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Wilson Botanic Park
668 Princes Highway,BERWICK, Casey City

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Statement of Significance


The Wilson Botanic Park has regional significance as a historic quarry site owned by the Wilson family, district pioneers, for four generations. The Wilsons owned the Berwick Quarry from the 1850s until its closure in 1973. A major district industry, the Berwick Quarry supplied stone for ballast for the Gippsland railway in the 1870s and crushed stone for roads throughout west Gippsland. More recently, stone from the quarry was provided for a great number of residential subdivisions spreading eastward from Dandenong.

The park is also of national significance as the site of important palaeo-botanical discoveries, with the oldest evidence of eucalyptus species in Australia having been found here (1).

Sources
1. Wilson Bontanic Park. Open Day. City of Berwick.
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    • Physical Description 1

      Wilson Botanic Park - Physical Description 1

      The Park covers approximately 36 hectares. The quarry, as it remains today, comprises a large quarry hole (Anniversary Lake) with a smaller extension to the north. The basalt (or bluestone) is overlain by a thick layer of soil. Extensive faces of bluestone are exposed on the eastern side of the quarry. The earliest working areas have long since been removed by later quarrying. Roadways throughout the site still follow benches created for quarrying. Poplars, pines and peppercorns are scattered throughout the site, remnants of earlier plantings. Recent developments to convert the quarry to a park have included creation of a marsh area, a new administration building, rotunda, and extensive plantings.

      Historical Australian Themes

      Wilson Botanic Park - Historical Australian Themes

      Exploiting natural resources, Quarrying

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Heritage Study and Grading

      Casey - Casey Heritage Study

      Author: Context Pty Ltd
      Year: 2004
      Grading: Local

Public contributions

Note: Developments may span multiple time periods
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