Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

in St Ives, in the northern suburbs of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

History

The Garden was established in 1966 by John Wrigley on behalf of

Ku-ring-gai Council Ku-ring-gai Council is a local government area in Northern Sydney ( Upper North Shore), in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area is named after the Guringai Aboriginal people who were thought to be the traditional owners of the area. ...

. (Wrigley went on to establish the

Australian National Botanic Gardens The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in , Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Departme ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1970.) It was opened by the then

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

, Sir

Roden Cutler Sir Arthur Roden Cutler, (24 May 1916 – 21 February 2002) was an Australian diplomat, the longest serving Governor of New South Wales and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that ca ...

VC, in 1968.

Features

All of the plants in the Garden are Australian natives. Swamp wallabies are found within the Garden. The dominant species of birds found in the Garden are

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...

s. Lamberts Clearing (named after the botanist

Aylmer Bourke Lambert Aylmer Bourke Lambert (2 February 1761 – 10 January 1842) was a British botanist, one of the first fellows of the Linnean Society. Early life Aylmer Bourke Lambert was born at Bath, England on 2 February 1761, the son of Edmund Lambert ...

) is an open green space, and has a covered picnic area. There is a Fern House, which houses cycads, mossy ponds and ferns, and a Knoll Garden, which is a bush garden. Mueller Track (named after the first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne,

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

) is a path into the valley below the carpark. Ku-ring-gai Creek and Tree Fern Gully Creek intersect at Whipbird Gully. There is a nursery within the Garden for the purchase of plants. Caley's Pavilion (named after the botanist

George Caley George Caley (10 June 1770 – 23 May 1829) was an English botanist and explorer, active in Australia for the majority of his career. Early life Caley was born in Craven, Yorkshire, England, the son of a horse-dealer. He was educated at the F ...

) is a function room, available for wedding hire. There is a Wildflower & Garden Festival on the last Sunday of August each year. An elderly volunteer, Gaida Coote, disappeared in 2014, having attended a volunteer bush care group; her remains were only found in 2019.

References

External links

* {{coord, 33, 42, 28, S, 151, 10, 38, E, display=title Botanical gardens in New South Wales 1968 establishments in Australia St Ives, New South Wales