St Vincent Gardens
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Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
suburb of Albert Park, is an Australian park of national significance. It is an example of nineteenth century residential development around a large landscaped square. Development occurred as a result of a boom following the
Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capit ...
. It was influenced by similar, urban design in London, but such design on such a scale is unparalleled in Australia. In the shape of a large rectangular area with semi-circular crescents at either end, the heritage area includes the
St Vincent Place St Vincent Place is a heritage precinct in Albert Park, Victoria, Australia. St Vincent Place is bounded by Park Street, Cecil Street, Bridport Street, Cardigan Place and Nelson Road. It is bisected by Montague Street, allowing the passage of tr ...
precinct bounded by Park Street, Cecil Street, Bridport Street, Cardigan Place and Nelson Road. The park is bisected by Montague Street, allowing the passage of trams on route 1. Several of the streets are lined with the original cobbled blue stone and gutters. It is registered with the National Trust of Australia and on the Victorian Heritage register for its ''aesthetic, historical, architectural and social significance to the State of Victoria''.


Significance

The gardens are particularly important according to the Victorian Heritage Register: :''as a reflection of the aspirations of middle class residents in South Melbourne. Because of the shared outlook on and use of the gardens, the precinct has developed a sense of community cohesion unusual in the Melbourne context. The gardens are also socially important as a focus of community life for the surrounding district with the maintenance of their amenity a priority of municipal government since their inception. The existence of the tennis and bowls clubs in the gardens for over a century is a further manifestation of this social importance.'' The Australian Demographer Bernard Salt included the precinct as first among his "favourite places that have been designed by planners" : : "
St Vincent Place St Vincent Place is a heritage precinct in Albert Park, Victoria, Australia. St Vincent Place is bounded by Park Street, Cecil Street, Bridport Street, Cardigan Place and Nelson Road. It is bisected by Montague Street, allowing the passage of tr ...
, Albert Park: Where would such a list start but in my home city of Melbourne? Surely this residential precinct known only to Melburnians must be one of this nation's town planning treasures. Here are two extended but connecting crescents laid out around gardens which are overlooked by double-storey Victorian
terrace house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United Sta ...
s. Designed in the early 1850s, St Vincent Place was virtually a gated community: the well-to-do would promenade around ''their'' public gardens; smaller wooden houses for servants and the working classes were relegated to the lesser enveloping crescents."


History

First design was probably by Andrew Clarke, the Surveyor-General of Victoria, in 1854 or 1855.
Clement Hodgkinson Clement Hodgkinson (1818 – 5 September 1893) was a notable English naturalist, explorer and surveyor of Australia. He was Victorian Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands and Survey from 1861 to 1874. Exploration in New South Wales Qualified ...
adapted the design in 1857 to allow for its intersection by the St Kilda railway line, Melbourne. Development of the gardens occurred during 1864–1870 with plans by Clement Hodgkinson in 1869 showing an overall plan of the reserve, including the older tree plantings, the path system at the western end and the circular theme of the paths design at the eastern end. The Albert Park Bowls Club was established in the park in 1873. The gardens were rejuvenated during 1903–1910 with much of the original landscaping being retained. In 2004, a Canary Island Palm was removed suffering from
fusarium wilt Fusarium wilt is a common vascular wilt fungal disease, exhibiting symptoms similar to Verticillium wilt. This disease has been investigated extensively since the early years of this century. The pathogen that causes Fusarium wilt is ''Fusarium ...
otherwise known as Panama Disease. In 2005 six significant trees were lost after a wild storm. The improved appearance of the gardens over recent years has been due to local government projects completed in response to a Conservation Analysis & Management Strategy, by landscape architect Jill Orr-Young, Dec. 1997. The creation of mulched beds around significant trees has improved their condition and large herbaceous beds have been restored using heritage plant stock. Further detailed historical investigations by Jill Orr-Young have led to the works described below. Reconstruction of the western half of the gardens' path network accurately plotted heritage alignments and used the original orange-coloured, granitic, sand surface and mild steel edging. This work included the installation of an on-site stormwater dissipation system, which now uses surface runoff to help irrigate lawn areas and minimise water usage. The perimeter hedge around the gardens uses original
Lonicera Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both contin ...
heritage plant stock sourced from Dame Elisabeth Murdoch's 'Cruden Farm.' This hedge will grow to a height of approximately 700mm. The design of entry treatments for each of the entrances to the Gardens comprises bluestone walls and timber posts, with the new entrances designed to closely resemble the original appearance and layout of the old entrances. The northern and southern border beds have been planted with heritage plant stock in accordance with planting designs prepared by Jill Orr-Young.St Vincent Gardens


