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Henry Octave Cyril Vereecke (4 April 1906 – 16 June 2002), better known as Harry Oakman, was one of Australia's foremost gardening authorities and a pioneer of Australian architectural landscaping. An immigrant from
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, Oakman wrote numerous illustrated books on
gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of Aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing area ...
and, as a public landscaper, enjoyed enormous influence over the design of open spaces in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
,
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, and
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
.


Early life

Oakman was born in
Lommel Lommel () is a municipality and city in the Belgian province of Limburg. Lying in the Kempen, it has about 34,000 inhabitants and is part of the arrondissement of Maaseik. Besides the residential town, Lommel also has a number of nature reserv ...
, in the province of
Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
on 4 April 1906. His mother died when he was two years old, and his father took him to England during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, then to Australia in 1920. After moving to Australia, young Henry changed his name to Harry Oakman. Oakman first worked on farms in rural
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, then at the age of 17 moved to
Pennant Hills Pennant Hills is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Pennant Hills is located 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsby Shire. History The ...
, in North
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, where he worked in flower nurseries. After a few years he began to look after local parks for the
Ku-ring-gai Council Ku-ring-gai Council is a local government area in Northern Sydney ( Upper North Shore), in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area is named after a fictional Aboriginal language group. Major transport routes through the area include th ...
. On 12 December 1938 Oakman married May Addison Clark, and they lived together happily until her death on 11 April 1990. From 1940 until 1945, Oakman worked on parks in Newcastle, before being appointed Superintendent of Parks in Brisbane. Over a period of 17 years (1946–1962), Oakman transformed the parklands of Brisbane, built 120 playing fields, and assisted in designing and producing two
botanic gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
, as well as Queens Park,
Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
. During his time as manager of Brisbane Parks, he was responsible for extensive tree planting programs across the city and for the design and revitatization of many parks, including the Brisbane Botanical Gardens and
New Farm Park New Farm Park is a heritage-listed riverfront public park at 137 Sydney Street, New Farm, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Albert Herbert Foster and built from 1914 to 1950 by Gladwin Legge & Co. It was added to the ...
. He was also involved in the foreshore upgrade and improvements along Brisbane's bayside beaches, the construction of the Victoria Park Golf Course,
Lang Park Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rectangular sporting st ...
sports field and running track, the Aspley and Hemmant cemeteries; the landscaping of Newstead Gardens and many other suburban and city parks. He left Brisbane to work for the
National Capital Development Commission The National Capital Authority (NCA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of Canberra as the capital city of Australia. Timeline of th ...
in Canberra, where he was largely responsible for the
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...
of
Woden Valley Woden Valley () is a district in the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. The district is subdivided into divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The name of Woden Valley is taken from the name of a nearby homestead owned by James Murr ...
,
Belconnen Belconnen () is a Lands administrative divisions of Australia#Australian Capital Territory, district in the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. As at the , the ...
and the area around
Lake Burley Griffin Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was created in 1963 by the damming of the Molonglo River, which formerly ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle. The lake is na ...
. He also assisted in the development of
Commonwealth Park Commonwealth Park is in Canberra, Australia, adjacent to the north side of Lake Burley Griffin. Centrally located in the city, it is an important part of the urban landscape. The park has an area of 34.25 hectares, which includes a variety of ...
. In 1972, Oakman retired, and lived out the remainder of his long life in Brisbane. Over his life he published a number of books, variously reported as three, nine, or thirteen, but always regarded as highly influential within the Australian gardening community. His 1975 book, ''Tropical and Subtropical Gardening'', is one of the most important works on gardening in Queensland. He was a Fellow of the British and Australian Institutes of Landscape Architects and the Royal Australian Institute of Parks and Recreation. Oakman's own garden, which covered a one hectare block, was well known as being colourful all year 'round, despite receiving little watering. Oakman died in Moggill, in West Brisbane on 16 June 2002, at the age of 96. His papers were donated to the
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
Fryer Library in 1995.


References


"Harry Oakman: A Man of Oak Indeed" (speech abstract)
Ross McKinnon Ross McKinnon (1914-1962) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. Born in Sydney, Oberon, New South Wales, he played for the Sydney University rugby league team, University, Sydney Roosters, Eastern Suburbs, New South Wales Rugby ...
, for the
National Capital Authority The National Capital Authority (NCA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of Canberra as the capital city of Australia. Timeline of th ...
. Accessed 2006-01-18.
"Pioneering the Profession" (speech)
Harry Oakman, for the
Australian Institute of Landscape Architects The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) is the Australian non profit professional institute formed to serve the mutual interests of Australian landscape architects. History The AILA was established in 1966 with an interim commit ...
. Accessed 2006-01-18. *Newspapers: **"Gardens patriarch dies, 96", Dianne Butler, ''Sunday Mail'', 2002-06-30. **"Great architect of gardens", ''South West News'', 2002-07-03.
"Guiding hand in our parks and gardens"
John Gray, ''
Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...
'', 2002-07-19. ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Oakman, Harry 1906 births 2002 deaths Australian landscape architects Australian gardeners People from Lommel Belgian emigrants to Australia