Australian garden history : journal of the Australian Garden History Society

HISTORY

By Channels of Coolness:
Ferneries and Watergardens

Journal of the Australian
Garden History Society

Mission

The Australian Garden History Society will be the
leader in concern for and conservation of significant
cultural landscapes and historic gardens through
committed, relevant and sustainable action.

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Australian Garden History is the official journal of the Australian Garden
History Society and is published six times a year.

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Contents

By Channels of Coolness

Ken Duxbury dips into his postcard collection to
find the appeal of Victoria's ferneries

The Gardens at Government House, Yarralumla

/an Crawford describes gardens that recall much
of Australia's history

Saving Araluen

Noelene Drage tells of her crusade to save the
garden at Araluen in Western Australia

Some Best Kept Secrets

Sandra Pullman discovers the gardens, travels and
photographic records of David Matthews

Valete

Barbara van den Broek, landscape architect
Betty Maloney, botanical illustrator and
pioneer bush gardener

Information

• Items of Interest • Action • On-Line • Mailbox

4

9

12

16

20

22

EDITOR Nina Crone, 15 Acacia Rd, Promontory Views, VIC, 3959
Ph: (03) 5663 2381 E-mail: ncrone@dcsi.net.au

Diary Dates

24

DESIGN Small Dog Design E-mail:design@smalldog.com.au

PRINTING FRP E-mail: frp@netconnect.com.au
ISSN 1033-3673

Cover

'Peep in Fernery from Gates, Bendigo c.1907' a card from
the Ken Duxbury Postcard Collection, and leaves of
Dicksonia antarctica

COPYRIGHT © Australian Garden History Society 2001. All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form for commercial purposes wholly or in part (other than the circumstances outlined in any agreement between the author/artist/photographer/illustrator and the
Society) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permission may be granted subject to an acknowledgment being made. Copying for private and educational
purposes is permitted provided acknowledgment is made in any report, thesis or other document which has used information contained in this publication.

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Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

NATIONAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Towards an Interactive Journal

Passionately keen to share the delight of a forgotten guest house garden in the
hills? Angry about proposed sub-division of a historic garden? Convinced AGHS
should take an interest in sportsgrounds? Consider the Visitor Centre in that
public park is an eyesore? Share your opinion on issues relevant to the Society's
declared mission. Rant, rave, rejoice and write for Viewpoint.

Liked a particular television program? Discovered a wonderful web-site? Read a
compelling book? Share you feelings. If strong words hold little appeal, perhaps
archival research, or garden photography, or action from your corner of Australia is
of more interest. Review, relate and report for The Bookshelf, Action or Mailbox.

A national journal should reflect activities and views from all states. While a
general theme is taken for each issue, it is not binding. There is always space for
additional articles. A list of proposed themes for forthcoming journals can be
found on the AGHS web-site or by contacting the editor. Let us have a lively,
committed and interactive journal.

Nina Crone

The Next Issue

Summer Gardens

featuring a rose garden in the New England area of New South Wales,
latticework ferneries in Victoria, the garden at Bishopscourt in Melbourne,
and reports from the National Annual Conference.

PATRON

Margaret Darling

CHAIRMAN
Peter Watts

VICE-CHAIRMAN
Richard Heathcote

TREASURER

Elizabeth Walker

SECRETARY
Helen Page

EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Jackie Courmadias

ELECTED MEMBERS
Virginia Berger
Nicky Downer
Jan Gluskie
Katie Holmes
Colleen Morris

STATE REPRESENTATIVES
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Nick Bray NSW

Miriam Hansman SA
Deidre Pearson TAS
Helen Page VIC
AnneWillox WA
Glenn Cooke QLD

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QUEENSLAND BRANCH

Glenn Cooke, PO Box 4572 West End,
QLD, 4101 Ph: (07) 3846 1050
E-mail: glenn.cooke@qag.qld.gov.au

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VICTORIAN BRANCH

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100 Birdwood Ave., Melbourne, VIC,
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WESTERN AUSTRALIAN BRANCH
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EDITORIAL ADVISORY PANEL
Convener:

Anne Latreille
Members:

Richard Aitken
Max Bourke
Paul Fox
David Jones
Megan Martin
Prue Slatyer
Christopher Vernon

Australian Garden History

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

3

By Channels of Coolness

Part 1

By Ken Duxbury

Top: Fern Scene, Victoria
Gardens, Prahran c.1912
From the Ken Duxbury
Postcard Collection

Victorian Ferneries

The great number of postcards depicting the
ferneries that were once a prominent feature of
Victoria's botanical and major public gardens has
always impressed me. Some cards show external
views of enormous arched and gabled timber
latticework structures, others provide glimpses of
cool and shady interiors where ladies in gloves,
straw hats and ankle-length skirts accompanied
by men in Sunday-best suits, overdressed children
and babies in wicker prams have retreated from
oppressive summer heat. Why was so much
energy and so many resources devoted to the
development of ferneries in Victoria?

Both international and local forces encouraged
their construction. There was an international
craze for ferns. The Oxford Companion to
Gardens (1986)' notes that the cultivation of ferns
gradually became popular in Britain in the late
1840s and increased in the 1850s. Further, it adds
that Thomas Moore's handbooks on ferns
inaugurated a passion for fern collecting that
lasted until the 1870s.

In England, ferneries were established in rocky
glens, similar to Victoria's open-air ferneries but
with less need for shade trees or a protected
aspect, and in glasshouses, analogous to
Victoria's latticework ferneries. The glasshouses
continued to be built until the end of the
nineteenth century, well after the fern-collecting
fervour had subsided.

The enthusiasm for ferns reached the colony of
Victoria shortly after the gold rush gathering
momentum in the late 1850s when Australian
species appeared in the stock-lists of
Melbourne plant nurseries. The most obvious
manifestation of the craze was the collection,
propagation and cultivation of both native and
exotic ferns. Tim Bonyhady gives an excellent
account of 'fern fever' or pteridomania in his
book The Colonial Earth. 2

Local impetus for making ferneries came from the
spectacular natural, fern gullies and cool
temperate rain forests of south-eastern Australia.
Notable sites were in the Dandenong Ranges to
the east of Melbourne, in the Macedon Ranges to
the north of Melbourne and other places within
easy reach of provincial centres like Geelong,
Ballarat, Bendigo, Castlemaine and Warrnambool.
These indigenous sites not only served as an
inspiration, but more importantly offered a readily
accessible source of propagating material -
spores, rhizomes and mature tree ferns.

Initially visited by explorers, botanists and artists
on packhorses, the fern gullies soon became
popular with summer tourists seeking relief from
summer heat in cool shade near refreshing
streams and waterfalls. Hotels and guesthouses
were built, and networks of walking tracks leading
to scenic vantage points were constructed, often
characterised by flights of steps made from tree
fern trunks and edged with rustic handrails
fashioned from bush timber.

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Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

Hill stations, where affluent and socially prominent
Melburnians could escape summer heat, were
established in the Dandenongs and at Mount
Macedon. Here large, elaborate gardens usually
included many tree ferns and other native ferns
intermingled with 'cool climate' exotic plants and
remnant indigenous species like Blackwood and
Mountain Ash.

Private and Public Gardens

Ferns were included in gardens of all sizes - tree
ferns were grown in front of row houses and
terrace houses and in the narrow, shady passages
between villas. Small ferneries, often lean-to
structures, were built in suburban gardens. Large
and imposing ferneries were built in the gardens
of mansions.

Almost all these ferneries have long since
disappeared. However their outlines are clearly
shown on the detailed large-scale maps prepared
between 1895 and 1905 to assist with the
installation of Melbourne's first sewerage system.
One major private fernery does survive. It is the
exceptionally large and ambitious structure at
Rippon Lea, now owned by the National Trust and
open to the public. Elsewhere the great ferneries
in private gardens need to be sought in family
photograph collections. One such impressive
fernery in the country area of Victoria was that at
'Belmont' near Beaufort. 3

For the less affluent the ferneries in Victoria's public
gardens provided the next best thing to a holiday
in a guest-house, to a hill station sojourn, or to a
walk to a waterfall through a natural fern gully.

Victoria's generally mild climate permitted a wide
range of tropical and subtropical species to be
grown in both open air and latticework ferneries.

In England and Europe such species could only

be grown in heated glasshouses. These included
many varieties of palms - Australian species such
as Livistonia australis and Archontophoenix
cunninghamiana and also species originating from
various Pacific Islands. Overseas visitors such a
J.A. Froude were not only impressed by the scale
and grandeur of the ferneries, but also by the
great diversity of ferns and other plants which
could be grown in the open air.

It is important to recognise the way community
attitudes to the sun have changed, and to
remember that the Victorians and Edwardians did
not see the sun as a source of health, pleasure
and relaxation but rather as a source of
discomfort and a threat to health. People dressed
up against the sun and carried umbrellas for
additional protection. In the cities and towns
summer was made unpleasant through the lack of
sewerage, refrigeration and air-conditioning as
well as by the dusty, unsealed roads. Public
gardens with ferneries provided welcome relief
from oppressive heat.

