Press Releases
1 May 2006
The Australian Garden at a glance
Building a public garden of such scale and significance is a rare opportunity. It last happened in Victoria in the 1870s, when William Guilfoyle began creating the magnificent Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.
-
The Australian Garden is located within the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, with the first 11 hectares opening on Sunday 28 May.
-
The Australian Garden is a place where visitors can immerse themselves in Australian flora, landscape, art and architecture.
-
The Australian Garden can be appreciated at several levels – as a celebration of the diversity of Australian plants, as an exploration of the influence of plants and landscapes on Indigenous and European cultures, as a source of knowledge about our environment and its management, and as a demonstration of sustainable practices for home gardeners.
-
When finished, the complete 21 hectare Australian Garden will transform an old sand mine into a place of beauty, education and pleasure.
-
The Australian Garden was designed by leading landscape architects, Taylor Cullity Lethlean, with renowned plant designer Paul Thompson.
-
In 1997, the design won the Landscape Excellence Award and the Landscape Master Plan Award from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (Victorian and Tasmanian Chapters). It was also successful in the 1998 Australian Institute of Landscape Architects’ national awards, by winning the national Landscape Masterplan award.
-
The Australian Garden includes the following features:
-
Visitor Centre
-
Rockpool Waterway
-
Escarpment Wall
-
Sand Garden
-
Eucalypt Walk
-
Exhibition Gardens
-
About 100,000 plants have been planted over the past three years. This is around twice the amount of plants in the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. These include 1000 advanced trees in 15 different landscape displays and exhibition gardens.
-
The Australian Garden has generated over 300 job equivalents during construction and will offer over 100 employment opportunities associated with ongoing recreational expenditure by visitors.
-
Approximately 60,000 visitors currently visit the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne each year. It has significant untapped potential as a major tourist attraction for Victoria.
-
Visitation is expected to rise to 100,000 per annum over a number of years.
-
Funding for the Australian Garden will be provided through the State Government, philanthropic organisations and corporate donations.
-
The second and final stage of the Garden, covering about ten hectares, is planned to commence in 2007 and take about three years to design and construct. This section will include additional major landscape features such as a lake, more display gardens, artworks, an events space, and extended educational and visitor facilities.
Once opened:
Entry price
The entry price for adults is AU$9. Children under the age of 16 can enter the Australian Garden for free. The concession price is AU$6.75.
Opening hours
The Australian Garden is open daily from 9am to 5pm.
The Australian Garden will be closed on Christmas Day.
Guided tours, bookings
Guided tours and education programs will be available to Australian Garden visitors. These will cater to visitors of all ages. Our visitor programs will explore the stories of the Australian landscape in more detail.
A complete list of programs will be available at www.rbg.vic.gov.au/australian_garden
Public inquiries: Bookings can be made by calling +61 3 5990 2245.
|
