:''This article refers to a botanic gardens in Australia. For the Wilson Botanical Gardens in Costa Rica, see Las Cruces Biological Station.''

Wilson Botanic Park is a

botanic 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 ...

located on

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

in Berwick in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

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 100 acre (39 hectare) site was originally a blue metal quarry which was operated between 1859 and 1976 by the Wilson family who subsequently donated the land to the community. During early excavations, fossilised forest remnants were uncovered. Later studies found that these

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s indicated that the site was covered with tropical forest 22 million years old and include the earliest known

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

fossils. The

City of Casey The City of Casey is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Casey is Victoria's most populous municipality, with a June 2018 population of 340,419. It has an area of . The city is named ...

started redevelopment of the site into a botanic garden in 1988, and the site was officially opened by the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

four years later in 1992.

Layout and facilities

The park has two lakes which were former quarries, the large "Anniversary Lake" and the smaller "Basalt Lake" which has a sheer

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

rock face on its eastern edge and a boardwalk on its western edge. There is also a smaller marsh area near the entrance. A steep pathway leads to the Hoo Hoo Lookout Tower which has extensive views over the surrounding suburban areas. There is another vantage point at Ben's Lookout. Facilities within the park include an information centre, an amphitheatre, a playground, an education room, a

bird hide A bird hide (blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commo ...

, as well as

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

s, shelters and rotundas. The

Hallam Bypass Trail __NOTOC__ The Hallam Bypass Trail is a shared use path for cyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling a ...

provides access for

cyclists Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...

and

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

s. It runs along the

, passing right by the entrance to the gardens.

Botanical collection

The park includes a diverse range of plants including exotic and native trees and shrubs and a rose garden. Approximately 10% of the plants are labelled.

References

External links

Wilson Botanic Park
{{Coord, -38.0251, 145.3401, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Botanical gardens in Victoria (Australia) Parks in Melbourne Tourist attractions in Melbourne 1992 establishments in Australia City of Casey