About 15 RCC members enjoyed a delightful garden ramble through the English Garden in Weston Park on Sunday 31 October, taking advantage of our beautiful spring weather. Our group was privileged to have nona-generian Rotarian John Gray (from the Rotary Club of Woden), a retired heritage landscape consultant, provide us with an opening address as to the immense heritage significance of this site.
Rotarian John Gray recites the history of the beginnings of the Garden.
This heritage was that of the legacy of Thomas Charles George Weston (1866-1935) who was Officer-in-charge of Afforestation (later Parks and Gardens) for the Departments of Home Affairs (1913-16), Home and Territories (1916-25) and the Federal Capital Commission (1925-26). It was here at the Yarralumla Nursery and adjacent Westbourne Woods that trials of exotic and native trees and shrubs were conducted under Weston’s supervision from the 1920s onwards. The 1.2 million trees planted under Weston’s supervision helped create the landscape that Canberra enjoys today.
Stephen at the English Garden Memorial Wall (erected 1999) - suitably SunSmart for the tour!
RCC member and District Environmental Envoy Dr Stephen Utick then led a tour beginning at a recent memorial Planting Memories, marking the local fallen in World War One.
The Planting Memories Memorial (erected 2016)
This was followed a walk to the English Garden Memorial Wall constructed in 1999. The English Garden itself was created by assistant manager Jack Moore during the 1960s, featuring numerous exotics planted among established arboretum specimens.
Stephen then led our ramble to view the tree and shrub plantings on site, introducing the features of a heritage park and landscape, this being a landscape of memories, with trees as centenarian sentinels (i.e. over 100 years old) and as cultural symbols.
Look and learn!
In the second part of the tour, Stephen led us through the exotics in the wood including camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons, outlining the past fascination with Asian countries as a source of much flowering garden spectacle.
Some of the party concluded the tour with lunch at the Yarralumla Gallery and the Oaks Brasserie located in what was once Hobday’s Cottage. There, we were joined by John Gray’s wife Pixie.
The subject of Heritage Parks and Landscapes is but one of 17 potential areas of interest designated under the Rotary District’s Environmental Plan for future environmental projects. Pending negotiations with ACT Urban Services at Yarralumla Nursery, there may be scope for Rotary project involvement at the English Garden in the future.