Stirling Gardens is a small public park in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia. Located on the corner of

St Georges Terrace St Georges Terrace (colloquially known as "The Terrace") is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial road through the central business district. Its western e ...

and

Barrack Street Barrack Street is one of two major cross-streets in the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. Together with St Georges Terrace, Wellington Street and William Street it defines the boundary of the main shopping precinct of the ...

, west of the Government House and north of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

buildings, it contains a group of significant sculpture items.

History

Originally established by the Perth Vineyard Society in 1845 with Government approval, the Gardens were leased to

Henry Laroche Cole Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...

for a ten-year period in 1846, and were eventually returned to Government control at the end of that period. In 1868

Enoch Barratt Enoch Pearson Barratt (1812 – 14 December 1895) was an Australian nursery proprietor who established one of the earliest commercial nurseries in Western Australia. Biography Barratt was born in Buckingham, England. In 1838, at the age of ...

was appointed as the Government Gardener to tend Government Gardens (now known as Stirling Gardens), a position which he held until he retired in 1880. It is one of a series of landscape features that is classified by the National Trust. The statue of

Alexander Forrest Alexander Forrest CMG (22 September 1849 – 20 June 1901) was an explorer and surveyor of Western Australia, and later also a member of parliament. As a government surveyor, Forrest explored many areas of remote Western Australia, particu ...

, the brother of Sir

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister ...

, was constructed by

Pietro Porcelli Pietro Giacomo Porcelli (30 January 1872 – 28 June 1943) was an Italian-born sculptor responsible for many statues in Western Australia, including the Explorers' Monument, and those of C. Y. O'Connor and Alexander Forrest. Biography Born ...

. It was first made in Guildford clay, then in plaster of Paris—sent to Italy to cast it in wax and finally in bronze. It was unveiled by Premier

Walter James Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

on 28 August 1903. It was moved to its current location in 1916. It has been called ''Stirling Square'' in the past, despite the coincidence of a square of the same name in Guildford.

References

External links

* 1959 aerial photographs lookin
north
an
east
across Stirling Gardens, State Library of Western Australia Parks in Perth, Western Australia Barrack Street, Perth {{PerthAU-geo-stub

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links