The Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden in

Park 12 Park 12, (also referred to by its Kaurna name Karrawirra, meaning "river red gum forest") is one of the 29 Parks that make up the Adelaide Park Lands. It consists of 55.5 hectares bounded by North Terrace, Frome Road, Sir Edwin Smith Avenue and ...

of the Park Lands of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia, is a tribute to the pioneer women of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a 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 of Australia's states and territories ...

. The garden was designed by landscape designer Elsie Cornish (1887-1946), and the statue created by

Ola Cohn Ola Cohn (born Carola Cohn; 25 April 1892 – 23 December 1964) was an Australian artist, author and philanthropist best known for her work in sculpture in a modernist style and famous for her ''Fairies Tree'' in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne. ...

was unveiled by Lady Muriel Barclay-Harvey (the wife of the

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

, Sir

Malcolm Barclay-Harvey Sir Charles Malcolm Barclay-Harvey, KCMG (2 March 1890 – 17 November 1969) was a British politician and Governor of South Australia from 12 August 1939 until 26 April 1944. The only child of James Charles Barclay-Harvey, of Dinnet House, Aberd ...

) on 19 April 1941. The main entrance is located off

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 is ...

opposite the

Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...

, between the

Torrens Parade Ground Torrens Parade Ground, which includes the former Torrens Training Depot and Drill Hall, is a former military facility located in Adelaide, South Australia. Location and description The Parade Ground lies behind Government House, between King Wi ...

on the north side and the rear of

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

on the south. The shady garden and surrounding lawned areas are used for quiet recreation throughout the year, and for a week each March becomes a hive of activity when the

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

presents the

Adelaide Writers' Week Adelaide Writers' Week, known locally as Writers' Week or WW, is a large and mostly free literary festival held annually in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Considered one of the world's pre-eminent literary events, it forms part of the ...

there.

History

The garden was proposed in May 1938 by the Pioneer Women's Memorial Trust of South Australia. Two representatives of this organisation, Miss

Phebe Watson Phebe Naomi Watson (23 May 1876 – 19 September 1964) was a South Australian teacher and educator, active in securing better conditions for women teachers. History Phebe Watson was born in Princess Street, near Angas Street, Adelaide, the elde ...

and Chair of the Trust

Adelaide Miethke Adelaide Laetitia "Addie" Miethke, (8 June 1881 – 4 February 1962), was a South Australian educator and teacher who was pivotal in the formation of the School of the Air using the existing Royal Flying Doctor Service radio network. Parents ...

, approached the

City of Adelaide The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of South ...

's Town Clerk,

W. C. D. Veale Brigadier William Charles Douglas Veale, (16 May 1895 – 17 August 1971), generally known as W. C. D. Veale, was an Australian engineer, surveyor and soldier. He is best known as the longtime (1947–1965) town clerk of the Adelaide City Counci ...

, to create a 'garden of memory'.Jones, David (1998-02) "Elsie Marion Cornish (1887-1946): a pioneer of contemporary landscape design in Adelaide", ''Landscape Australia'', vol. 20, no. 1, February–April ; Issue 77, pp. 90-93. It is claimed that the garden was modelled on the Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, which had been opened in 1935. In the proposal Watson wrote: "With the approval of and consent of the

Adelaide City Council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

, we desire to lay down a

formal garden A formal garden is a garden with a clear structure, geometric shapes and in most cases a symmetrical layout. Its origin goes back to the gardens which are located in the desert areas of Western Asia and are protected by walls. The style of a forma ...

, with a

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

and figure as its central unit (to denote the passing of time) within the base of which will be placed a casket containing the records of the first centenary celebration. Our proposal is for a garden approximately 120 feet 6.5 mby 80 feet 4 m surrounded by a dwarfbrick wall, with long central pathway of brick leading up three short steps to the sundial ... Garden beds are provided as in the accompanying sketch, shrubs and ornamental trees as

jacaranda ''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. The generic name is also used as the common name. The species ''Jacaranda mimosifolia'' has achie ...

and flame tree, against a background of golden poplars ... Miss Elsie Cornish is our adviser, and the sketch submitted is, of course, capable of modification." The area behind Government House in Adelaide was proposed, with site and garden proposals being taken up in 1938. Cornish and the Trust argued with the Adelaide City Council over design issues through to late 1939 with Trust Chair Miethke writing to the Council in support of Cornish during this time. The garden was eventually developed to Cornish's design, with her planting the original species and herself erecting the low brick wall.

Design

The design of the garden is a simple rectangle with a low decorative brick wall. At the centre of the garden is Cohn's sculpture of a female figure, raised on a

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...

. This is surrounded by green lawns, and four garden beds with ornamental trees and shrubs at the edges. Cornish's choice of plants was influenced by their symbolic meanings, selecting five '' Populus nigra "Italica"'' (Lombardy poplars) to represent the five women of the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Trust; ''

Quercus ilex ''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the ''Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer. Description An evergreen tr ...

'' (holly oak) and ''

Myrtus communis ''Myrtus communis'', the common myrtle or true myrtle, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to southern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, Macaronesia, and the Indian Subcontinent, and a ...

'' (myrtle) for protection and love; ''

Lonicera Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both contin ...

'' (honeysuckle) for love, generosity and devotion; and ''

Syringa vulgaris ''Syringa vulgaris'', the lilac or common lilac, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, native to the Balkan Peninsula, where it grows on rocky hills.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .Med-Check ...

'' (lilac) to symbolize memory, protection, youth and tenderness. published in Here the designer carefully selected plants for their metaphorical meanings. Original plans for the garden included the use of a 'floral clock', that would represent the passage of time; however this idea was rejected on the grounds that it would require too much maintenance.

Pioneer Women

Four park benches face the garden from the west, commemorating the following women: Carol Rowntree 20.07.55 - 15.09.02 "Passionate about People, Books and Justice"

Elizabeth Webb Nicholls Elizabeth Webb Nicholls (21 February 1850 – 3 August 1943) was a key suffragist in the campaign for votes for women (also called ' suffrage') in South Australia during the 1890s. She took on several high-profile roles in the capital of South A ...

21.02.1850 - 03.08.1943 "Suffragette, social reformer, and for many years the leader of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of South Australia and Australia" Colonel

Sybil Irving Sybil Howy Irving (25 February 1897 – 28 March 1973) was an Australian military officer who was the founder and controller of the Australian Women's Army Service during World War II. She served in this position from 1941 to 1946, and wa ...

, M.B.E. "Controller A.W.A.S. 1941-1946" "Honorary Colonel, W.R.A.A.C. 1956-1961" Catherine Jean Cleave 09.02.1980 - 27.08.1998 "A caring and joyful spirit who made a difference" A large memorial also stands on the rise by King William Street, by the path beginning the war memorial walk between King William Street and Kintore Avenue. This reads: "Unveiled by

Trish Worth Patricia Mary Worth (born 21 April 1946), Australian politician, is a former Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1993 to October 2004, representing the Division of Adelaide, South Australia. She was born in Riv ...

, Federal Member for Adelaide on 20.04.97 on behalf of the Council of United ex-Servicewomen (SA) Inc. and Council President Coral E. Farrelly OAM. Artist: Janette Moore in association with

Margaret Worth Margaret G. Worth (born 1944) is an Australian artist, who has worked as a painter, screen printer and sculptor. She studied music, pure and applied math and sciences before she turned to studies in art in 1962. Her art allowed her to seek to com ...

Uses and events

Aside from its use as a general recreational space and quiet retreat from the city at lunchtimes, the

is held at the Gardens annually in March.

References

External links