The widespread construction of impressively
grand ferneries was also associated with the
exceptional affluence of the 1870s and 1880s in
Victoria. Provincial centres like Ballarat and
Bendigo generated wealth through gold mining,
while Geelong flourished in its role as the main
port serving the wealthy pastoral districts of
Western Victoria.

The ferneries were an expression of civic pride,
municipal importance and aggressive
competitiveness. Like the town hall and the
mechanics institute, the fernery appears to have
been a necessary amenity for every self-
respecting town, just as a century later every town
seemed to need an Olympic swimming pool and
a caravan park.

Top Left:

In the Fernery,

Ballarat Botanic Gardens, 2001
Photo: Nina Crone

Top Right:

'Jacob's Ladder',
below Sherbrooke Falls,
Dandenong Ranges, Victoria
From the Ken Duxbury
Postcard Collection

Australian Garden History

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

5

In the Fernery, Eaglehawk (Bendigo)

Postcard c. 1 909 from the Ken Duxbury Postcard Collection

Decline

Few ferneries appear to have been constructed after 1890,
perhaps because most towns already had a fernery, and also
because the 1890s depression depleted municipal coffers.
However the many postcard views dating from this period suggest
that the existing ferneries remained popular recreational
attractions in Edwardian times.

The inter-war years evidenced a decline in the fern as a
fashionable subject for both public and domestic gardens.
Further, active sports such as football, tennis, golf and swimming
were becoming more popular. Increased car ownership meant
that instead of visiting a fernery many families could go on day
trips to visit real fern gullies. Indeed growing car ownership may
have actually increased the popularity of some ferneries as
Melburnians made day trips to Ballarat, Kyneton and Daylesford.

By the 1950s however, the latticework ferneries had mostly
vanished, and many of the open-air ferneries, especially those in
smaller towns, became neglected and overgrown with invasive
garden plants and weeds.

Renewal

Since the early 1980s there has been something of a revival of
interest in ferneries, although it is difficult to know whether this is
just a by-product of a more general resurgence of interest in
historic gardens. It was pleasing that the open-air ferneries at
Kyneton and Daylesford were restored as part of Victoria's 150 ,h
Anniversary Program.

More recently, a new open-air fernery has been developed in the
Geelong Botanic Gardens, a collection of ferns from the Otway
Ranges has been established in a small latticework fernery at
Warrnambool Botanic Gardens, and considerable restoration
work has been carried out at the fernery in Rosalind Park,

Bendigo. Management plans proposing the phasing in of more
naturalistic, ecologically based 'rainforest' planting schemes
have also been prepared for the ferneries in the Royal Botanic
Gardens and the Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne.

Unfortunately some ferneries have suffered subtle erosion of
character through the substitution of inferior modern details -
the use of treated pine, concrete for bridges and anodised plant
labels. Likewise there has sometimes been a gradual loss of
planting character, with less diversity of fern species. In Bendigo
there seems to be almost a monoculture of rough tree ferns, and
the extensive use of hardy ground covers such as cliveas,
acanthus and Vinca major threatens to become invasive.

Ideally all ferneries should have a detailed management plan
which sets out the conservation philosophy to be adopted.

There is also a need for sufficient highly skilled maintenance by
knowledgeable horticulturists.

Although it is sad to see the disappearance of some major
latticework ferneries, it is fortunate that very good photographic
documentation and written descriptions of the Ballarat and
Geelong ferneries still exist. Garden historians must resign
themselves to the fact that certain types of structures have only
a limited lifespan, and that gardens are subject to a constant
process of decay and renewal.

It is interesting to note that the Forest Gallery at Melbourne
Museum possesses many of the characteristics of a large
latticework fernery. It evokes a feeling of a Victorian 'tall timber'
eucalypt forest with tree ferns and other native ferns, an over¬
storey of blackwoods and some semi-mature eucalypts all
transplanted from their forest home with great technical
ingenuity.

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Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

That said, it should never be forgotten that even the grandest,
most spectacular ferneries and sub-tropical gardens are only
crude and superficial facsimiles of the plant communities and
ecosystems that inspired their creation.

Victoria is unique in possessing about 18 provincial botanical
gardens, most of which were established in the 1850s and 1860s
with land grants from the state governments. In addition there
are two suburban botanic gardens - at Williamstown and St
Kilda. Almost all these gardens appear to have had ferneries of
some description, or to have included ferns amongst more
mixed planting. They were all important as ornamental public
gardens and places of public resort and recreation. The two
major types of ferneries developed in Victoria were 'open-air
ferneries' and latticework ferneries.

Open-Air Ferneries

Ferneries were sometimes established along small watercourses
such as that running through the Fitzroy Gardens, on in small
public gardens like Victoria Gardens in Prahran, or at Eaglehawk
near Bendigo. They were generally developed in wind-protected
sites where high-branching trees of a wide diversity of species
shaded them. Some shelter was sometimes provided by
remnant indigenous species, for example by blackwoods at
Rosalind Park.

Open-air ferneries usually included extensive artificial rockeries
and semi-natural and artistically enhanced streams, ponds,
springs and waterfalls. This type of fernery had a relatively high
survival rate and neglected ferneries of this type have been
easily restored - especially where the original layout is clearly
defined by rockwork revealed when overgrown and weedy
vegetation is removed. Replacement planting can then be
carried out as required and a modern watering system installed.

Better-known open-air ferneries include The Fern Gully at the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne which follows the route of a
minor watercourse. It appears to have been established by
Ferdinand von Mueller who wrote

The fern-tree gully has now been extended, and the various
hardy arborescent Ferns, some perhaps a century old, huge
square Todeas of great age, Staghorn Ferns, and very many
other species, became added in masses. 4

William Guilfoyle further developed this area by adding many
subtropical rainforest species, including palms such as
Arctontophoenix cunninghamiana. The planting appears to have
been inspired by Guilfoyle's experience as a tropical
horticulturist on the Tweed River in northern New South Wales.

A rather special fernery was established in The Domain, near
the Lych Gate entry to the Royal Botanic Gardens. In 1873
William Guilfoyle designed it to enhance an old quarry hole in
the grounds of Government House. This area became public
open space in the 1930s, when the very extensive grounds of
Government House were reduced to more manageable size.

The fernery at Victoria Gardens, Prahran has not survived. It
occupied the northern slope of a small artificial mountain in the
north east corner of the gardens. The mountain was constructed
of material excavated from a sunken oval lawn area which can still
be seen to-day although the mountain was removed in 1920. This
fernery was constructed in 1885 to the design of the well-known
horticulturist William Sangster. In an article in The Australasian of
May 1885, Sangster, writing under the pseudonym 'Hortensis',
described his plan for the fernery area.

... the sides and slopes [of the artificial hill] are to be densely
covered with evergreens, so as to form a wilderness with
winding paths, the south-eastern slope is to be planted with
shade trees on tall stems to admit of an undergrowth of tree
ferns; this side will be made more precipitous, and will be
supported by rockeries with a pool of water fringed by ferns at
the bottom.

The large and impressive fernery at Rosalind Park, Bendigo still
exists and retains much of its original layout. It may have been
partly inspired by the article 'Beauties of Australian Vegetation'
by Mr G.S. Mackay.

While on the subject of ferns, if the city council were to convert
the island in the Lower Reserve into a fernery, it would be a
pleasing attraction to the many visitors who would throng to see
this singular but handsome tribe of nature. And as the colony of
Victoria in its different parts can furnish overt 00 different
varieties of ferns, besides what might be had from other
colonies, such a structure if created and filled with them, would
convert this part of the Reserve - which is at present but an
eyesore - into a place of beauty... 5

Although it appears that Mackay envisaged some sort of
latticework fernery, an open-air fernery was constructed in the
Lower Reserve shortly afterwards. This soon became a major
attraction, and is described in detail in the chapter on Sandhurst
[Bendigo] by J. Glen Oliphant.

If anyone wishes to escape from the fiery darts of the broiling
sun and seek shelter from the furnace blast of the northern
sirocco, a retreat is at hand. Here is the Fernery, magnificently
and very artistically arranged, and very refreshing after the dust
and dryness of the city around... Ferns surround us on every
side, from the tender maiden-hair to the towering tree-fern of
New Zealand. 6

The fernery at Rosalind Park, Bendigo is also described in great
detail, and with breathless and almost ecstatic enthusiasm, in
the Bendigo section of Cyclopaedia of Victoria. 7

On the right is the beautiful fernery about two acres in extent,
containing all kinds of ferns indigenous to Victoria, full of shady
nooks and paths of maze-like intricacy. With its cool recesses, its
miniature cascades, its grateful umbrageousness, its freshness
and perfect seclusion, it forms a delightful retreat during the
Summer months... it is in the heart of a city... and only a short
remove from the scene of some extensive mining operations,
and yet it offers the seclusion and quietitude of a fern-tree gully

Postcard c.1910 from the Ken Duxbury Postcard Collection

Australian Garden History

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

7

Other states also have ferneries. These postcard views show scenes along a 'fernery trail' on Mount Wellington , Tasmania c. 1920s
From the Ken Duxbury Postcard Collection.

on one of the labyrinth of ranges which abound in the county of
Evelyn. Everything that meets the eye and ear is suggestive of
sylvan solitude. In laying out these serpentine walks and green
cloisters, the art of the landscape gardener has wisely followed
the capricious but always picturesque and effective irregularity of
Nature... From the glare of the white road and of white
buildings outside, to the overarching fronds in every serpentine
walk and dim recess, the transition is simply delightful. It is like
plunging the sense of vision, strained, dazzled and weary into a
refreshing bath...

