The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a 51-hectare (130-acre) 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 and adjacent State Herbarium, together with the Wittunga and Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens, are administered by the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, a State Government statutory authority.
Site
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.
Directors
The first director of the Adelaide Botanic Garden was George William Francis (1857 - 1865).[1] First appointed as Superintendent of the Botanic Garden in March 1855, he subsequently became its first Director on its official opening to the public in 1857. Francis established the first herbarium and botanical library in Adelaide, and Hakea francisiana, an Australian shrub that grows to 4 metres, is named after him.
Francis was succeeded in 1865 by 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. Dr Schomburgk's successor, Dr M. W. Holtze I.S.O., did much to make the gardens more attractive to the general public.
Displays
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.
Palm house
The Palm, or tropical, house is a Victorian glasshouse located to the west of the main lake. It was designed by the German architect Gustav Runge (de) (1822-1900) and 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
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
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.[5] However, in early 2012 a controversial decision was announced, to remove tropical plants from the Conservatory due to rising power costs.
In April 2012 the entry fee to the conservatory was abolished and visitor numbers were expected to increase, despite rising energy costs and budget cuts resulting in the building no longer being heated.
Historic buildings
The Museum of Economic Botany is dedicated to the collection and interpretation of ‘useful’ plants. It was established by Schomburgk in 1879. Described as "the last purpose-built colonial museum in the world" it is located within the Gardens a short distance to the west of the Goodman Building. Built in Greek revival style and opened in May 1881, the building and its interior were extensively restored during 2008-09. The restoration works were assisted by a grant from the Government of Australia for $1.125 million and sponsorship by South Australian oil and gas company, Santos. The sponsorship arrangement also included naming rights and a commitment to ongoing support of the museum's exhibition program. Much of the collection originally on display in 1881 has been reinstated including a collection of papier mache and stucco replicas of various fruits and fungi. A unique contemporary space for temporary exhibitions within the museum was created by Khai Liew Design. Displays of aboriginal artifacts, a subject neglected by the original museum, were prepared in collaboration with the South Australian Museum. The museum is notable for the completeness of its preservation. The building, its interior decoration, showcases, collections and even many labels have survived from as early as 1865. The Museum is on the Register of State Heritage Items, the Register of the City of Adelaide Heritage Items, and has been classified by the National Trust of Australia.
Goodman Building
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 built in 1909 as the headquarters of the Municipal Tramways Trust, and named for its longtime Chief Engineer and General Manager W. G. T. Goodman. The adjacent Tram Barn A has been converted to hold the State Herbarium.
Taken from: Date retrieved: 24 April 2018 16:04 UTC
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