The Treasury Gardens consist of on the south-eastern side of the

Melbourne central business district The Melbourne central business district (also known colloquially as simply "The City" or "The CBD") is the city centre and main urban area of the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, centred on the Hoddle Grid, the oldest part of the city la ...

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

. The gardens are bounded by Wellington Parade,

Spring Street Spring Street may refer to: * Spring Street (Los Angeles), USA * Spring Street (Manhattan), New York City, USA * Spring Street, Melbourne, Australia * Spring Street, Singapore * Spring St (website), a US based lifestyle website Subway and trolle ...

, Treasury Place, and by the

Fitzroy Gardens The Fitzroy Gardens are 26 hectares (64 acres) located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne central business district in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Clarendon Street, Albert Street, Lansdowne Street, and ...

across Lansdowne street to the west. They form part of a network of city gardens including Fitzroy Gardens, Carlton Gardens,

Flagstaff Gardens Flagstaff Gardens is the oldest park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, first established in 1862. Today it is one of the most visited and widely used parks in the city by residents, nearby office workers and tourists. The gardens are notable f ...

and

Kings Domain Kings Domain is an area of parklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It surrounds Government House Reserve, the home of the governors of Victoria, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and the Shrine Reserve incorporating the Shrine of Remembrance. ...

. The gardens are listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. ...

for their historical, archaeological, social, "aesthetic and scientific (horticultural) importance for its outstanding nineteenth century design, path layout and planting".

Description

The Gardens are a short walk from Victoria’s Parliament House and are overlooked by the Old Treasury Building and State Offices. They create a landscaped setting for office workers to enjoy during lunch with large areas of lawn and walking paths lined with mature trees. Due to their central location in the city, they are a popular spot as the starting or ending point for political rallies, demonstrations and festivals. The gardens are also enjoyed by business people and tourists staying at the Hilton Hotel on Wellington Parade, who are able to wander through on their way to the business district. The Victorian heritage listing says "Fitzroy is unique in comparison for its scale and uninterrupted landscape. There are some horticultural similarities between Fitzroy and the Treasury Garden, attributed to the initial work of

Clement Hodgkinson Clement Hodgkinson (1818 – 5 September 1893) was a notable English naturalist, explorer and surveyor of Australia. He was Victorian Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey from 1861 to 1874. Exploration in New South Wales Qualified ...

, however Fitzroy Gardens is unique due to the layering of history and mosaic of different landscaping styles. The avenues of mature elms and Moreton Bay fig are some of the best tree lined avenues in Victoria". Mature tree species include

Moreton Bay fig ''Ficus macrophylla'', commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig or Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the family Moraceae native to eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region in the north to the Illawarra in New S ...

(Ficus macrophylla), deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara), English elm (Ulmus procera),

white poplar White poplar is a common name used to refer to several trees in the genus ''Populus'', including: * ''Populus alba'', native to Eurasia * '' Populus grandidentata'', bigtooth aspen * ''Populus tremuloides ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous ...

(Populus alba), Dutch elm (Ulmus x hollandica), Dutch elm (small-leaved form), Port Jackson fig (Ficus rubiginosa), ''

Platanus × acerifolia ''Platanus'' × ''acerifolia'', ''Platanus'' × ''hispanica'', or hybrid plane, is a tree in the genus '' Platanus''. It is often known by the synonym London plane, or London planetree. It is usually thought to be a hybrid of ''Platanus orient ...

'',

pedunculate oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

(''Quercus robur''), ''

Agonis flexuosa ''Agonis flexuosa'' is a species of tree that grows in the south west of Western Australia. It is easily the most common of the '' Agonis'' species, and is one of the most recognisable trees of Western Australia, being commonly grown in park ...

'', ''

Phoenix canariensis ''Phoenix canariensis'', the Canary Island date palm or pineapple palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco. It is a relative of '' Phoenix dactylifera'', the tr ...

'', '' Washingtonia robusta'', ''

Butia capitata ''Butia capitata'', also known as jelly palm, is a ''Butia'' palm native to the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás in Brazil. It is known locally as ''coquinho-azedo'' or ''butiá'' in (northern) Minas Gerais.Fruits of Butia capitata (Mart.) Be ...

'', ''

Chamaerops humilis ''Chamaerops'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Arecaceae. The only currently fully accepted species is ''Chamaerops humilis'', variously called European fan palm or the Mediterranean dwarf palm. It is one of the most cold-hardy ...

