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KYNETON BOTANIC GARDENS
MOLLISON STREET AND CLOWES STREET KYNETON, MACEDON RANGES SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
H1994 Kyneton gates
H1994 Kyneton gates
H1994 Kyneton gates
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H01994 kyneton botanic gardens gates
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H01994 kyneton botanic gardens specimen board
H1994 Kyneton Botanic Gdns Plan
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Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The Kyneton Botanic Gardens, originally of 18 acres, was temporarily reserved for a Botanic Gardens in August 1858, replacing the 2.5 acres reserved in March 1858 next to the Mechanics Institute, which was considered inadequate by the Council. A further 3 acres was reserved in 1884, then an additional 5 acres in 1902, and more land from the closure of the road reserve was added to the Gardens in 1903, to give a total area of about 24 acres. The Gardens are situated on the banks of the Campaspe River between the railway station and the centre of the town. In 1861 Mr Stuart Murrray, a local engineer, surveyor and architect, won a prize of £15 for his design for the gardens. Murray went on to design the Goulburn Weir and Victoria's early irrigation schemes. One of the first events to take place in the Gardens was the planting of three trees, including an Algerian Oak planted by Cr Jarrett on 19 May 1863 and dedicated to Queen Victoria, which still grows near the Ebden Street entrance. The first plants were provided by the community and during the 1870s more were obtained from Ferdinand von Mueller of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.

The upper level of the Kyneton Botanic Gardens, known as the Kyneton Public Gardens, is formally laid out with garden beds and mature trees, and features an 1880 bluestone wall, the 1936 commemorative entrance gates, c1900 gardener's office,1902 drinking fountain, c1905 rotunda, a shelter and two bluestone memorial pillars marking the entrance to McKenna Drive. The gardens contain a fine collection of mature trees including elms, firs, cedars, sequoias and a collection of outstanding and rare oaks. The middle section now contains a caravan park, introduced into the reserve in 1959, and the lower level contains specimen trees, a fernery, English Hawthorn hedges along the river, an oval and a pavilion relocated from the Kyneton saleyards during the 1970s.

Edward Gray, who had been employed there as a gardener for fifty years and was appointed curator from 1906 to c1909, prepared a display board inlaid with specimens of timber taken from seventy of the six hundred trees then growing in the Kyneton Public Gardens. The specimen board was given to the Kyneton Council by his widow in trust for the residents of the State. Amongst the samples displayed are some taken from an American Red Cedar and from a Chinese Cypress. This specimen board is at present located in the former Congregational Sunday School (now the Kyneton Arts Centre).

How is it significant?
The Kyneton Botanic Gardens are of historical, scientific, and aesthetic significance to the State of Victoria.

Why is it significant?
The Kyneton Botanic Gardens, established in 1858 soon after the discovery of gold in 1851, are historically significant as one of the earliest regional botanic garden established in Victoria. They are associated with the post-gold rush history of Victoria, when towns which had grown as a result of the gold discoveries aspired to becoming major provincial cities, with art galleries, botanic gardens, mechanics institutes and other cultural institutions befitting their status. Botanic Gardens had been established in Melbourne in 1846, Portland and Geelong in 1851, White Hills in 1854, Williamstown in 1856 and at Ballarat, Malmsbury and Hamilton in 1857.

The Kyneton Botanic Gardens are of aesthetic significance for their setting, on an undulating site sloping down to the Campaspe River, for the collection of significant plants, with mature trees of contrasting forms and colours, for the pinetum, for the fernery, and for the garden structures, including the bluestone wall, the entrance gates, the gardener's office, the rotunda, the drinking fountain, two memorial pillars, the shelter and for the contrast between the formal and informal areas. A prominent and unusual design feature is the large "Oak Circle", bordered by a privet, japonica and hawthorn hedge encircling rare oaks, and the single and double Hawthorn hedges lining the Gardens boundary along the Campaspe River.

