Perdana Botanical Gardens, formerly Perdana Lake Gardens, Lake Gardens and Public Gardens, is
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
's first large-scale recreational park. Measuring , it is located in the heart of the city and established in 1888.
The park served as place of refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city during colonial times. It contains large sculpted and manicured gardens and a host of attractions.
History
The colonial-era park was the brainchild of
Alfred Venning, the British State
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury ...
of Selangor in the late 19th century. In 1888, Venning proposed that a botanical garden be built in the valley of Sungei Bras Bras, and the British
Resident
Resident may refer to:
People and functions
* Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country
* Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training
* Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...
Frank Swettenham
Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham (28 March 1850 – 11 June 1946) was a British colonial administrator who became the first Resident general of the Federated Malay States, which brought the Malay states of Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and ...
agreed to the scheme and authorised a small grant from the State funds for the garden. Venning laid out the plan for a park of which included an "experimental economic garden" and a lake.
Venning cleared the area of scrubs and ''
lalang'', and planted ornamental flowering trees and shrubs in the garden. The scheme attracted public support, and a leading figure of the Cantonese community, Towkay Chow Ah Yeok, contributed a hundred
chempaka and orange trees to the initial planting programme in 1888. An ornamental lake was created by damming up Sungei Bras Bras, which was then named Sydney Lake after Swettenham's wife (the lake is now known as Perdana Lake). The project took nearly ten years to complete, but the garden was formally opened on 13 May 1889, just a year after work began, by the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir
Cecil Clementi Smith
Sir Cecil Clementi Smith (23 December 1840 – 6 February 1916),. was a British colonial administrator.
Background
The son of an Essex rector, John Smith, and his wife Cecilia Susanna Clementi (daughter of Muzio Clementi), Cecil Clementi Smit ...
.
![KL Sentral from Perdana Botanical Gardens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/KL_Sentral_from_Perdana_Botanical_Gardens..jpg)
The official residence of the then British government representative
Frank Swettenham
Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham (28 March 1850 – 11 June 1946) was a British colonial administrator who became the first Resident general of the Federated Malay States, which brought the Malay states of Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and ...
, now known as
Carcosa Seri Negara
The Carcosa Seri Negara is a residence located on two adjacent hills inside the Perdana Botanical Gardens, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Originally built as the official residence and guest house of the British High Commissioner in Malaya, it is now o ...
, was located atop a hill here. Venning also created a social club by the lake, the Lake Club (now known as the Royal Lake Club), in 1890. The club, unlike the
Selangor Club
The Royal Selangor Club ( ms, Kelab Di-Raja Selangor) is a social club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, founded in 1884 by the British who ruled Malaya. The club is situated next to the ''Dataran Merdeka'', or Independence Square, ''padang'' (field) ...
, was an exclusively European club, and it would dominate the social scene for Europeans in Kuala Lumpur for over half a century.
In 1963, the
Malaysian Houses of Parliament
The Malaysian Houses of Parliament ( Malay: ''Bangunan Parlimen Malaysia''), is a building complex where the Malaysian Parliament assembles. The structure is located at the Lake Gardens in Kuala Lumpur, close to the Malaysian National Monument. ...
was built on the northern fringes of the park.
Naming
The park was initially called Public Gardens but later renamed Lake Gardens. In 1975, it was renamed Taman Tasik Perdana, or the Perdana Lake Gardens, by
Tun Abdul Razak
Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Dato' Hussein ( ms, عبد الرزاق بن حسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 11 March 1922 – 14 January 1976) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia ...
. On 28 June 2011, the gardens were renamed again to Perdana Botanical Gardens by Dato' Sri
Najib Razak in the first phase of turning the park into a botanical garden.
Location
The garden is located along Jalan Perdana or ''Venning Road''. It is located near the
National Museum of Malaysia
The National Museum ( ms, Muzium Negara) is a museum located on Jalan Damansara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The museum is situated in close proximity to the Perdana Lake Gardens and it provides an overview of Malaysian history and culture. It ...
. The nearest public transportation hub within walking distance is
Muzium Negara MRT station
zh, 国家博物馆 ta, தேசிய அருங்காட்சியகம்
, type = Mass rapid transit station
, native_name =
, native_name_lang =
, symbol =
, symbol_location ...
.
Places of interest
Among the tourist attractions located here are deer park,
Hibiscus
''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...
garden,
Orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...
Garden, Kuala Lumpur Bird Park and Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park.
The Bird Park with a land area of over was opened on 15 November 1991, features more than 3,000 birds from more than 200 species of bird and is billed as the world's largest covered bird park. The butterfly park was opened in 1992, spans over of landscaped garden with over 5,000 butterflies, exotic plants, butterfly-host plants and ferns and is one of the largest houses in the world.
Gallery
Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park (5).jpg, Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park
Kuala-Lumpur-Bird-Park-2012.JPG, Kuala Lumpur Bird Park
Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park
File:Black and yellow butterfly KL.jpg, ''Trogonoptera brookiana
''Trogonoptera brookiana'', Rajah Brooke's birdwing, is a birdwing butterfly from the rainforests of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Natuna, Sumatra, and various small islands west of Sumatra ( Banyak, Simeulue, Batu and Mentawai).ARKivRajah B ...
'' also known as Rajah Brooke's birdwing.
Kuala Lumpur Bird Park
File:Kuala-Lumpur-Bird-Park-Inside.JPG, Bird Park's Interior
File:Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, Performance.jpg, Performance
File:Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, Hornbill.jpg, Great Hornbill
File: BIRD_PARK_57_0313.jpg, A chick in the education centre
File: Lorikeets_feeding_-Kuala_Lumpur_Bird_Park-4a.jpg, Feeding time for rainbow lorikeet
The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. S ...
s and a red lory
The red lory (''Eos bornea'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is the second-most commonly kept lory in captivity, after the rainbow lorikeet.
Taxonomy
In 1751 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustratio ...
File: BIRD_PARK_25_0116.jpg, A slice of papaya for birds
File:Trichoglossus_haematodus_-Kuala_Lumpur_Bird_Park-4a.jpg, Rainbow lorikeet
The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. S ...
s in KL Bird Park
File: BIRD_PARK_32_0141.jpg, Milky storks crossing over
File: BIRD_PARK_1_0038.jpg, A bird feeding of a piece of papaya
File: BIRD_PARK_8_0189.jpg, A peacock in the park
File:More more birds Bird Park KL.jpg, A view near the park entrance
File:White bird Bird Park KL.jpg, A white parrot
File:Egret at KL Bird Park, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia..JPG, Egret at KL Bird Park, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
File:I like this picture at Bird Park KL.jpg, A view of a side-sitting
File:Birdy Bird Park KL.jpg, A peacock
References
External links
Perdana Botanical GardenOfficial website
{{Coord, 3.1430001, 101.68466, display=title
1889 establishments in British Malaya
Parks in Kuala Lumpur
Botanical gardens in Malaysia