The George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens 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 ...

located 2 km north of the CBD of Darwin,

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

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 gardens were established on their present site in 1886; this was the third attempt by European settlers of Darwin to establish a site where plants of economic importance could be tested for their suitability in the tropics. Initially the collection of the gardens was focused on economic gardening and the ornamental plantings. The gardens were severely damaged during

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city initially, but then turned t ...

in 1974, 89% of all plants were lost. Restoration after the cyclone was led by

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

, who had worked at the gardens since 1969 and served as curator from 1971 to 1990, and who was Lord Mayor of Darwin from 1992 until 2002. The gardens were renamed in 2002 to recognize George Brown's contribution and 32 years service to the development of the gardens. Fountain in the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens

Fountain in the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens

In 2000 Darwin's historic former Wesleyan Methodist church was moved from Knuckey Street and reconstructed at the Gardens. It is the oldest surviving building in Darwin. Today, the old church building houses Eva's Botanical Gardens Cafe.

Collections

The gardens contain a major collection of Northern Australian monsoon flora; these include communities like mangroves, monsoon vine thicket,

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, wi ...

wet forest and those found on the

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

escarpment. The gardens also has a large collection of native and introduced tropical plants including

cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

s, ''

Adansonia ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropic ...

'',

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

s and

heliconia ''Heliconia'', derived from the Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the we ...

Access and transport

George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens is accessible by a number of entrances. The main entrance and visitor parking is located at Gardens Rd. A secondary entrance with parking is situated at the end of Geranium street which is a turn-off from Stuart Highway. Pedestrians and cyclists can also access from Gilruth Avenue. Public transport is available by bus number 10 which stops close to the Geranium Street entrance as well as bus number 4 which has a stop close to the Gardens Road entrance.

References

External links

{{Protected areas of the Northern Territory, state=collapsed 1886 establishments in Australia Botanical gardens in Australia Tourist attractions in Darwin, Northern Territory Gardens in the Northern Territory