Canberra National Arboretum with Telstra Tower 2, Canberra ACT

The National Arboretum Canberra is a 250-hectare (618 acre) arboretum in Canberra, the

national capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...

of Australia, created after the area was burned out as a result of the Christmas 2001 and

2003 Canberra bushfires The 2003 Canberra bushfires caused severe damage to the suburbs and outer areas of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, during 18–22 January 2003. Almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory's (ACT) pastures, pine plantations, and nat ...

: The Himalayan Cedar forest lost about one third of its trees, and the commercial

Radiata Pine ''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico ( Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in the ...

plantation was burned out, allowing the arboretum to be created. In 2004, the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

of the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...

held a nationwide competition for an arboretum, which was to be part of the recovery from the 2003 bushfires. The winning design by landscape architects Taylor Cullity Lethlean and architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer proposed 100 forests and 100 gardens focussing on threatened, rare, and symbolic trees from around the world. The site has been planted since 2005, and includes ceremonial trees planted by visiting heads of government and ambassadors. It was officially opened in February 2013. Over 15,000 visitors came to the Opening Day Festival. Since that day, over a million visitors of all ages and nationalities have explored the beauty and scale of the Arboretum's forests, landscapes and architecture.

Plantings

The established areas include existing forests of Himalayan cedar (''

Cedrus deodara ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic ...

'') and cork oak (''

Quercus suber ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the core ...

'') planted under the guidance of early town planners under general direction from the city's planner,

Walter Burley Griffin Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876February 11, 1937) was an American architect and landscape architect. He is known for designing Canberra, Australia's capital city and the New South Wales towns of Griffith and Leeton. He has been cr ...

. The arboretum is generally in keeping with Griffin's plan for such an arboretum, as expressed by the earlier forests. A forest of Turkish Pine ''

Pinus brutia ''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey. Turkish pine is also known by several other common names: Calabrian pine (from a naturali ...

'', a species native to the

Gallipoli Peninsula The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanell ...

in Turkey, has been planted to commemorate Australian service personnel killed in all conflicts. In addition, a number of ceremonial Aleppo Pines (''

Pinus halepensis ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Pinus halepensis'' is a small to medium-sized tree, tall, with a trunk diameter up to , exce ...

'') have been planted on the summit of Dairy Farmers Hill, propagated from seed of the Lone Pine tree planted at the Australian War Memorial. These complement a number of mature specimens of this species already existing on the hill. The National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia, previously in

Commonwealth Park Commonwealth Park is in Canberra, Australia, adjacent to the north side of Lake Burley Griffin. Centrally located in the city, it is an important part of the urban landscape. The park has an area of 34.25 hectares, which includes a variety of nat ...

, has been relocated to the arboretum. Plantings include: * California fan palm (''

Washingtonia filifera ''Washingtonia filifera'', the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm,Flora of North America Association. ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico Volume 22: Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in Part), and Zi ...

'') * Chinese tulip tree (''

Liriodendron chinense ''Liriodendron chinense'' (commonly known as the Chinese tulip poplar, Chinese tulip tree or Chinese whitewood) is Asia's native species in the genus ''Liriodendron''. This native of central and southern China grows in the provinces of Anhui, Gua ...

'') * Western old white gum ('' Eucalyptus argophloia'') * Yoshino cherry (''

Prunus x yedoensis ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the ...

'') * Dragon tree (''

Dracaena draco ''Dracaena draco'', the Canary Islands dragon tree or drago, is a subtropical tree in the genus '' Dracaena'', native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, western Morocco, and is thought to be introduced in the Azores. Its closest living ...

'') – famously, 12 were stolen, of which some were recoveredTwo males arrested over theft of trees at Arboretum
Australian Federal Police, 29 July 2010, retrieved 3 October 2010 * Maidenhair tree (''

Ginkgo biloba ''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of tree native to China. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million years ago. Fossil ...