Plantings and monuments

Plantings include lines of Algerian Oak (''Quercus canariensis) '' and Canary Island Palms (''Phoenix canariensis''). There are specimen plantings of: * Brush cherry *
Coral Tree ''Erythrina'' is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, with the larger species growing up to in height. The generic ...
* Lilly Pilly *
Moreton Bay fig ''Ficus macrophylla'', commonly known as the Moreton Bay fig or Australian banyan, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the family Moraceae native to eastern Australia, from the Wide Bay–Burnett region in the north to the Illawarra in New So ...
* Norfolk Island pine * Peony *Southern magnolia ''(
Magnolia grandiflora ''Magnolia grandiflora'', commonly known as the southern magnolia or bull bay, is a tree of the family Magnoliaceae native to the Southeastern United States, from Virginia to central Florida, and west to East Texas. Reaching in height, it is a ...
)'' * Whitewillow There is a monumental garden dedicated to the Australian entertainers Maurie Fields & his wife
Val Jellay Valerie Muriel Jellay (born Valerie Jelly; September 1927 – 6 May 2017) was an Australian vaudevillian, actress, soubrette, dancer, author and TV personality. At the time of her death, she was the widow of fellow Australian vaudevillian, ...
, former residents of the area. The Charles Moore Memorial Drinking Fountain commemorates Charlie Moore, a
Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
soldier and Essendon Football Club full forward. Moore was born 24 September 1875 in Fiji, married Rose Walters on 9 May 1898 at Fitzroy, Victoria (Vic reg 3227) and died 13 May 1901 at Doornbosch, South Africa. The Alexander Rose Garden commemorates the contribution of Harold Alexander, Clerk of the City of South Melbourne from 1936 to 1964, who fostered municipal welfare service

Under his administration, Australia's first 'community chest' for social welfare was set up. After the war, be bought Nissen huts to provide hot meals to returned servicemen. They were the forerunners of today's senior citizens clubs. Alexander appointed the council's first social worker and oversaw Australia's first meals on wheels service in 1953. He helped set up 'Claremont' aged care hostel. From 1927 he also fought to have Wirth's Circus site on Southbank reserved for the state's art gallery and cultural centre. He played for Sydney Swans, South Melbourne Football Club for five year


Gallery

Image:St_vincent_garden_french_styled_terrace_house_albert_park.jpg, Terrace with French styled mansard roof tower Image:Richly_detailed_terrace_house_at_st_vincent_gardens_albert_park.jpg, Richly detailed Victorian terrace facing the gardens Image:St_vincent_garden_albert_park.jpg, The picturesque gardens at the centre of the square Image:Rochester terrace south melbourne.jpg, Rochester Terrace Image:Rochester_terrace_albert_park_main_pavillion.jpg, Detail of the main pavilion, Rochester Terrace


References


City of Port Phillip – St Vincent GardensAlbert Park Bowls ClubCitation
in the National Trust of Australia and Victorian Heritage Register. *Bernard Salt, "It's a gift when beauty goes according to plan",
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
, Page 026, Thursday 6 July 2006
State Library Postcard
(undated)
State Library Postcard of the Bowling Green
(undated)
View of St. Vincent Gardens with St. Vincent Place, South Melbourne in background
(1904–1932) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Vincent Gardens, Melbourne Heritage sites in Melbourne Parks in Melbourne Gardens in Victoria (Australia) City of Port Phillip