A fernery at Eaglehawk Public Gardens near Bendigo 1880s, is
now lost and the fernery in Johnston Park, Geelong, developed
as a 'fern glade' c.1886, was removed c.1917 when a new
design was made for the park. However the fernery at
Daylesford Botanic Gardens, occupying the south facing slope
of Wombat Hill (probably developed in the 1880s) is still in
existence as is the fernery at Kyneton Botanical Gardens
occupying the south facing bank of the Campaspe River and
probably established in the 1880s. The Cyclopaedia of Victoria,
published in 1903, gives a brief account of this fernery in what
could serve as a generic description for most of the state's
public ferneries of the period.

The coolness, the vivid verdure, and soft green light which
pervade this pleasant bower are especially delightful during the
hottest months of the year. 8

Delightful though these open-air ferneries were, it was the great
latticework ferneries that epitomised the heyday of Victoria's
love affair with ferns and challenged the skills of builders and
gardeners. These magnificent structures will be considered in
the next issue of Australian Garden History.

’ Geoffrey & Susan Jellicoe, Patrick Goode, Michael Lancaster (ed.) The Oxford
Companion to Gardens, Oxford University Press, New York, 1986

2 Tim Bonyhady, The Colonial Earth, The Miegunyah Press for Melbourne University
Press, Melbourne, 2001 pp. 101-125

3 See 'Belmont' Australian Garden History, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 9-20

4 Ferdinand von Mueller 'Report of the Government Botanist and Director of the
Botanic Gardens, 1869'

5 Published in the Bendigo Advertiser of 12 July 1879

6 Cassell's Picturesque Atlas of Australia 1889 p. 464

7 A major 3-volume work edited by James Smith and published in Melbourne in 1903.

8 As above Vol. 2 p. 412

Ken Duxbury obtained his Master of Landcape Architecture
from Melbourne University in 1986. He has worked in urban and
environmental planning and as a consultant on historic gardens.
One of his many interests is the history of Victoria's public
gardens and he has gathered a remarkable collection of
postcards depicting them over many years.

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Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

The Gardens of Government
House, Yarralumla

The Government House grounds are a subtle
blend of varied garden settings which recall
Yarralumla's rural beginnings and record the
continuing story of Australia.

Long before Yarralumla became Government
House, the land on which it stands had links with
events in the early history of New South Wales.
Robert Johnston who was the first to use the land
for livestock grazing in 1827, was the son of
Lieutenant-Colonel George Johnston, one of the
leaders of the New South Wales Corps mutiny
against Governor William Bligh.

Captain Charles Sturt, after being a guest of
Terence Murray of Yarralumla, took up land to the
north of the property. It was granted to for his
achievement in exploring the Murrumbidgee and
Murray river systems. This area is now Belconnen.
Murray who owned Yarralumla for 20 years played
a prominent role in the pastoral industry and the
legislature of New South Wales.

In earliest times the property was known as
Yarrowlumla which is thought to be a corruption
of Arralumna, the name given by the aboriginal
people to the place where the Molonglo River
cuts through the Stromlo Range. It means 'where
the cry comes back from the mountains'. Thomas
Mitchell marked it on his 1834 map of the area as
Yarrowlumley.

There is an interesting early link between
Yarralumla, Canberra and Admiralty House,
Sydney, the two official houses of the Governor-
General, through Murray's father-in-law, Colonel
John Gibbes. His daughter Mary married Murray
and for reasons of financial convenience Gibbes
became one of three trustees for the
administration of Yarralumla on the Mary's death
in 1858. In the 1840s Gibbes had bought land at
Kirribilli on Sydney Harbour where he built his
residence. In 1914 the house, after many
transformations and now known as Admiralty
House after having been the residence of the

Above left:

At the Watergate

Top right:

Lady Gowrie's Wild Garden
Bottom right:

Government House gardens
in autumn

Contents page:

Government House from the
Vista Lawn , 2001

Photos:

Ian Crawford

Australian Garden History

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

9

Government House Grounds, Yarralumla

1 Main House

2 Former Stables

3 Chancery

4 Overseer's Cottage

5 Offices

6 Main Entrance

7 Peace Officer's Cottage

8 Comptroller's Cottage

9 Official Secretary's Cottage

10 Bravery Garden

11 Watergate

12 Swimming Pool

13 North Lawn

14 Terrace Garden

15 Former Circular Lawn now extended to

16 Vista Lawn

17 Lady Gowrie's Wild Garden

18 Former Picking Garden and Vegetable Garden

1 9 Former Orchard

Royal Navy's Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Station,
became the official residence of the Governor-General in
Sydney. Without any possible idea of what the future could
hold for both properties, Gibbes has been associated with
their early development.

Frederick Campbell, son of Robert Campbell of Duntroon,
bought Yarralumla in 1881 and proceeded to develop it as a
model farming property. Over the period 1891 to 1898 he built
and further added to the homestead that now forms the gabled
wing of Government House facing the Brindabella Range.

The Yass-Canberra district was chosen as the site of the new
national capital in 1908 at the height of the Campbell
property's rural prosperity. Although there had been thought
since 1911 for Yarralumla's use as a temporary residence for
the Governor-General, it was not until 1925 that Cabinet
decided to proceed with its refurbishment as a temporary
Government House to be occupied by Lord Stonehaven, and
also to be ready to accommodate the Duke and Duchess of
York who were to visit Canberra in 1927 for the official
opening of the newly constructed Parliament House.

The development of the garden as we know it today started
during the ownership of Terence Murray amidst the scattered
local species of gum trees, the yellow box (Eucalyptus
melliodora) and Blakely's red gum (E. blakelyi) which are still
features of the garden. In the remoteness and harshness of the
Australian wilderness, families from the British Isles strove to
achieve the soft relief of an English country garden while at the
same time providing for their needs in fruit and vegetables.

Murray, who brought his gardener to Yarralumla from
Winderradeen, his Lake George property, obtained trees and
shrubs from many sources, including the nursery at Camden
owned by William MacArthur, from Dr Wilson of Braidwood,
from William Packer's station Esthermead at Gundaroo, and
probably from many other neighbouring properties. The
pastoralist families depended on each other for much as they
contended with the elements and isolation while establishing
themselves in the dry Australian countryside. It was during the
Murray era that Yarralumla's landscape-defining arboreal
features were planted, the deodar or Himalayan cedar, the
English elms and the Monterey cypress, this last feature sadly
now gone.

The development of Campbell's model rural property included
improvements and extensions to the gardens and lawns made
possible by the installation of pumps for the water supply and
the newly invented lawn mower. Frederick Campbell, who had
campaigned for Canberra to be the national capital, was given
notice to vacate his property in 1913, not because of any
projected use of Yarralumla but as a measure to hold down
property prices to prevent land speculation in the new
Australian Capital Territory. From 40,000 acres at the peak of
its rural prosperity the land use as Government House has now
been reduced to 130 acres (52ha).

The design for the refurbishment of the gardens for
Yarralumla's new role as Government House was undertaken
by Charles Weston who, as Officer-in-Charge, Afforestation
Branch and later as Canberra's first Superintendent, Parks and
Gardens Branch, had responsibilities for the Yarralumla

10

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

gardens after the departure of the Campbells. The main
feature of his design was the formal circular lawn to the south¬
west which has now been extended to be the'vista lawn with
views to the Brindabellas.

While some of the wives of the Governors-General have
concentrated on redecoration of the residence, others have
supervised and even undertaken the planting involved in the
development of the Government House gardens. From 1969 to
1974 Lady Hasluck gave her attention to the design and
installation, by Otto Ruzickas, of the Rhododendron Garden at
the main entrance. This garden has magnificent displays
through winter and spring progressing from erica, heath and
Pieris japonica to magnolias, azaleas and rhododendrons.

Between 1982 and 1989 Lady Stephen's influence was more
widespread. She was responsible for the plantings of masses of
daffodils in the bulb garden, the introduction of a colour theme
for the beds flanking the vista lawn, pink and white on the east
side and yellow and white on the west side, development of the
gardens on the southern side of the house including the "David
Austin" English rose collection, the Heritage rose garden, the
cottage garden, the south-west terrace and finally the northern
terrace with its Mt Fuji variety of Prunus serrulata, Japanese
flowering cherries and Malus ioensis plena (Bechtel crab apple).
Lady Stephen also developed the long perennial border, however
modifications were necessary to reduce the frequency of
maintenance. These modifications were undertaken during term
of Sir William and Lady Deane and the transformed bed became
a mixed border of shrubs and non-invasive perennials with a
back-drop of 'Sea Foam' roses to reduce the maintenance task.

