FITZROY GARDENS 1

The Fitzroy Gardens are a 26 hectare (64 acre) urban park located on the southeastern edge of the Melbourne Central Business District in East Melbourne. The gardens are bounded by Clarendon Street, Albert Street, Lansdowne Street, and Wellington Parade with the Treasury Gardens across Lansdowne street to the west. The gardens are one of the major Victorian era landscaped gardens in Australia and add to Melbourne's claim to being the garden city of Australia. Set within the gardens are: An ornamental lake, kiosk and cafe, a conservatory, Captain Cooks' Cottage (a house where James Cook reputedly spent some years of his childhood - the cottage was in England at that time and was transported to Australia - more of that in a future post). Sinclair’s Cottage (Visitor information), model Tudor village, fountains and sculptures, a band pavilion, the rotunda and the fairy tree.


The most notable feature of the Gardens is the wonderful trees that have been used to line many of the pathways (set out like the radiating stripes of the Union Jack). The gardens were initially designed by Clement Hodgkinson and planted by park gardener, James Sinclair, as a dense woodland with meandering avenues. The land originally had been swampy with a creek draining into the Yarra River. The creek was landscaped with ferns and 130 willows, but that did not stop it smelling foul from the sewage from the houses of East Melbourne. The creek was used for irrigation of the western side of the gardens for fifty years. In the early 1900s the creek water substantially improved when sewerage mains were installed to the residences of East Melbourne. During the 1880s and 1890s many of the blue gums and elms were removed to create more room for existing trees, as well as sweeping lawns and ornamental flowerbeds. Further landscaping and beautification features formed the gardens into what they are today: An oasis of green and urban serenity, within walking distance of the CBD.


This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

The "Grey Street" fountain is one of the oldest fountains to be found in Melbourne’s Gardens. It was first commenced in 1863 under the direction of C. Hodgkinson, the Assistant Commissioner of Lands and Survey. In the distance to the right is the old, square "Bandstand" is of Corinthian design and enclosed by a low iron fence. It was designed and erected by George Dodd in 1864 at a cost of £322.

Serene reflections...

Two native rainbow lorikeets using the fountain as a giant birdbath!

The Common Indian Myna is an introduced species and it has become a serious threat to the ecosystems of Australia. They still look quite pretty, though...

This is the introduced rock dove, also known as feral pigeon or racing pigeon. 

The "Temple of the Winds" rotunda is located north west of the kiosk and was constructed in 1873 under Bickford’s curatorship. The building consists of a domed concrete roof supported by ten Corinthian columns. The temple was erected by Thomas Julian and Co. at a cost of £275. It has 10 columns as opposed tot he usual 8 or 12 (being more easily divisible to indicate the points of the compass).