpetual Roses. A trial is conducted over two growing seasons and all plants are treated equally with regard to horticultural practices. The roses are judged by a panel of 10 experienced rosarians who view them and allocate points over the two growing seasons. The results are announced publicly at the end of the trial and the best performing roses receive an award.
While in Adelaide in 2004, Sir Cliff Richard planted a rose named ‘Sir Cliff Richard’ in the Rose Garden surrounded by a small group of fans and rose enthusiasts. Sales of the rose support the Bone Growth Foundation.
Bicentennial conservatory [edit]
As part of Adelaide's celebration of the Australian Bicentenary the conservatory was constructed in 1987 and opened in late 1989. The building was designed by local architect Guy Maron and has won awards for its design, engineering and landscaping. It is 100 metres (328 ft) long, 47 metres (154 ft) wide and 27 metres (89 ft) high making it the largest single span conservatory in the southern hemisphere. The conservatory houses at risk or endangered tropical rainforest plants from northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and south Pacific Islands.[4] However in early 2012 a controversial decision was announced, to remove tropical plants from the Conservatory due to rising power costs.[5][6]
In April 2012 the entry fee to the conservatory was abolished and visitor numbers are expected to increase, despite rising energy costs and budget cuts resulting in the building no longer being heated.[7][8]
Historic buildings [edit]
The administrative headquarters of the Botanic Gardens are located in the historic Goodman building, at the Hackney Road entrance on the eastern side of the Gardens. This was originally built in 1909 as the headquarters of the former Municipal Tramways Trust, and the adjacent Tram Barn A has been converted to hold the State Herbarium.
The Museum of Economic Botany, established by Schomburgk in 1879[9] and described as "the last purpose-built colonial museum in the world"[10] is located within the Gardens a short distance to the west. Built in Greek revival style and opened in 1881, the building and its interior were extensively restored in 2008.[11]
Artworks in the gardens [edit]
Wetlands [edit]
In order to reduce the Gardens' reliance on potable water from the River Murray, a new wetland is currently being constructed south of the Bicentennial Conservatory to hold stormwater diverted from First Creek. This will be part of an aquifer storage and recovery system which is expected to have a usable capacity of 100 megalitres per year.[12][13]
Notes [edit]
- ^ D.W. Meinig, On the Margins of the Good Earth, Rigby, 1962, 72
- ^ Kraehenbuehl, D. K. Holtze, Maurice William (1840 - 1923) Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, accessed 20 March 2011
- ^ DENR > Botanic Gardens > Wollemi Pine Accessed 30 June 2012.
- ^ DENR > Botanic Garden > Bicentennial Conservatory Accessed 30 June 2012
- ^ Fury grows over plan to close Bicentennial Conservatory AdelaideNow, 12 January 2012. Accessed 30 June 2012.
- ^ Rising power costs hit government offices AdelaideNow, 15 January 2012. Accessed 30 June 2012.
- ^ Friends of the Botanic Gardens in plea for money, AdelaideNow, 18 May 2012. Accessed 26 June 2012.
- ^ Conservatory cleans up on visitors with free entry, AdelaideNow, 26 May 2012. Accessed 26 June 2012.
- ^ The Botanic Gardens Museum. South Australian Register, 6 October 1879. From the National Library of Australia, TROVE collection. Accessed 26 June 2012.
- ^ Department of Environment and Natural Resources > Botanic Gardens > Santos Museum of Economic Botany Accessed 26 June 2012.
- ^ Treasure trove of 1881 heritage The Advertiser, 18 October 2008. Accessed 30 June 2012.
- ^ Botanic Garden branches out with wetlands AdelaideNow, 16 August 2010. Accessed 30 June 2012.
- ^ $8.7m wetland project launched for Botanic Gardens AdelaideNow, 10 March 2011. Accessed 30 June 2012.
See also [edit]
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Botanic Garden, Adelaide |
- Botanic Gardens of Adelaide
- Friends of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide Accessed 12 September 2012
