Description
This fig located is located in a goods yard on O’Dea Avenue, and was likely planted during the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. It is of similar age and structural characteristics to other significant Port Jackson Figs located in nearby Waterloo Park and Joynton Avenue, and Green Square.
It has a prominent position on a busy thoroughfare near the corner of O’Dea Avenue and Joynton Avenue. This specimen also combines with other fig planting in Joynton Avenue and neighbouring side streets to reinforce a sense of visual continuity in these streetscapes (refer to Listings for Joynton Avenue, Cadigal Avenue and Austin Grove). This glabrous leaf form (ie. no hairs) of the Port Jackson Fig was most likely sourced originally from the rainforests of northern NSW or south-eastern Queensland.
Significance
This Port Jackson Fig (F. rubiginosa f. glabrescens), is significance at the local level in terms of visual, social and biodiversity values in this urban setting. The tree is a landmark specimen of substantial scale and outstanding proportions.
Historical notes
Port Jackson Figs were planted extensively throughout the parklands of the City of Sydney and became defining elements of these late Victorian and early Federation landscapes. This legacy was largely due to the work of Charles Moore (Director, Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens 1848-1896) and other leading botanists and nurserymen during this period of Sydney’s development.
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