| Carlton Gardens, Melbourne |
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The Carlton Gardens is a World Heritage Site located on the northeastern edge of the Central Business District in the Suburb of Carlton , in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia . DESCRIPTION The 26 hectare (64 acre) site contains the Royal Exhibition Building , Melbourne Museum and Imax Cinema, tennis courts and an award winning children's playground. The rectangular site is bound by Victoria Street , Rathdowne Street, Carlton Street, and Nicholson Street . From the Exhibition building the gardens gently slope down to the southwest and northeast. According to the World Heritage listing: ''The Royal Exhibition Buildings and Carlton Gardens are of historical, architectural, aesthetic, social and scientific (botanical) significance to the State of Victoria.'' HORTICULTURE The gardens are an outstanding example of Victorian era Horticulture with sweeping lawns and varied European and Australian tree plantings consisting of deciduous English Oak s, White Poplar , Plane trees, Elm s, Conifer s, Cedar s, Turkey Oak s, Araucaria s and evergreens such as Moreton Bay Fig s, combined with flower beds of annuals and shrubs. A network of tree lined paths provide formal avenues for highlighting the fountains and architecture of the Exhibition building. This includes the ''grand allee'' of plane trees that lead to the exhibition building. Two small ornamental lakes adorn the southern section of the park. The northern section contains the Museum, tennis courts, maintenaince depot and curator's cottage, and the children's playground designed as a Victorian maze. The listing in the Victorian heritage says in part: ''The Carlton Gardens are of scientific (botanical) significance for their outstanding collection of plants, including conifers, palms, evergreen and deciduous trees, many of which have grown to an outstanding size and form. The elm avenues of Ulmus procera( English Elm ) and Ulmus hollandica ( Dutch Elm ) are significant as few examples remain world wide due to Dutch Elm Disease . The Garden contains a rare specimen of Acmena ingens (an Australian Lillypilly ), only five other specimens are known, an uncommon Harpephyllum caffrum and the largest recorded in Victoria, Taxodium distichum, and outstanding specimens of Chamaecyparis funebris and Ficus macrophylla, south west of the Royal Exhibition Building.'' Wildlife includes Possum s, ducks and ducklings in spring, Tawny Frogmouth s, and other urban environment birds. The gardens contain three important fountains: the Hochgurtel Fountain, designed for the 1880 Exhibition by sculptor Joseph Hochgurtel; the French Fountain; and the Westgarth Drinking Fountain. HISTORY
The Exhibition Building is still used for exhibitions, including for the annual Melbourne International Flower And Garden Show . The Melbourne Exhibition And Convention Centre , opened in 1996 at Southbank , provides more modern facilities and has become Melbourn'e prime location for exhibitions and conventions. REFERENCES
''See also Royal Exhibition Building '' |
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