But perhaps the most extensive development was Lady
Gowrie's Wild Garden (1936-1945). There has been conjecture
about the source of inspiration for this garden. As so many
features accord with Gertrude Jekyll's writings about the 'sylvan
beauty that the wood displays throughout the year. . . where
the track winds and one cannot see far onward', 2 it may be
assumed that Lady Gowrie and her friend Ethel Anderson, the
wife of the Comptroller, were indeed influenced by the
imaginative English designer.

They developed a garden of four seasons. In August the
hellebores, daffodils and jonquils herald the spring and it is
then that the succession of displays begins. From this season
to the end of summer there are crab apples, plums, cherries,
magnolias, laburnum, camellias, mollis azaleas, wisteria,
viburnum, fuchsias, aquilegias, irises, dogwoods, abelias,
honeysuckle, hydrangeas, crepe myrtles, agapanthus and many
others. All present a wonderful show until autumn when the
magnificent tones of the deciduous birches, elms, oaks,
hawthorns and maples draw the curtain on a performance
lasting over nine months.

At the heart of Lady Gowrie's Wild Garden is a glade with
rough stone paving and a fountain statue of a dancing child in
memory of Major Patrick Hore-Ruthven, the son of Lord and
Lady Gowrie, who died of wounds in 1942. The inscription
around the base of the fountain reads, 'To Pat's Youth and
Happy Hours'. 3

On 20 June 2001, just before he completed his term as
Governor-General, Sir William Deane dedicated the Bravery
Garden that is viewed from the State Entrance to Government
House. It is a sunken garden located on the site that had
previously been first a croquet court and then a lawn tennis
court. Inspired by the values of Australia, as recalled by Sir
William and Lady Deane from their visit to Gallipoli for ANZAC
Day in 1999, it is dedicated to brave Australians, civil as well

A glade in Lady Gowrie's Wild Garden

as military. The axis of the garden is based on sandstone
pillars representing the five stars of the Southern Cross, the
bank to the garden is planted with rosemary, and there are
borders and plantations of sasanqua camellias, Manchurian
pear and hebe. The last-mentioned plant represents the
ANZAC link with New Zealand.

With the kind permission of His Excellency the Right Reverend
Dr Peter Holiingworth AC, OBE, the present Governor-General
of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Australiana Fund
conducts tours of the Government House gardens every
Thursday during spring, summer and autumn, avoiding the
months when Canberra weather discourages garden activities.

In 1978, Mrs Tamie Fraser, wife of the Prime Minister at the
time, established the Australiana Fund to acquire and preserve
for display and use in the official residences of the Governor-
General and Prime Minister the finest examples of items of
Australian heritage value.

The guided tours access the gardens by way of a delightful
cruise on Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin in the Southern Cross
Yacht Club's ferry Southern Cross. On arrival at the
Government House water gate 4 visitors are welcomed on
behalf of the Governor-General by volunteer guides of The
Australiana Fund. The sculpture 'Naiad' awaits them. Lord De
L'Isle, Governor-General from 1961 to 1965, commissioned it
as a bicentennial gift to the nation in memory of his wife who
died while he was in office. Its inscription reads

'Now Naiad from these waters rise
Salute with hope the eastern skies
The day is come'

1 The terrace was designed by Richard Ratcliffe

2 Cherry Lewis (ed ( ) The Making of a Garden: Gertrude Jekyll, Antique Collectors'
Club, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1984

3 Paul Sorensen installed the fountain for Lady Gowrie and also undertook work on
the trees

4 The landing place was designed by Richard Clough. It is a stone structure with a
double staircase and a central niche containing the statue of Naiad.

Acknowledgments

The material for this article has been drawn from Gables, Ghosts and Governors-
General, The Historic House at Yarralumla edited by C.D. Coulthard-Clark, Allen & Unwin
in association with The Canberra & District Historical Society, North Sydney, NSW, 1988
and from lecture notes prepared by Pat Garratt, Gardening Supervisor at Yarralumla.

Ian Crawford is an enthusiastic home gardener with an interest
in the history of Canberra particularly its representation in the
story of Yarralumla. He leads the team of volunteer guides for
the Government House garden tours that support the
Australiana Fund.

Australian Garden History

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

11

Saving Araluen

By Noelene Drage

Araluen is situated 40km south east of Perth at
Roleystone, one of the loveliest, hilliest suburbs in
the Darling Ranges. The actual garden area is 59.9
hectares in a long, narrow, steep-sided valley
running north/south. This orientation is unusual in
the Ranges as most valleys run east/west and suffer
bad east winds from inland Australia in summer,
but the strong winds do not get into Araluen.

Such is the drop from north to south that the
dam, at the northern top of the valley, feeds by
gravity the whole garden. The creek runs down
through the centre of the garden and out the
southern end into the Canning River. There is an
eastern tributary coming in half way down the
valley and joining the main creek in the garden
area in the bottom half of the valley. The top or
northern end is still bushland.

A dream that faded, 1930 - 1985

In 1896 at the age of 13 John Joseph Simons left
Clare in South Australia with his mother and two
sisters to join his father who had found work in
Western Australia. Nine years later he was a
young Perth businessman with an enthusiasm for
football. He formed the Young Australia Football
League to encourage schoolboy participation in
Australian Rules football at a time when that code
was being seriously challenged by soccer,

especially in schools. Simons believed that if boys
travelled to play football against other districts
and other states, they would benefit both
mentally and physically. The YAFL became
popular and in 1907 a team went to the Eastern
States to play other schoolboy teams.

The YAFL acquired a city headquarters, formed a
band, and admitted girls changing its name to
the Young Australia League orYAL. By 1929 the
'Boss', as Simons was now known to his co¬
workers and young members, decided they
needed a bush block for camps, holidays and,
most importantly, band practice.

He searched the hills east of Perth for months
looking for his bush dream. It had to be

...quiet, secluded and off the beaten track. It must
have a permanent brook with a good supply of
fresh, pure water. It must have an abundance of
natural growth, preferably with maidenhair fern,
wildflowers, tall gums, she-oaks, black butts,
banksias, blackboys and with rich soil in which,
with cultivation and water, flora from other states
and perhaps overseas, would survive.’

Today I marvel at his vision. Araluen is all he
searched for, and much more.

12

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

The block was purchased and officially opened to
the public in November 1930. Known as Araluen
meaning variously 'running waters', 'singing
waters' or 'place of lilies' it was to be a picnic
spot and a holiday camp for YAL members, their
parents and friends, a parade ground for the
band - and a garden.

In the next 10 years five log cabin cottages were
built, rock terraces were formed on the sides of
the steep valley, trees were planted and gardens
made. A major project, a memorial to 89 former
YAL members who had died in the 1914-18 war,
was created on a west-facing hillside. It consisted
of a series of five terraces flanked by 89 Cupressus
sempervirens, planted in the shape of a lyre, the
symbol for music as so many of those killed had
been bandsmen. There was ...a waterfall ...made
to cascade down the slope and over several
smaller falls between the differing terrace levels,
its tinkling music infusing life into the memorial
and singing an eternal requiem. 2

Called 'The Grove of the Unforgotten', it has now
reached maturity and the pencil pines have grown
to create a sky-ceilinged place of great
tranquillity. At the base of the Grove there is a
large 'Pool of Reflection' mirroring a magnificent
jacaranda that eventually drops its deep-coloured
flowers, turning the Pool into a magic blue lake.

In 1940 Jack Italiano, an Italian stone mason and
gardener completed the most impressive feature
at Araluen, the Margaret Simons Memorial
Pergola, a tribute to J.J.'s mother who had died in
1937. She had encouraged and physically helped
her son with his Araluen dream. One of the most
impressive man-made structures in Perth the
Pergola was mainly the physical work of one man
and a horse. It consists of 38 massive pillars of
small stones topped by great logs, 35-40cms in
diameter. The Pergola was opened on Mother's

Day 1940 and apart from a rock swimming pool
and poolside colonnade it was the last major work
at Araluen for many years as the 1939-45 war put
a halt to all gardening or building activities.

Over the years the League's popularity waned as
young people wanted to travel independently.

J.J. Simons had died in 1948 but the YAL
continued because of its band, its holiday retreat
at Camp Simons and some small groups that still
travelled - my youngest son was one of nine
schoolboys who went on an escorted tour to
Singapore in 1975.

By 1985 the League was in desperate financial
straits. Araluen, now an overgrown, run-down
secret garden in the heart of which the Chalet
Healy Restaurant, originally built in 1937 as a
guest house, still functioned. Araluen and Chalet
Healy were sold. The purchaser's elaborate plans
for redevelopment were unsuitable and were
rejected by the local authority, the City of
Armadale. Araluen dreamed quietly on, the
honeysuckle climbing ever higher and wider.
However, as it was not for sale nothing could
be done.