The Kyneton Botanic Gardens are of scientific (botanical) significance for their collection of plants, especially the oaks and conifers, characteristic of late nineteenth century Victorian gardens, and including some rare and outstanding individual specimens such as Araucaria bidwillii, Abies nordmanniana, Cedrus atlantica f. glauca, Chamaecyparis funebris, two Quercus agrifolia, 1863 Quercus canariensis, Quercus leucotricophora, Quercus macrocarpa var. olivaefolius, 1902 Quercus robur, 3 Quercus suber, Quercus robur 'Concordia', Crataegus coccinoides, Quercus ilex, Juniperus oxycedrus, Prunus lusitanica 'Variegata', Cupressus lusitanica, Ginkgo biloba, Pinus wallichiana, Sequoia sempervirens, and Sequoiadendron giganteum. The planting includes Victoria's only known Quercus douglasii, and Victoria's largest and finest Jubaea chilensis, a palm now threatened in the wild. In the "Oak circle" is a rare Quercus alba, grafted onto Q. robur, Quercus canariensis x Q. robur, Quercus castaneifolia (hybrid), Quercus palustris, and 2 stumps of other grafted oaks.


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    • History

      KYNETON BOTANIC GARDENS - History


      Kyneton

      The first settlement in the Kyneton area was on part of Wedge Brothers station, where a camping ground for teamsters travelling to Bendigo was marked out in 1846. Governor La Trobe visited the area in 1848 and decided this site was suitable for the town of Kyneton, which was named after the town of the same name in Warwickshire. The town was surveyed and laid out in 1849.

      At the time of the goldrushes in the early 1850s, Kyneton was the nearest farming district to the Mount Alexander and Bendigo diggings. Cusack describes Kyneton in 1853 as "a scattering of trim bluestone buildings with the print of permanence on it". (Frank Cusack. Bendigo: A History. Melbourne, Heinemann, 1973. p. 33)

      In 1852, Kyneton had about 300 inhabitants, a post office, four hotels, no churches or banks, a slab police station and court house in the police paddock in Cemetery Road.

      HISTORY OF PLACE

      In May 1858 the Kyneton Council applied for the present site of the Kyneton Botanic Gardens.[Kyneton Observer 10 May 1858] Two months earlier, on 19 March, an alternative site had been granted to the Mechanics Institute which included the reservation of two and a half acres [one hectare] for a botanical garden. On 9 August 1858 a grant of 17 acres [6.8 hectares] of the present sit e was set aside. On 9 November 1861 a tender was accepted for the formation and gravelling of paths in the Gardens. On New Years Day 1863 a Kyneton newspaper reported on the Gardens and conservatory, describing them as the ?Cremorne of Kyneton?. It is not known if the paper was referring to the original Cremorne Gardens established in London by James Ellis in the early nineteenth century or the pleasure gardens established by Ellis at Richmond, Victoria in 1853. A large donation of trees and shrubs was received from the Government in May 1863. These were probably the plants which were available in May each year from Dr van Mueller.

      In 1865 the reserve was fenced and in 1866 the ground was trenched in preparation for planting. Under supervision (possibly of J.G. Farquhar, the Town Surveyor), the Gardens were laid out in 1866 in accordance with Stuart Murray?s design. Mr Murray, later the Chief Engineer for Water Supply in Victoria, won the £15 prize offered by the Council for the best garden design.

      Plants were sought from local citizens in 1867. In 1871, Mr Robert Harper secured a large number of trees from von Mueller. In 1888, an illustration and description of the Garden appeared in the Picturesque Atlas of Australasia, (Garran, 1888: 288):

      Sloping down to the deeply cut channel of the Campaspe [River] are the botanical gardens , where the natural advantages of the site have been improved upon by judicious planting, and an agreeable place of resort has been provided within a few minutes walk of the town.

      By 1873 the Victorian Government had granted £912 and the Kyneton Council £1500 to develop the Gardens.(Kyneton Guardian 10 May 1873)

      The Gardener?s Store is a timber structure probably dating from the 1880s. The store is clad with notched weatherboards and has a curved headed timber framed window to the east and a decorated gable and timber finial to mark the entrance.

      The latticed octagonal rotunda is an early feature of the Gardens probably dating from 1900 and restored in 1986. Little if any original fabric remains and early photographs show it has been considerably altered. The original rotunda was clad in solid vertical timber boarding with timber seating inside, but now has latticework rear walls with a number of openings allowing views of the Gardens from within, although the seating has been removed.

      The Isaac Smith Drinking Fountain was installed on the lower lawn of the Gardens in 1902, as the legacy of Spring Hill farmer, Isaac Smith.

