Maranoa Botanic Gardens
| Maranoa Botanic Gardens | |
|---|---|
Stenocarpus sinuatus planted in 1924 | |
Location of the park in Melbourne | |
Interactive map of Maranoa Botanic Gardens | |
| Type | Botanic garden |
| Location | Balwyn, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Coordinates | 37°48′38″S 145°5′25″E / 37.81056°S 145.09028°E |
| Area | 3.5 ha (8.6 acres) |
| Created | 1901 |
| Opened | 18 September 1926 |
| Etymology | Maranoa River |
| Operator | City of Boroondara |
| Open |
|
| Status | Open |
| Vegetation | Australian native plants |
Public transit | |
| Facilities |
|
| Website | boroondara.vic.gov.au |
The Maranoa Botanic Gardens is a 3.5-hectare (8.6-acre) botanical garden located in Balwyn, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is significant as being one of the first and only botanical gardens in the world dedicated solely to Australian native plants.[1][2]
The garden is administered by the City of Boroondara.[3]
History
Establishment
Maranoa Gardens began in the early 1890s, when John Middleton Watson purchased 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres) in Balwyn, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, for a private garden. Watson planted many Australian and New Zealand native trees and shrubs and the area was maintained purely as a garden. He named the gardens after the Maranoa River in Queensland, from native words meaning "flowing", "alive" or "running".[4]
As a member of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, Watson was keenly interested in native and indigenous flora. At the time, native Australian flora was not widely used in gardening; introduced English and other exotic species were used instead.[1]
Public gardens
The former City of Camberwell (since merged into the City of Boroondara) acquired the area in 1922 and continued the planting, gradually removing all non-native plants.[3]
In September 1926, Maranoa Gardens were formally opened to the public and Frederick Chapman was appointed Chairman of the Gardens' Consulting Committee. Chapman's keen interest in the Gardens as honorary curator and that of many others helped to establish Maranoa Gardens as one of the largest displays of Australian plants in Victoria.[2][5] The central arboretum and lawn under trees area date from a time just after Watson transferred ownership to Camberwell Council. Some of the older plants include an Angophora costata smooth-barked apple, planted in 1923 and a Stenocarpus sinuatus Queensland firewheel tree, planted in 1924.
Contributors to the Gardens' development were Ivo Hammet (a pioneer of Australian native plant growing), Arthur Swaby (a teacher and botanist, who was a founding member of the Society for Growing Australian Plants), Charles French (an associate of the great botanist, Baron Ferdinand von Mueller) and Earnest Lord. The longest serving head gardener at Maranoa, Mr R Bury (1937–1968), preserved and promoted the Gardens' plants.[2]
1962 renovation
In 1962, the original Gardens were doubled in size to 2.6 hectares (6.4 acres) by expanding east into Beckett Park, with the construction of the rockery as the major thrust of this expansion.[6] The variegated Lophostemon confertus was planted near the Beckett Park gates. The temperate woodland/heathland was established in 1986. During 1987, the rockery area was expanded and replanted, the theme of this area being more specific to plants considered more difficult to grow in Melbourne's climate.
Subsequent developments
Other areas of the gardens have been developed to simulate particular plant communities. In the dry sclerophyll forest on the northern side are shrubs and smaller plants that grow well in dry, shady conditions. On the eastern side is a temperate woodland and heathland developed in 1986. The drainage in this area has been improved and low-growing plants such as Dampiera spp. and prostrate wattles, Acacia spp. are featured.
Improvement of the drainage and mulching with crushed quartz has provided the conditions suitable for many species from Western Australia to thrive.[7] The light grey stony loam over compact mottled clay is poor and the topsoil sets hard when dry while it is soft when wet—and is thus suited to native plants.
With some 5,000 plants, most of which are named, the Victorian branch of the National Trust added the Gardens to a non-statutory list as playing an important part of Australian gardening history.[2][8]
After being known as "Maranoa Gardens" since its establishment, the word "Botanic" was added to its name in June 2020 by Boroondara City Council.[9]
Gallery
-
Twin buds of Banksia blechnifolia
-
Isopogon anethifolius
-
Stenocarpus sinuatus inflorescence
-
Banksia media inflorescence
-
Agathis robusta, Queensland Kauri with Lepidozamia at left
See also
References
- ^ a b Edmanson, Jane. "Fact Sheet: Maranoa Gardens". Gardening Australia. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. p. 13 December 2008. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Maranoa Gardens And Beckett Park". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Council Victoria. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ a b "Maranoa Botanic Gardens". City of Boroondara. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ "History of ward names". City of Boroondara. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009.
- ^ Beddie, Francesca (5 April 2022). "Book review: 100 years of Australian native plants: the Maranoa Botanic Gardens Florilegium by Margaret Castle". Australian Garden History Society. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ Gadd, Denise (10 August 2012). "Glittering green and gold". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ Gadd, Denise (14 May 2008). "Wisdom from a secret garden". The Age. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
- ^ Lockwood, L.; Wilson, J.; Fagg, M. (2001). Botanic Gardens of Australia. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 1-86436-543-9.
- ^ "Iconic Boroondara landmark renamed to Maranoa Botanic Gardens". City of Boroondara. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
Further reading
- Castle, Margaret (2020). Hendry, Lorna (ed.). Maranoa Gardens Florilegium. Balwyn, Victoria: City of Boroondara. p. 228. ISBN 9780646820743.