'') * Judas tree (''

Cercis siliquastrum ''Cercis siliquastrum'', commonly known as the Judas tree or Judas-tree, is a small deciduous tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae which is noted for its prolific display of deep pink flowers in spring. It is native to Southern Europe and ...

'') * Giant redwood (''

Sequoiadendron giganteum ''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus '' Sequoiad ...

'') * Camden white gum (''

Eucalyptus benthamii ''Eucalyptus benthamii'', commonly known as Camden white gum, Bentham's gum, Nepean River gum, kayer-ro or durrum-by-ang, is a species of tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has mostly smooth bluish grey or white bark, lance-shaped to cu ...

'') * Chinese rubber tree (''

Eucommia ulmoides ''Eucommia ulmoides'' is a species of small tree native to China. It belongs to the monotypic family Eucommiaceae. It is considered vulnerable in the wild, but is widely cultivated in China for its bark and is highly valued in herbology such ...

'') * Horse chestnut ('' Aesculus hippocastanum'') * Monkey puzzle tree (''

Araucaria araucana ''Araucaria araucana'' (commonly called the monkey puzzle tree, monkey tail tree, piñonero, pewen or Chilean pine) is an evergreen tree growing to a trunk diameter of 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) and a height of 30–40 m (100–130 ft). ...

'') * Bunya pine (''

Araucaria bidwillii ''Araucaria bidwillii'', commonly known as the bunya pine and sometimes referred to as the false monkey puzzle tree, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the plant family Araucariaceae. It is found naturally in south-east Queensland Austra ...

'') * Weeping Snow Gum (''

Eucalyptus lacrimans ''Eucalyptus lacrimans'', commonly known as weeping snow gum, is a species of small tree that is endemic to New South Wales. It has smooth white bark, lance-shaped adult leaves with more or less parallel veins, flower buds in groups of seven to ...

'') * Wollemi pine ('' Wollemia nobilis'') * Illawarra flame tree (''

Brachychiton acerifolius ''Brachychiton acerifolius'' is a large tree of the family Malvaceae endemic to tropical and subtropical regions on the east coast of Australia. It is famous for the bright red bell-shaped flowers that often cover the whole tree when it is le ...

'')

Southern Tablelands Ecosystems Park (STEP)

Close to the main building, the Village Centre, a eucalyptus forest representative of remnant and former forests of the

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by high, flat country which has generally been extensively cleared and ...

region has been established with the long-term objective of creating a regional botanic garden, education and ecosystem recovery centre. It includes 16

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', '' Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

species from various habitats and a rich diversity of under-storey shrubs, grasses, ground covers, flowers and herbs providing natural habitat for a range of animals.

Public areas and Buildings

The arboretum has some outstanding views and an open-air stage and amphitheatre. The buildings include the Village Centre, an innovative timber structure housing a cafe, restaurant, gift shop and interpretive exhibition, and a smaller event and ceremonial building called the

Margaret Whitlam Margaret Elaine Whitlam, AO (née Dovey; 19 November 1919 – 17 March 2012) was an Australian social campaigner, author, and athlete. She was the wife of Gough Whitlam, the 21st Prime Minister of Australia from 1972 to 1975, and a representa ...

Pavilion. The stonework in the visitors center is sourced from the town of

Wee Jasper, New South Wales Wee Jasper is a hamlet in the Goodradigbee valley at the western foot of the Brindabella Ranges, near Burrinjuck Dam in New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Shire. It is located about 90 km north-west of Canberra and 60 km south ...

, on the outskirts of Canberra.

Public art

The arboretum features several pieces of monumental public art. On a hill within and overlooking the arboretum is "wide brown land", spelling out the description of Australia by Dorothea McKellar in her poem ''

My Country "My Country" is a poem about Australia, written by Dorothea Mackellar (1885–1968) at the age of 19 while homesick in the United Kingdom. After travelling through Europe extensively with her father during her teenage years, she started ...

'', taken from the original manuscript in McKellar's handwriting. It is approximately 35m in length and 3m tall. On Dairy Farmers Hill is a found objects artwork depicting an eagle on a nest.

References

External links