Action - February to September 1990

After the Council's rejection of the Disney-like
plans, Mary Hargreaves, a gardening friend of
mine and a member of AGHS, rang me and
talked of her suggestion that Araluen should
become a botanic garden.

Then on Valentine's Day, Saturday, 14 February
1990, there was a notice in the West Australian.
Araluen Park was for sale at 1.4 millions dollars. I
rang Mary in great excitement but she was not
feeling her usual self and did not feel she could
face the fight. (That changed later and Mary has
been one of the greatest champions of Araluen and
is still vitally involved). It now seemed up to me.

Opposite Top Left:

Tulips and 'singing water'
at Araluen

Opposite Bottom Left:

One of the tiers in the Grove
of the Un forgotten

Opposite Top Right:

The cascade in the Grove of
the Unforgotten

Photos: Nina Crone

Above Left:

Planting of bluebells donated
by Mrs Mary Hargreaves

Above Right-
Swimming pool and
colonnade in spring 1991

Photos: Noelene Drage

Australian Garden History

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

13

Plan Showing the Water Courses in Araluen

6 E T T N A V 1 J

With great confidence I sat down to write to Carmen
Lawrence, the new Lady Premier, never dreaming she would
not think it was obvious that her government had to buy
Araluen. She thanked me for my interest and said she had
passed my letter on. To the Minister for Racing and Gaming!
Now I know some people do look on gardening as a
relaxation and a bit of a gamble - but Sport? Gaming?

I then wrote to most of the Cabinet. I received polite letters
all saying the same thing. They thanked me for my interest
but at that stage they were not considering buying Araluen. I
started talking about Araluen to friends and anyone else who
would listen. They all thought it should be saved. In late April
the young agent handling the sale, who knew of my interest,
told me I was likely to miss out.

On 2 May Mrs Ann Cullity, then president of the Board of the
Western Australian Botanic Garden, Dr Paul Wycherley, the
Director of King's Park Botanic Garden, the agent and I met.

The King's Park people were sympathetic but said they could
not help. I asked if there was a way of 'buying' time. The
agent told me I could put a holding option on the sale for 30
days. A sum of $8,000 to $10,000 was mentioned so I wrote a
cheque for $8,000 and 'bought' breathing space.

The following week several things happened. Peter Thorn,
president of the Tree Society and I decided to call a public
meeting for Monday 14 May. I thought I had better see a
lawyer to establish my position as one thing was certain, I did
not have $1.4 million. I did not even have $1.3 million, my
option! The Tree Society arranged for me to meet with a
lawyer, a delightful man who looked slightly amused, or
amazed, and said 'I think you need some publicity'. He picked
up the phone and rang the West Australian.

On Friday 11 May at Araluen I met with Michael Zekelich, an
investigative journalist, and Nic Ellis, an imaginative
photographer. The next morning their article and photo
generated unbelievable interest. The phone rang all through
the weekend.

One hundred and seventy people attended the public
meeting sponsored by the Tree Society on the following
Monday in the Chalet at Araluen, A Steering Committee was
formed. The campaign to save Araluen was off and away.
Somewhere in those early weeks, Ian Blackburn, the Mayor
of Armadale told Dave Everall, of the Department of
Planning and Urban Development, about the Chalet
meeting. Everall agreed that Araluen should be bought for
the people. For the next three and a half months there were
Sunday traffic jams because of the number of people 'going
back' to Araluen.

On 11 June, Kay Hallahan, Minister for Planning and Urban
Development and a YAL member in her youth, announced
that the government would buy Araluen. More photo
opportunities for Nic Ellis! Later Kay Hallahan told me that she
had more letters concerning Araluen than on any other
subject during her ministry. Our Steering Committee
metamorphosed into the Araluen Botanic Park Foundation,
Incorporated. From September 1, 1990 when the Lawrence
Government officially took over the Park, the Foundation
assisted the Department of Planning to make it 'fit for its
purpose'. Five years later the Foundation leased Araluen from
the Government for a tulip bulb rental and, with a descending
grant, it has been running the park ever since.

Paradise Regained

The Park is now cleared of its honeysuckle, well almost. It has
a six-week Tulip Festival every year, concerts and other
musical activities including a magical 'Carols by Torchlight', a
'Midsummer Night's Dinner 1 (again magical) under the
colonnade beside the pool and many other 'happenings'. Last
year 92,000 visitors came to the Park and the numbers
increase each year.

There is a dedicated staff, not nearly enough by Botanic
Garden standards, but all are young, enthusiastic professionals
who can change hats at a second's notice. One moment a
seedling planter, the next a train driver. Another heartening
thing is the volunteer support that has been generated - the
philanthropist spirit of J.J. Simons continues after all these
years. There are the weeders (The Wednesday Wonders),
shop keepers, train drivers (we acquired a little 3-carriage train
last year) and there are gate keepers, tulip bulb planters,
traffic facilitators, gardening groups and many more
individuals who help in different ways. There are Community
Service, Work for the Dole and Job Training schemes in
operation. A nearby prison also helps with manual labour.

14

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

Some of the early planting has survived notably a Moreton
Bay Chestnut ( Castanospermum australe), a Burdekin Plum
(Pleiogynium timorense), huge clumps of Doryanthes palmeri,
a magnificent stand of Eucalyptus viminalis, quite a lot of
Ceratopetalum gummiferum and a dozen or more
rhododendrons.

Literally tens of thousands of bulbs have been added to those
surviving in 1990. This year 100,000 tulips were planted by
volunteers over two weekends to give spectacular displays.

Six years ago we planted a large area of roses towards the
eastern boundary - a big bed of Alister Clark's strong growing
creations, and another area of Tea roses. The kangaroos loved
them. For four years the Teas did not get above 30cm, and
the Clarks looked like moulting fowls most of the time, but
when the park was fenced the roses grew so well that maybe
the kangaroos did us a favour.

The Simons Pergola was said to have had 80 climbing roses
growing on it in the early years. Now there is quite a lot of
shade but we are trying roses again - there were four or five
still there from 1938. We actually have copies of the working
notes used to plant the roses on August 29 and 30, 1938 in
'Boss' Simons' handwriting, and one of the three original
suppliers of those roses is still one of our leading nurseries.
This year they have re-supplied two of each of the same roses
on the 1938 list apart from three varieties that are now
unobtainable. Their donation is typical of the way the garden
is being restored and supported. Another rose nursery gives
us end of season treasures, mainly older, obscure roses.

There is no space to list the all the planting of the last 10
years, but magnolias are 3-4m high already, Japanese maples
are thriving, birches are growing happily beside the stream and
the camellias become more spectacular every year. We have
planted some WA wildflowers, but not a lot as King's Park
specialises in those. Our aim is to grow exotics for people who
cannot always go elsewhere to see the beauty of a magnolia in
full bloom or a sweep of tulips on a rock terrace.

Our garden project at the moment is a contour walk which will
become 'The Bark Walk', featuring varieties of trees with
interesting trunks or bark. The path is so constructed that you
will be really close, within hugging distance of most of them,
except the Chorisia maybe.

Also exciting is the fact that there are lots of early gardening
records that have not been published or even read by most
people. In August this year Cyril Ayris wrote a small book on
Araluen which is available from the Foundation. 3 It contains
quite a lot of early history of the League and good 'then and
now' photos of the garden.

Postscript on campaigning

I am often asked whether I would do a 'save the garden
campaign' again. I honestly do not know. I was completely
ignorant of the way politics actually work then (not now!) and I
sometimes think that is why the project succeeded. My action
was absolutely apolitical. At the time, early May 1990, all
government response had been NO. There was not even mild
interest expressed in any of those ministerial letters. I consider
my response a desperate Irish action to give us time to find a
miracle. Maybe it was the unusual nature of the issue that
caught people's imagination and caused the Government
such surprise. My own friends were variously aghast, shocked,
intrigued, enthusiastic - but all were supportive and that
definitely helped me through those months. People still ask if
I got my money back. Yes, I did, eventually, although at one
time I received a letter pointing out that I must come up with
the $1.3 million. More lawyers!

From Left: Mrs Noelene Drage (Perth), Mrs Billie Hamilton (AGHS, Victoria),
Mrs Mary Hargreaves, (AGHS, WA) and Mrs Heather Thompson (AGHS, WA)

I hope you have realised that I love gardens, and all that goes
with gardening, far more than politics! To see Araluen re¬
blossom and be loved, enjoyed and valued is the greatest
reward an innocent, unintentional lobbyist could ever hope
for. Now I see Araluen as our contribution towards trying to
keep a balance of beauty in this poor old post-September 11
world that we all share.

' Courtney, Victor, The Life ofJ.J. Simons, Halstead Press, Sydney, 1961
1 As above

1 Araluen Botanic Park Foundation Inc., 361 Croyden Road, Roleystone, WA 6111.
Ph: (08) 9496 1171 Fax: (08) 9496 1081
Email: info@araluenbotanicpark.com.au

Noelene Drage spent her early years on a wheat belt farm at
Yuna, 70 miles east of Geraldton in WA where there was only
a garden for the four winter months every year. She always
loved flowers so after this deprived floral childhood she
bought a florist shop in 1970 after bringing up a family. She
has been involved with roses and is presently jointly writing a
book on Tea Roses.