      The Gardens were used for picnics, parades, band recitals and garden parties. During World War I, many military parades were held in the Kyneton gardens. A Great Memorial Service to mark the end of the war was held in the Gardens in November 1918 when returned soldiers marched to the music of the Kyneton Band, the Honor Roll was read, the Last Post sounded and the Dead March played. (Kyneton Guardian 24 November 1918) The first Anzac Day services were held at the Gardens until the erection of the monument in Mollison Street in 1920. (Kyneton Guardian 27 April 1919 and 25 April 1920)

      Edward Gray, who had been employed there as a gardener for 50 years and was appointed Curator from 1906-c. 1909, prepared an display board inlaid with specimens of timber taken from 70 of the 600 trees then growing in the Kyneton Public Gardens. The collection was given to the Kyneton Council by his widow 'in trust for the residents of the State'. Amongst the samples are ones taken from an American Red Cedar and a Chinese Cypress. This specimen board is at present (2002) located in the former Congregational Sunday School (Kyneton Arts Centre).

      The entrance gates designed by local artist T.F. Levick are cast iron gates supported on bluestone pillars. They were donated by Mr and Mrs Elliott during the centenary of Victoria in 1936.

      (The entry gates at the corner of Mollison and Clowes Streets were a donation from the Elliott family, who ran a licenced grocery in the High Street. The bluestone pillars were made by a local mason, W. T. Jones; the gates were designed by artist Tom Levick and made by locals George Fowler and a Mr. Wherrett.) (Source: leaflet Kyneton Victoria Australia: Brief history of the town and the botanic gardens, Prepared for the Visitor Information Centre, Kyneton)

      The timber shelter/pavilion with galvanised iron roof at the rear of the Gardens was not an original feature but was adapted from a pig pen moved from the Market Street Saleyards in Kyneton c. 1975.

      Plaque Citation

      KYNETON BOTANIC GARDENS - Plaque Citation

      The site was first reserved in 1858. The Gardens hold an outstanding collection of Conifers and Oaks, including many rare species. Amongst the first trees planted in 1863 was an Algerian Oak.

      Permit Exemptions

      KYNETON BOTANIC GARDENS - Permit Exemptions

      General Exemptions:

      General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

      Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

      Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

      Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

      Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

      Specific Exemptions:

      General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object. General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible. General Conditions: 3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it. General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions. General Conditions: 5. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable. Building Exterior:
      * Minor repairs and maintenance which replace like with like.
      * Painting of previously painted surfaces (but not signs), walls, posts, and roofing in the same colour.
      * Treatments to stabilise and protect timber, masonry and metal structures.       Building Interior:
      * Painting of previously painted walls and ceilings provided that preparation or painting does not remove evidence of the original paint or other decorative scheme.
      * Removal of paint from originally unpainted masonry.
      * Refurbishment of toilets including removal, installation or replacement of fixtures and       Landscape:
      * The process of gardening, mowing, hedge clipping, bedding displays, removal of dead plants, disease and weed control, emergency and safety works and landscaping in accordance with the original concept.
      * The replanting of plant species to conserve the landscape character, conifer, elm, oak, poplar, and shrub plantings.
      * Management of trees in accordance with Australian Standard; Pruning of amenity trees AS 4373.
      * Vegetation protection and management of the possum population.
      * Removal of plants listed as Prohibited and Controlled Weeds in the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994.
      * Repairs, conservation and maintenance to hard landscape elements, memorial plaques, asphalt and gravel paths and roadways, stone and concrete edging, fences and gates.
      * Installation, removal or replacement of garden watering and drainage systems beyond the canopy edge of listed trees.
      * Road maintenance and safety works within the reserve.       Minor Works : Note: Any Minor Works that in the opinion of the Executive Director will not adversely affect the heritage significance of the place may be exempt from the permit requirements of the Heritage Act. A person proposing to undertake minor works may submit a proposal to the Executive Director. If the Executive Director is satisfied that the proposed works will not adversely affect the heritage values of the site, the applicant may be exempted from the requirement to obtain a heritage permit. If an applicant is uncertain whether a heritage permit is required, it is recommended that the permits co-ordinator be contacted.

      Permit Exemption Policy

      KYNETON BOTANIC GARDENS - Permit Exemption Policy

      The cultural heritage significance of the Kyneton Botanic Gardens is primarily due to the buildings, structures and landscape features, including lawns, paths, beds, specimen trees and hedges. Future works should retain and enhance these elements. The oak collection is outstanding and further planting to add to this collection is encouraged.

      The return of the Specimen Board from its present location in the Congregational Church Sunday School, Kyneton, to the Gardens is to be encouraged, provided there is adequate security.

      The centrally located caravan park has a major impact on the cultural heritage values of the Gardens and future removal would be supported.

Public contributions

Note: Developments may span multiple time periods
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