Description
While all of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain is considered to be of significant heritage status, this Register contains no specific detailed information on trees in this area which is under the statutory management of the The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust.
The Trust has completed a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the Royal Botanic Gardens (Conybeare Morrison – February 2005) which includes significance rankings for many of the established trees. Please refer to this document for further detailed information. The above document sets the direction for the conservation and management of the Gardens as a living historic resource.
Although not specifically covered in the above CMP, other areas such as Government House, The Domain and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music are considered equally significant, and many of the trees associated with these facilities are also considered significant trees. These are not directly covered or documented under this Register of Significant Trees.
Significance
The Botanic Gardens have played a pivotal role in the development and evolution of Sydney’s parks and significant tree collections.
The Domain & Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens, occupying the site of Governor Phillip’s original farm and the Government Domain, retain many features of historic significance dating back to the earliest years of the Colony. The Botanical Gardens, established in 1816 by Governor Macquarie, contain a vast collection of botanical specimens collected and propagated by the distinguished nineteenth century botanists, Richard Cunningham, Charles Moore and Joseph Maiden.
The cultivated Gardens (29Ha) and surrounding parklands of the Domain (30Ha) still retain some of the last remnants of former natural vegetation communities in the City of Sydney LGA.
The Gardens are scheduled in the Register of the National Estate, State Heritage Register, the City of Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012, Sydney City Heritage Study and classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW).
The Gardens’ living collection is described in the State Heritage Inventory “as an idiosyncratic collection of native and exotic plants (8,000 taxa and 45,000 accessions)”. As a group, and many individual trees, have outstanding visual, aesthetic, botanic, educational, commemorative, ecological and social values.
Historical notes
The Domain & Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens, occupying the site of Governor Phillip’s original farm and the Government Domain, retain many features of historic significance dating back to the earliest years of the Colony. The Botanical Gardens, established in 1816 by Governor Macquarie, contain a vast collection of botanical specimens collected and propagated by the distinguished nineteenth century botanists, Richard Cunningham, Charles Moore and Joseph Maiden.
The cultivated Gardens (29Ha) and surrounding parklands of the Domain (51Ha) still retain some of the last remnants of former natural vegetation communities in the City of Sydney LGA. The Gardens are scheduled in the Register of the National Estate, State Heritage Register, the City of Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2012, Sydney City Heritage Study and classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW). The Gardens’ living collection is described in the State Heritage Inventory “as an idiosyncratic collection of native and exotic plants (8,000 taxa and 45,000 accessions)”.
The Domain was established by Governor Phillip in 1788 for the Governor’s use. This area of land originally extended east from the Tank Stream to a stream which ran into Woolloomooloo Bay. Most of the ‘Inner Domain’, including Old Government House and its Grounds and the land between Bent Street and Bennelong Point was later alienated from the Domain. The natural landscape in 1788 would have been a mosaic of varying habitats from shrubby woodlands on the rugged hill-sides to taller forest and mesic understorey species in the valleys.
In a short period of time, the ‘Outer Domain’, including Mrs Macquarie’s Point and Farm Cove (originally known as Woccanmagully) was transformed, firstly with a farm to feed the struggling Colony and later, under Governor Macquarie and Mrs Macquarie’s direction, into a wildly picturesque landscape with magnificent harbour vistas. Governor Macquarie commenced construction of stone walls in 1811 to define the boundaries of the Domain, thus separating it from the town. By 1814, Governor Macquarie had begun developing his concept of establishing a Botanic Garden, the “Government Garden” in Farm Cove with the planting of two Norfolk Island Pines (Churches, S., 1990). Between 1812-1816, Governor Macquarie recorded the planting of further Norfolk Island Pines in the Domain. One of these, the “Antill Pine” became a landmark tree in the Gardens. It was removed in 1945.
The recognised foundation date for the Botanic Gardens is 1816. During the period 1816-1819, Mrs Macquarie’s Road was planted with English Oaks (Quercus robur), Stone Pines (Pinus pinea), Swamp Mahogany (Eucalyptus robusta) and Blackbutts (Eucalyptus pilularis). Some of these Swamp Mahoganies (Eucalyptus robusta) still remain as evidence of Australia’s earliest public planting scheme. In 1825, Francis Greenway, the Civil Architect, outlined a vision for the Government Domain to be planted in the English Landscape style of Capability Brown. The Botanic Gardens were well established by this stage and allowed entry on a restricted basis. Following further enlargement and reorganisation of the Gardens, they were opened to the general public in 1831. In 1847 the main public entry to the Gardens from Macquarie Street was renovated and planted as a fig tree avenue of Moreton Bay Figs (Ficus macrophylla). This avenue was largely removed during construction of the Cahill Expressway. The last remnant figs in the median strip were removed in 2003 amid considerable debate and protest by the community. A photograph taken in 1908 from the Art Gallery overlooking the Domain shows an expansive open lawn area, the maturing figs and other specimen trees. At this stage, the figs in Fig Tree Avenue were already over 60 years old.
The early leaders of the Botanic Gardens – Charles Fraser, Richard & Allan Cunningham, Charles Moore and Joseph Maiden together left a legacy of botanical endeavour, overlaying various landscape styles, altering the Garden’s overall form, its nineteenth century content and organisation of the plant collections (NSW Heritage Inventory). Nevertheless, it was Charles Moore, Director of the Botanic Gardens (1848-1896), who was largely responsible for the layout in its present form. Many of the specimen trees introduced to the Gardens by Moore still survive, including a number from the Pacific Islands, to which he made several voyages. Moreover, during his period as Director of the Botanic Gardens, Charles Moore re-shaped the cultural landscapes of the City of Sydney.
Up until c.1860 the Domain’s landscape character was still defined by large drifts of remnant regrowth woodland amid manicured open lawns. These species possibly included Blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis), Sydney Peppermint (E. piperita), Red Mahogany (E. resinifera), Narrow-leaved Scribbly Gum (E. racemosa), Red Bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera), and Smooth-barked Apple (Angophora costata). The natural understorey had been totally removed by this stage and the trees were in decline under the altered site conditions. In 1862, many of these trees were removed to prepare an oval for the first representative match of cricket between England and New South Wales.
The Garden Palace for the International Exhibition of 1879 was added during this period, taking a substantial portion of the Inner Domain’s open space. The building was destroyed by fire in 1882 allowing the development of a pleasure garden with statue-lined walks and floral displays. By the early 1870s, Macquarie’s English Oaks (planted in 1819) were in serious decline and it was during this period that Charles Moore began to replace these trees with Moreton Bay Figs (Ficus macrophylla) and Port Jackson Figs (Ficus rubiginosa f. glabrescens and f. rubiginosa). The layout of these large figs followed the Picturesque Style and contrasted markedly with the formality of the Fig Avenue and high Victorian Gardenesque approach of the Botanic Gardens.
Gallery
