The Creswell Gardens are located in the

Adelaide Park Lands The Adelaide Park Lands are the figure-eight of land spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton and separating the City of Adelaide area (which includes both Adelaide city centre and North Adelaide) from the surro ...

between the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

, War Memorial Drive,

King William Road King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide, continuing as King William Road to the north of North Terrace and south of Greenhill Road; between South Terrace and Greenhill Road it i ...

and St Peter's Cathedral. They were established in 1909 and named after

South Australian South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

sportsman

John Creswell John Andrew Jackson Creswell (November 18, 1828December 23, 1891) was an American politician and abolitionist from Maryland, who served as United States Representative, United States Senator, and as Postmaster General of the United States app ...

. The gardens contain a number of Adelaide's landmark features.Creswell Gardens
www.weekendnotes.com The gardens have been rearranged many times during their history; probably the only constants since the 1920s are the WWI Memorial Oak Tree and the statue of Sir Ross Smith. An undated aerial photo of the gardens (circa 2014) can be found on page 5 of the South Australian Heritage Council's description of The War Memorial Oak tree.War Memorial Oak
, Record of State Heritage Place No:26348, www.environment.sa.gov.au Since then there have been significant changes to the Adelaide Oval eastern stands and many associated changes to the layout of the gardens. The State Library of South Australia has several collections of photos of the area, dating from 1916, showing how as the surrounding roads and footpaths have increased in size, the area has changed from a rambling garden with a summer house and a southern boundary of the

River Torrens The River Torrens , (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the ...

to an area of lawn and large trees.

War Memorial Oak tree

The War Memorial Oak tree was planted on 29 August 1914 about 25 metres from War Memorial Drive. By 2014 the tree had a canopy approximately 30 metres in diameter, and a life expectancy of 500 years. The tree, and a plaque immediately adjacent to the base of the tree (c.1917), are both heritage listed. The plaque states: "The War Memorial Oak planted by His Excellency the Governor Sir

Henry Galway Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Lionel Galway, (25 September 1859 – 17 June 1949) was a British Army officer and the Governor of South Australia from 18 April 1914 until 30 April 1920. His name was Henry Lionel Gallwey until 1911. Early life ...

on Wattle Day August 29th 1914." File:Creswell Gardens Memorial Oak Tree-trunk.jpg , c.2017 File:Creswell Gardens RossSmith MemorialOak AdelaideOval-looking-north.jpg , Looking north c.2017 File:Creswell Gardens RossSmith MemorialOak AdelaideOval-looking-west.jpg , Looking west c.2017

Sir Ross Smith Memorial

About 20 metres south-east of the oak tree trunk stands a memorial to Sir

Ross Macpherson Smith Sir Ross Macpherson Smith, (4 December 1892 – 13 April 1922) was an Australian aviator. He and his brother, Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, were the first pilots to fly from England to Australia, in 1919. Early life Smith's father migrated ...

, (1892–1922). In 1919, he and brother

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

, Jim Bennett and Wally Shiers were the first to fly from England to Australia. Ross Smith and Bennett were killed when a plane they were testing crashed in England on 13 April 1922. The bronze statue stands on a red granite plinth which features bronze bas-relief work depicting aeroplanes and various symbols. The sculptor was Frederick Brook Hitch who won a competition to design this statue. The tall memorial was funded by public donations to a "shilling fund" opened by the Lord Mayor of Adelaide. File:Ross Smith.jpg File:Sir Ross Smith Memorial Statue B-4974.jpeg

Creswell Gardens Fountain

Prior to Adelaide Oval eastern stand developments, the fountain was located about 50 metres north of the oak tree. It was originally located on North Terrace in front of the long since demolished

Jubilee Exhibition Building The Jubilee Exhibition Building in Adelaide, South Australia, was built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne on 20 June 1837. The jubilees of her Coronation on 28 June 1838, and of the Proclamation of Sout ...

. It is now located further north-east.

Victor Richardson Road and Gates

Prior to Adelaide Oval eastern stand developments, the gardens were bisected by Victor Richardson Road which led to John Dowie's Victor Richardson gates.Victor Richardson Football gate
www.perrysnodgrass.comVictor Richardson Cricket gate
www.perrysnodgrass.com The gates have now been moved to a position south-west of the oak tree, a new East gate has been incorporated into the Eastern stands structure, and the road is now the entrance to the Oval's underground car park. File:Victor Richardson gates-b.jpg , The Gates File:Victor Richardson gates-football.jpg , Football File:Victor Richardson gates-cricket.jpg , Cricket File:Victor Richardson gates-context.jpg , Gates now dwarfed between and beneath the south and east stands

Sir Donald Bradman

A statue of Sir Donald Bradman by

Robert Hannaford Robert Lyall "Alfie" Hannaford , (born 9 November 1944) is an Australian realist artist notable for his drawings, paintings, portraits and sculptures. He is a great-great-great-grandson of Susannah Hannaford. Family Hannaford was born a ...

completed and placed in 1998 remains just north of what is now the underground car park entrance road.

References

Gardens in South Australia Parks in Adelaide {{Adelaide-geo-stub