Australian Garden History

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

15

Best-Kept Secrets

By Sandra Pullman

Top left:

Upper terrace with shelter
Footscray Park c. 1 927

Footscray Park is one of Melbourne's best-kept
secrets. In 1996 Heritage Victoria classified it as
having State Significance considering it the
largest and most intact Edwardian park in
Victoria. 1 Its making falls within the second phase
of development of public parks in Victoria. The
English Arts and Crafts movement of the 19th
century, made popular by Reginald Blomfield and
Thomas Mawson, influenced the design of
Footscray Park. Victoria's Edwardian gardens were
also influenced by Charles Bogue Luffman who
designed Burnley Gardens and the Metropolitan
Golf Links, Melbourne, Hugh Linakerwho
designed King's Domain Gardens in Melbourne,
and Edna Walling. 2

Footscray Park is an evocative park. To visit it is to
step back in time since much of the Edwardian
structure and planting is still intact. The magic of
the garden lies in its rustic stone structures, lily
ponds where which fish dart about, Arcadian
bridges, flights of steps flanked with classical
urns, and a richly diverse plant collection.

Top right:

Nymphaea stellata,

Footscray Park c.1927

Contents page:

David Matthews, 1916

Hand-tinted glass slides by
David Matthews, courtesy of
Footscray Historical Society,
David Matthews Collection

The park is of horticultural merit having trees and
shrubs listed on the Victorian Significant Tree
Register. There is the rare Brahea armata, the Blue
Hesper palm (there are only two in Australia) that
curator David Matthews brought back from the
Adelaide Botanic Gardens. It is still in its original
circular bed at the top of the main axial path.
There is the unusual Angophora hispida (Dwarf
Apple), the graceful Cupressus macrocarpa
'Hodginsii', Ficus microcarpa var. Hilli (Hill's Fig)
and the beautiful Ulmus glabra 'Exoniensis'

(Exeter Elm). The shrubs are Vitex agnus-castus
(Chaste Tree) and Brunsfelsia paciflora var.
calycina. Other plants of interest are the three
remaining Populus deltoides (American
Cottonwoods) and the very graceful X
Cupressocyparis leylandii 'Casterwellan'. 3
The park follows the contour lines of the steep
banks of the Maribyrnong River opposite

Flemington Race Course and it has a wonderful
view of over the racetrack. The Victorian Racing
Club (VRC) originally owned the land and leased
it to Angliss and Co. for grazing. In 1908-09, the
VRC was considering selling the land for housing
subdivision’ 1 but local residents, with the help of
the Footscray Council, prevented this. They
lobbied the State Government, which was at first
reluctant to engage. The local press, The
Advertiser of Footscray, took up the cause
reporting, on 5 May 1909, that the 'State
Treasurer was Lying Low'. The State Treasurer,
who was also the premier, finally agreed to pay
half the cost of purchasing the land, and, on 30
October 1910, a formal ceremony was held
dedicating 38 acres to the park.

With the City Engineer and William Guilfoyle, the
former Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, as
distinguished judges, a competition was held for
a design for the park. Messrs. Klingender and
Alsop, architects, were awarded the winning prize,
named 'Eucalyptus Globulus' with prize-money of
20 guineas. Guilfoyle remarked 'that it was was a
worthwhile design, while the others weren't worth
considering'. The City Surveyor agreed that
Alsop's plan was superior, but he felt that
Contour's plan was favourable and it was awarded
second prize. Alsop's plan was budgeted at
£4,000 and Contour's at £44,000. 5

How much of Alsop's design was implemented is
one of the great mysteries of Footscray Park. The
Advertiser reported on 4 March 1911 that the
local surveyor cheerfully combined the ideas of
the two winning designs and submitted them to
Council. The new plan had hardly any features
contained in either of the two successful designs
and The Advertiser stated that it was an
improvement.

Instead of expensive walks, flowerbeds and lawns,
space was provided for park-like areas with thickly

16

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

PLAN 2

The ornamental garden area of Footscray Park as
depicted in Matthews' 1948-49 plan.

The same area in 1967, by which time the Garden
was considerably reduced.

planted shade trees. Beds for annuals were placed in more
convenient locations and, instead of a rustic lake with bridges
set in Arcadian loveliness, the area was to be laid out as sports
grounds. To be included in the design, when Council had the
money, were a grandstand and small lake. Yet it seems that this
plan was not followed either because, when the Lily Pond was
built in 1931, rustic bridges and volcanic rock edging were
used to create an Arcadian atmosphere.

From 1912-1916 development of the park was very slow. The
Council had no money and so it appointed a Beautification
Committee consisting of local residents to raise funds. It was an
enormous task and the public-spirited citizens did a marvellous
job, considering they had to cut through solid rock. They held
theatre nights and weekend working bees that planted almost
1,000 trees and shrubs. Through the boulder-strewn ground
they made an avenue nearly one third of a mile long and 20
feet wide, they laid water pipes, constructed irrigation channels
and paths, and provided 50 seats. 6

A first-class curator - David Reeves Matthews

In 1908, before the VRC proposed selling the land for housing,
the Footscray City Council commissioned a report from D.M.
FHorsfall of the Royal Melbourne Golf Club at Sandringham. Fie
reported that the Council's parks and reserves were 'in a very
bad condition' and he recommended Council employ a first-
class man as Curator. Eight years later the Council followed his
advice. In 1916 they indeed appointed a first-class curator. Fie
was David Reeves Matthews. 7

Born in 1890 in Amherst, just outside Ararat, Matthews was the
son of James and Jane Matthews, nee Reeves. Fie served his
apprenticeship at the Ararat Botanic Gardens under the curator
Flugh Linaker. Matthews became curator when Linaker left to
take a more senior position as the Landscape Gardener of the
Lunacy Department at Mont Park. Linaker thought highly of
Matthews and took great care to support him giving him a
glowing reference when he applied for the job at Footscray. 8

David Matthews came to Melbourne with his wife, Anna
Elizabeth Matthews, nee Ritter, and their first son Gilbert. Their
other children - Anna, Keith and Sidney - were all born in
Footscray. When Matthews arrived at Footscray Park what he
saw was an avenue of Sugar Gums planted along Geelong
Road, some flowerbeds and spacious lawn. Over the next 14
years, with the help of the noted orchidologist, William
Nicholls, it was transformed into an aesthetically pleasing park.

Many of the features Matthews incorporated in the design are
still there today, although on a somewhat reduced scale. The
informal pathway that lazily meanders around the perimeter of

the park remains with the more formal, grassed terraces
symmetrically planted with trees and palms. At the old Moore
Street entrance the north/south central path creates an axis
leading down to the river and providing a spectacular view over
Flemington Race Course. 9

As you look down the central path another of the park's well-
kept secrets is revealed - the wisteria-covered Drew Walk
Pergola and Lily Pond. "Susso" workers during the Depression
built the Lily Pond in 1930-31. A plan recently found at the
Public Record Office shows that there was a gravel path winding
around the pond together with stone seats, Arcadian bridges,
steps, shrubberies, lawns and trees. In 1935 Mrs A. Green, a
local resident of Footscray, presented a granite fountain to the
gardens in memory of her husband and it was placed in the Lily
Pond. It incorporated a platypus in the design and is the only
known example of the Australiana theme in Victoria. 10 The pond
was one of David Matthews' favourite places and during
summer it is a picture when the water lilies are flowering.

Traveller and Photographer

Over the 48 years Matthews was Superintendent of Parks and
Gardens, he recorded the development of Footscray Park, and
of many other parks around Melbourne, on glass lantern slides
which are now in the possession of the Footscray Historical
Society. They date from 1916 and are a fascinating form of
early photography that captures a period in time long since
gone. Among the subjects are Burnley Gardens in Richmond,
Treasury Gardens in Melbourne, Maribyrnong Park in Essendon,
Central Park in Malvern, Wattle Park and King's Domain." The
slides are made of glass, 8cm x 8cm, and have a black and
white image on them. To preserve this image, there is a
backing glass making the slides about 2cm thick. Without the
backing glass the slides are very thin, fragile and easily broken.
Some of the slides were hand-coloured, presumably by
Matthews, and others have hand-drawn diagrams used to
illustrate points made in talks and lectures.

The glass slides also capture David Matthews' amazing outback
expedition through central and north western Australia in 1924.
It was a trip like those of the early explorers - Matthews knew
where he was going but he experienced many of the same
hardships, the unrelenting sun, the isolation, the dust, the heat,
and the flies.