'',

river red gum ''Eucalyptus camaldulensis'', commonly known as the river red gum, is a tree that is endemic to Australia. It has smooth white or cream-coloured bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven or nine, white flowers an ...

(''Eucalyptus camaldulensis''),

Norfolk Island pine ''Araucaria heterophylla'' (synonym ''A. excelsa'') is a species of conifer. As its vernacular name Norfolk Island pine (or Norfolk pine) implies, the tree is endemic to Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific ...

(''Araucaria heterophylla''), ''

Brachychiton x roseus ''Brachychiton'' (kurrajong, bottletree) is a genus of 31 species of trees and large shrubs, native to Australia (the centre of diversity, with 30 species), and New Guinea (one species). Fossils from New South Wales and New Zealand are est ...

'', and

grevillea ''Grevillea'', commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the b ...

(''Grevillea hilliana''). Along the embankment of Treasury Place there are

hydrangea ''Hydrangea'', () commonly named the hortensia, is a genus of over 75 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Korea, and Japan. Most are shrubs tall, ...

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

and

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

. The gardens are highly populated with native common brushtail possums that are popular with visitors at night. Other nocturnal native animals include grey-headed flying foxes and insect eating bats. Pacific black ducks, red wattle birds, and silver gulls also are frequently seen. The gardens contain an ornamental pond and a number of memorials:{{{cn, date=April 2021 * Sir

William John Clarke Sir William John Clarke, 1st Baronet (31 March 1831 – 15 May 1897), was an Australian businessman and philanthropist in the Colony of Victoria. He was raised to the baronetage in 1882, the first Victorian to be granted a hereditary honour. ...

Memorial. Marble bust, circa 1902, located by the Treasury building. Erected by public subscription and unveiled by the Governor of Victoria on 22 July 1902. *

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

Memorial. Bronze replica sculpture by G.A. Lawson of an original erected in the poet's birthplace of

Alloway Alloway ( gd, Allmhaigh, ) is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland, located on the River Doon. It is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns and the setting for his poem "Tam o' Shanter". Tobias Bachope, the mason responsible for the cons ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Commissioned by the Caledonian Society in Melbourne, and first erected on

St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda Road begins at Flinders Street, i ...

in 1904, and moved to the Treasury Gardens in 1970 due to roadworks. * President John F. Kennedy Memorial. Bronze bas-relief by sculptor Raymond B. Ewers. Erected in 1965 and located beside the specially landscaped pond and water fountain.

Timeline

{{cn, date=April 2021 * 1850s - The area of the gardens was left as open space after failure to sell allotments due to the swampy nature of the land. * 1867 -

designed the Gardens as a pattern of diagonally crossing paths lined with trees. Willow trees were planted around an ornamental pond. * 1902 - William Guilfoyle, director of the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria are botanic gardens across two sites–Melbourne and Cranbourne. Melbourne Gardens was founded in 1846 when land was reserved on the south side of the Yarra River for a new botanic garden. It extends across ...

transforms the ornamental pond into a Japanese Garden. This garden is demolished after the Second World War. * 1929 - management of the Gardens was transferred to the

City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2018, the city has an area of and had a population of 169,961. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. The c ...

. * 1934 - Treasury Gardens was used by the community to celebrate Victoria’s centenary. * 1939 - Toilet block built for the Spring Carnival and floral festival. Acknowledged as being of ''architectural importance for its uncommon

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

design, decorative pattern brick and tile construction and extensive use of wrought iron detailing, including grills, gates, lamps, signs and brick planter, exhibiting outstanding craftsmanship.'' * 1965 - Monument was erected to the American president, John F Kennedy. * 1996 - Fitzroy and Treasury Gardens Master Plan was adopted by Council. * 2019 - Approximately 150,000 people gathered in the Treasury Gardens for the 20th of September Global Climate Strike.

Events

The Share the Spirit Festival, created by Songlines Aboriginal Music in 2003, is held on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

(26 January) each year. It features a wide variety of music by

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

musicians, and is supported by the

, the Department of Justice, Creative Victoria, and other partners.{{cite web, url=https://songlines.net.au/share-the-spirit-festival/, title=Share the Spirit Festival, website=Songlines Aboriginal Music, access-date=22 April 2021

References

{{reflist

External links

Melbourne City Council - Treasury Gardens
{{coord, display=title, -37.814158, 144.976194, type:landmark_region:AU {{Parks in Melbourne {{Melbourne landmarks Parks in Melbourne Gardens in Victoria (Australia) Melbourne City Centre Heritage sites in Melbourne East Melbourne, Victoria Landmarks in Melbourne