Treasury Gardens

Treasury Gardens during winter
Treasury Gardens is a popular destination for lunch
Treasury Gardens during summer
A tame possum in the Treasury Gardens

The Treasury Gardens consist of 5.8 hectares (14.4 acres) on the south-eastern side of the Melbourne Central Business District, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The gardens are bounded by Wellington Parade, Spring Street, Treasury Place, and by the Fitzroy Gardens across Lansdowne street to the west. They form part of a network of city gardens including Fitzroy Gardens, Carlton Gardens, Flagstaff Gardens and Kings Domain. The gardens are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register[1] for their historical, archaeological, social, aesthetic and scientific (horticultural) importance for its outstanding nineteenth century design, path layout and planting.

The Gardens are a short walk from Victoria’s Parliament House and are overlooked by the old Treasury buildings, 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 close to 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 city.

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, 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), deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara), English elm (Ulmus procera), white poplar (Populus alba), Dutch elm (Ulmus x hollandica), Dutch elm (small-leaved form), Port Jackson fig (Ficus rubiginosa), Platanus x acerifolia, pedunculate oak (Quercus robur), Agonis flexuosa, Phoenix canariensis, Washingtonia robusta, Butia capitata, Chamaerops humilis, river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla), Brachychiton x roseus, and grevillea (Grevillea hilliana). Along the embankment of Treasury Place there are hydrangeas, ivy and flax. The gardens are highly populated with native common brushtail possums that are popular with visitors at night. Other noctural 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:

History

References

  1. "Treasury Gardens, Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1887, Heritage Overlay HO917". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 2011-03-28.

External links

Coordinates: 37°48′51″S 144°58′34″E / 37.814158°S 144.976194°E / -37.814158; 144.976194

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