Plis photographs capture the people he met and places he
visited. They record the hardships of life in the outback - the
poisoning of cattle by Indigofera sp., the miserable life of the
Aborigines with lubras waiting for their rations, and an
Aboriginal in his traditional walking costume - stark nudity. In
June 1930, Matthews made a similar trip with Lord and Lady

Australian Garden FHistory

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

17

Hand-drawn glass slide used for lectures by David Matthews.
Courtesy of Footscray Historical Society, David Matthews Collection

Somers and according to his diary they 'were very anxious to
have someone with them who could tell them the correct names'
of the birds and plants. They visited Lake Eyre, Palm Valley near
Stuart (Alice Springs), Hermannsburg and Barrow Creek. 12

Matthews was a member of the Field Naturalists' Club that had
an association with the Lord Somers camp on Westernport Bay.
A neighbouring property was Coolart, and, in 1939, Matthews
was invited to do a design for the redevelopment of the garden
there. His design included a small pond and arbor of stone and
wood. It was similar to the pond at Footscray Park but smaller.

In 1941 he was asked to prepare a plan for an arboretum. Both
plans were partially implemented by the then owner of Coolart,
Thomas Luxton. 13

entomology at Melbourne University'. He was heavily involved
with the Scouting movement, and in 1965 he was awarded a
British Empire Medal for community services. 14

In 1964, David Reeves Matthews retired, but he kept his ties
with Footscray Park for many years afterwards. He had created
that garden out of nothing and today it is still a magnificent
park. A visit to Footscray to see this wonderful park is most
rewarding because I have not revealed all its secrets. An ideal
time would be this summer, when the water lilies are flowering.
And do take a picnic hamper.

1 Footscray Park, Maribyrnong Council, Napier Street, Footscray

2 Heritage Victoria, 1996, Victorian Heritage Register, Maribyrnong Council, Napier
Street, Footscray

3 Whitehead, G.,1998, Footscray Park, Conservation Study, for City of Maribyrnong,
Maribyrnong Council, Napier Street, Footscray

4 Whitehead, G.,1998, Footscray Park, Conservation Study, for City of Maribyrnong,
Maribyrnong Council, Napier Street, Footscray

5 Whitehead, G.,1998, Footscray Park, Conservation Study, for City of Maribyrnong,
Maribyrnong Council, Napier Street, Footscray

6 Whitehead, G.,1998, Footscray Park, Conservation Study, for City of Maribyrnong,
Maribyrnong Council, Napier Street, Footscray

7 Horsfall, D.,1908 (?), Letter to the Footscray Council, Footscray Historical Society,
Maribyrnong Council, Napier Street, Footscray

8 Whitehead, G.,1998, Footscray Park, Conservation Study, for City of Maribyrnong,
Maribyrnong Council, Napier Street, Footscray

9 Whitehead, G.,1998, Footscray Park, Conservation Study, for City of Maribyrnong,
Maribyrnong Council, Napier Street, Footscray

10 Heritage Victoria, 1996, Victorian Heritage Register, Maribyrnong Council, Napier
Street, Footscray

11 Matthews, D., Glass Lantern Slides, Footscray Historical Society, Council, Napier
Street, Footscray

12 Matthews, D., 1930, Extracts from his Diary, Footscray Historical Society,
Maribyrnong Council, Napier Street, Footscray

13 Heritage Victoria, 1996, Victorian Heritage Register, Maribyrnong Council, Napier
Street, Footscray

14 Whitehead, G.,1998, Footscray Park, Conservation Study, for City of Maribyrnong,
Maribyrnong Council, Napier Street, Footscray

Matthews led an extraordinary life. He served on the Save the
Forest Campaign Committee, he assisted the State Nursery at
Macedon at various times and according to the Footscray City
Engineer had 'advised on so many questions and served with
distinction the faculties or schools of botany, agriculture and

Sandra Pullman is a student in the Bachelor of Applied Science
(Horticulture) course at Burnley College, University of
Melbourne. She has been cataloguing the David Matthews
Photographic Collection for the Footscray Historical Society.

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Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

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Australian Garden History

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

19

V0 l0tG

Barbara van den Broek 1932-2001

Architect and landscape
designer

Bom in new Zealand, Barbara van den Broek graduated in
Architecture from Auckland University prior to moving to
Brisbane where she was to add post-graduate diplomas in
Town and Country Planning, Landscape Architecture and a
Master of Science in Environmental Studies to her
qualifications. In 1963 she attracted press attention when she
won an open competition to design the area around the
lagoon at the University of Queensland, perhaps as much for
her status as a working mother of four young children as for
her skills as an architect and landscape architect.

A Council Member of the Australian Institute of Landscape
Architects (1975-79) and the Queensland Division of the Royal
Australian Planning Institute, Barbara was an active member of
the National Trust of Queensland from 1976, and the first
chairperson of its Landscape Sub-committee where her work
included a survey of street trees in the Brisbane City Centre.
She moved to Melbourne, working with Loder and Bayley,
and became a member of the Trust's Landscape Committee
(1981-83) and was elected to the Trust Council (1982-3)

Always a person open to new experiences, Barbara moved to
Sydney in 1983 to become the first landscape architect
employed by Blacktown Council, at a time when landscape
architects were rare in local government. Barbara became a
member of both the Landscape Conservation and Landscape
Assessment Committees in 1984. She transferred to the Urban
Parks Committee when it was formed in 1986. Its task was to
assist a consultant funded by a National Estate Grant to
research and document parks throughout NSW. After that
consultancy was completed, Barbara was one of the few
members of the committee to remain when it extended its brief
to become the Parks and Gardens Conservation Committee in
1991, a committee she chaired from 1995 to 1998.

After moving to Sydney Barbara had added teaching to her
already multi-facetted professional career and she joined Ryde
Horticultural College where, while teaching design, she
encouraged students to appreciate the heritage aspects of
parks and gardens. Public parks and open space remained her
primary interest and in addition to contributing to all of the
Parks and Gardens Conservation Committee's publications, in
1997 she co-authored the National Trust's Sydney Playgrounds
Study, which captured the attention of the media during
Heritage Week 2000.

Apart from her role with the technical committees, Barbara
actively assisted staff in the Conservation Division, attending
additional meetings, speaking at conferences and providing
technical advice. In recognition of her work for the Trust she
was awarded the Voluntary Service Silver Medallion for 1997.

Barbara kept abreast of current developments in architecture
and landscape, locally, and overseas, and translated this
knowledge to her students. Her approach was based on the
understanding of place, a detailed knowledge of plants, and
collaboration with colleagues. Her belief in the value of
experience was combined with a love of excursions, far and
wide, at the slightest provocation.

Barbara van den Broek was a skilful and artistic designer.
Professionally, she was involved with a wide range of
landscape design projects in several states, the Northern
Territory and Papua New Guinea. Her work included the
complete establishment plantings for parks and open spaces
in the first neighbourhoods at Tuggeranong valley, ACT; the
Civic Square in Alice Springs, the setting of the Bathers
Pavilion at Balmoral; the Olympic Basketball Stadium at
Blacktown, and numerous private gardens.

Barbara van den Broek never did anything for appearances or
her own professional self-aggrandisement; she accomplished
things quietly without fuss. She cared deeply about issues,
had incredible endurance and knew how to keep a sense of
humour. She knew we would not always win battles but had
the capacity to do her best, and go on to make a stand on
yet another issue. She could always be relied on for a careful,
considered opinion. Warm, reserved and sociable, her over¬
riding quality was one of gentle strength and honesty. We'll
miss our friend for her commitment, honesty and for her
gentle dry wit.

Colleen Morris and Meredith Walker

20

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

Betty Florence Maloney 1925 - 2001

Botanical artist and pioneer
in bush garden design

It was a beautiful spring afternoon on Saturday 22 September
when over 100 relatives and friends gathered amongst the
wildflowers at Stony Range Flora Reserve, Dee Why, to pay
tribute to Betty Maloney who died on 28 July 2001.

Widely known for her exquisite drawings and paintings of the
Australian flora, Betty Maloney was sought by many botanical
authors to illustrate their publications, and she established
herself as one of the nation's foremost botanical artists. For
example, her 86 paintings for the limited edition book The
Proteaceae of the Sydney Region, by Alec Blombery,
published in 1992, was presented to the State Library of New
South Wales, by Esso Australia, as a bicentennial gift to the
nation. Together with her sister Jean Walker, also a botanical
artist and bush garden enthusiast, Maloney was equally well
known for her pioneering work in promoting the theory and
practice of Australian bush gardens.

Born in Colac, Victoria, Jean and Betty Brown studied art at
the Melbourne Technical College before moving, with their
husbands, to Sydney, where they were all captivated by the
Hawkesbury sandstone landscape and its unique flora. They
joined the Society for Growing Australian Plants (now the
Australian Plant Society), and each created a garden of
entirely native plant species around their respective houses -
Jean and Ralph at Balgowlah Fleights, Betty and Reg at
French's Forest. In 1964 the two sisters formed a landscape
design consultancy and began designing gardens as
abstractions of the Sydney bushland, planting only
indigenous species and using local organic materials for
construction. Their gardens were always consciously designed
with an emphasis on aesthetic composition and human use,
their stated philosophy being 'naturalness with order'.

