Queens Gardens, Townsville
Description
Queens Gardens is a heritage-listed botanical garden in Townsville, Queensland. Queens Gardens are located in the suburb of North Ward, at the base of Castle Hill, near to both the city centre and The Strand beachside park. They have been called Townsville's finest park.LayoutQueens Botanic Gardens are maintained by Townsville City Council . The garden is loosely divided into quadrants and is it in the pleasure garden style of many colonial gardens of the time. many economic plants exist from its development stage as a trial garden. Special areas include the Events Lawn with magnificent trees, a formal rose garden, the Herb Society's garden, a perennial border, two hedged mazes, Frangipani collection, a rainforest walk and the black bean avenue. There is also a small aviary featuring peacocks, lorikeets and sulfur-crested cockatoos. The gardens were extensively damaged during cyclone Yasi but is covering well. There are several sites well suited to outdoor weddings and similar events.HistoryThe gardens were formally established in 1870, and known at that time as the Botanical Gardens Reserve. They represented an acclimatisation garden, part of the colonial town's agricultural planning for both local food supply and development of farming industry. Initially 40.5 hectares (100 acres) of land was set aside for a variety of exotic species, including cocoa, African oil palms and mangoes. Some of the hoop pines and black beans (Castanospermum australe) planted at that time are still growing today and may be the oldest cultivated specimens in Australia.
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