Betty Maloney and Jean walker are probably best known for
their delightful books Designing Australian Bush Gardens, first
published in 1966, and More About Bush Gardens, published
a year later. Designed and illustrated by the authors, and
based largely on their own gardens, the books appealed to
readers who found their ideas practical and easy to emulate.
Many of the illustrations have a unique visual texture which
brings the plans to life and allows the reader to use them
literally as working drawings. At the time, these publications
helped stimulate a wider interest in the preservation of native
flora and the use and value of indigenous plants in suburban
gardens, and today are seen as seminal works among the
body of literature on bush gardens.

The Maloney garden at 18 Hurdis Avenue, Frenchs Forest,
became a model for those interested in creating a bush
garden of their own, and it was regularly open to the public.
It became something of a mecca for all bush garden
enthusiasts, and is now classified by the National Trust of
Australia. I have fond memories of my own visits to this
garden, talking with Betty amongst her beloved plants, and I
will always treasure my copies of those two little books, each
now signed by both Betty and Jean.

The contribution to botanical art and to Australian bush
gardens made by Betty Maloney and Jean Walker has been
recognised by an entry, which I have had the pleasure of
writing, in the forthcoming Oxford Companion to Australian
Gardens. I was also privileged to be asked to join the many
speakers who shared their memories of Betty at the
memorial gathering at Stony Range. Vale Betty Maloney.

Allan Correy

Plan for Fern Garden

From Betty Maloney and Jean Walker
More About Bush Gardens,

A.H. & A.W. Reed Pty Ltd, (Sydney), 1975

Australian Garden FHistory

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

21

Items Of Interest

Birthday Celebrations in
Portland

The Portland Botanic Gardens will hold a celebration on
Sunday 18 November to commemorate 150 years since land
was set aside for the creation of a public garden.

With Geelong, the Portland Botanic Gardens share the honour
of being jointly the second oldest botanic gardens in Victoria.
The oldest are the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne.

A guest speaker for the event will be John Hawker from
Heritage Victoria who will highlight the significance of the
gardens.The celebrations will focus on the community with
historic photograph displays, a free sausage sizzle,
entertainment and Devonshire teas.

Arthur Streeton:

The passionate gardener

Knowing garden-lovers watch out for the special exhibitions of
garden paintings which the Mornington Peninsula Regional
Gallery offers. This summer's exhibition focuses on the
significance of the still life and garden subjects of Arthur
Streeton in terms of his intimate knowledge of the natural
world and his technical virtuosity as a painter.

From the 1920s Streeton divided his time between his
properties in Toorak and Olinda, where he lovingly nurtured
and tended his expanding gardens. His obsession with
gardening led him to comment that he was often too busy
planting bulbs to take up his brush to paint.

Curated by Geoffrey Smith and the artist's grandson, Oliver
Streeton, Arthur Streeton: the passionate gardener can be
seen from 9 December to 17 February, 2002 at the

Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Civic Reserve, Dunns

Road, Mornington. Opening times are 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday
to Sunday (Closed Monday and some public holidays).
Admission (including GST) is $3.30 for adults and $1.65 for
students and concession holders.

A Working Holiday on
Norfolk Island

Helen Page is considering organising a visit to Norfolk Island.

It will be a combined guided discovery tour and working bee
in the Norfolk Island Botanical Gardens & National Park. Half
of each day will be spent working and the remainder of the
time touring or relaxing. The envisaged duration is
approximately 10 days in September/October 2002. There is
the possibility of some sponsorship to reduce costs in
exchange for hands-on work. AGHS members who are
interested in this activity should send their name to
helenpage@bigpond.com or contact her by telephone on
03 9397 2260.

What's in a Name?

The ACT/Monaro/Riverina Branch covers a fine tract of
territory and it works hard to justify its triple name. The
Branch organised a major event, a bus trip to Griffith along
the Burley Griffin Way from Canberra to Griffith, to coincide
with the Griffith Garden Festival (October 13 and 14). This
excursion allowed the Branch to earn its Riverina name and at
the same time show members the culturally and climatically
different gardens of the MIA (Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area).

Thanks

Thanks to Jane Bunney, Nina Crone, Di Ellerton, Jane
Johnson, John and Beverley Joyce, Laura Lewis, Cate McKern,
Ann Miller, Helen Page, Annie Pyers, Kaye and Mike Stokes for
packing the last issue of the journal.

Heritage Victoria

Directory of Heritage Consultants & Contractors

To assist property owners, government, community groups and others, Heritage Victoria
maintains a Directory of heritage consultants and contractors. Anyone wishing to be
considered for listing must demonstrate relevant qualifications and heritage experience.

Applications are invited from

architects

builders and associated trades
(painters, slaters, plasterers

engineers (civil, structural &

mechanical)

planners

arborists and horticulturists

garden/landscape designers
and planners

archaeologists (historic and

maritime)

historians

materials conservators
exhibitions and collections
management specialists
cultural resource managers
valuers and economists
craftspeople and artisans

For application forms and other queries, please contact Angelique Ward on (03) 9655 9766 or email angelique.ward@doi.vic.gov.au
Forms may also be down-loaded from the following website www.heritage.vic.gov.au

22

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

Australian Garden History

Action

Garden Plans for ANZAC
House, Mount Hawthorn

The Western Australian Branch has agreed to offer some
planning assistance for the garden at ANZAC House. This
cottage is of national heritage importance being the first
memorial in Australia to recognise and commemorate the
Anzacs who served in World War I. It was built in Mt Hawthorn
and took the practical form of a home for wounded solders.

It was constructed with community support on Sunday, 12
February 1916 when up to 4,000 local men and women set to
work so effectively that by the end of the day even the lawn
had been laid and fencing erected. Private Porter was selected
as the first wounded Anzac soldier to be given ownership on
condition that the house could never be sold and must always
remain a memorial to the Anzac landing.

Tessa Watson will report further developments in this project.

Adding to Publications

The ACT/Monaro/Riverina Branch has begun work and another
publication in the its series on regional gardens. It will
document 'Fifield' on the outskirts of Yass and it has the
enthusiastic support of the private owners of this garden. The
aim is a 'launch' towards the middle of 2002.

Reprint

The reprint of Recording Historic Gardens by Richard Ratcliffe
has now been done by Victor Crittenden and his Mulini Press.
The ACT/Monaro/Riverina Branch has supplied copies to the
National Office for sale. The above branch can also be
contacted for copies through mebourke@ozemail.com.au. At
only $8 including postage in Australia the booklet represents
excellent value.

Mailbox

The subject of Chinese market gardens in Australia continues to
generate recollections from readers. Following Oline Richards'
article [Australian Garden History, Vol.13, No.1 July/August
2001] Frank Atkins of Waramanga, ACT wrote of a move to a
new housing development in Victoria Park W.A in 1926.

The Victoria Park house was in Thoroughgood Street,
which ran directly into the Chinese gardens running
around the marshy shoreline below the old Red Castle
Brewery, Rivervale Station and a large dairy farm with an
early brick homestead.

Melanie Kinsey of Riddell's Creek, Victoria e-mailed
'/ was tickled pink to read the article on Tay Creggan
[Australian Garden History Vol.12, No.6 May/June 2001], as
I used to be head gardener at Strathcona 1988-1990 and
had nominal charge over the two guys who looked after
the grounds at Tay Creggan. I used to think what a wonder
it must have been, and how good it could look again.'
Melanie is now the President of the Friends of Gisborne
Botanic Gardens.

From Queensland, Bob Dobbs, curator of the new Roma
Street Parklands in Brisbane reminds us of another site
renewal. Between 1874 and 1992, the Roma Street railway
station, a block from Brisbane City Centre was a thriving hub of
the Queensland rail network. The area also had housed the
Brisbane Markets between 1884 and 1964, and air-raid shelters
during the Second World War. In 1999, taking advantage of its
natural reservoir and central location, the area was developed
into 16ha of public gardens, recalling its pre-rail days as a
meeting place for a number of local indigenous groups.

The Roma Street Parkland Precincts all have their own self-
guided walks - the Spectacle Garden Walk, The Forest Walk,
The Lake Precinct Walk and the Roma Street Parkland Art Walk.

On-line

Fernery Restoration Rewarded

Twenty years ago when Wallace and Katherine Fyfe bought
Ascog Hall on the Isle of Bute they stumbled on a derelict
structure in the overgrown garden. There was one clue to its
identity. A rare specimen of Todea barbara was found under
the debris.

The sunken fernery which was the subject of a detailed article
in an 1879 edition of The Gardener's Chronicle has been
awarded the Historic Gardens Scottish Prize for 2001. The
fascinating story of its meticulous restoration can be found on
the Historic Garden web-site.
www.historicgardens.freeserve.co.uk

And...

For more on Araluen
www.araluenbotanicpark.com.au

For more on Norfolk Island and its flora
www.anbg.gov.au/norfolk.gardens

For more on The Roma Street Parklands

www.romastreetparkland.com

Above: Arthur Streeton, the artist's home,Grange Road, c.1935
Private collection

Contents page: Arthur Streeton, Roses 1929
Collection, National Gallery of Victoria

- Australian Garden History

Vol. 13 No. 3 November/December 2001

23

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