POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Two photographs of Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney taken c.1880.

Object No. 2005/155/1

The Botanic Gardens of Sydney have always been a prominent landmark and popular recreation area, the Gardens were founded on the site of the first farm established in the colony by Governor Macquarie in 1816 as part of the Governor's Domain. The Garden's long history of collection and study of plants began with the appointment of the first Colonial Botanist, Charles Fraser, in 1817. The Royal Botanic Gardens is thus the oldest scientific institution in Australia and, from the earliest days, has played a major role in the acclimatisation of plants from other regions. After a succession of colonial botanists and superintendents, including the brothers Richard and Allan Cunningham, both also early explorers. In 1848 Charles Moore was appointed Director and for the next 48 years (1848-96), he did much to develop the Royal Botanic Gardens in their modern form. He tackled the problems of poor soil, inadequate water and shortage of funds to develop much of the Gardens in the form we see today. The Palm Grove, in the heart of the Royal Botanic Gardens, is a reminder of his skill and foresight, as is the reclaimed land behind the Farm Cove seawall which added a significant area to the Royal Botanic Gardens. In 1862 Sydney's first zoo was opened within the Royal Botanic Gardens and remained there until 1883, when most of it was transferred to Moore Park. During these years much of the remnant natural vegetation of the surrounding Domain was removed and planted as parkland. The Moreton Bay Figs, one of the major elements of this planting, continue to dominate the landscape. In 1879 a substantial area of the Domain, south of the Government House stables (now the Conservatorium of Music), was taken for the building of the Garden Exhibition Palace. This building, 'an outstanding example of Victorian architectural exuberance, with towers and turrets deployed around a giant dome 100 feet in diameter surmounted by a lantern 200 feet above the ground', dominated Sydney's skyline and covered over two hectares. The International Exhibition held in the Palace attracted over one million visitors. However, the building was destroyed by fire in 1882 and the land, now known as the Palace Garden, was added to the Royal Botanic Gardens. Moore was succeeded by Joseph Henry Maiden who, during his 28-year term, added much to Moore's maturing landscape. He organised the construction of a new herbarium building, opened in 1901 (today part of the Anderson Building), and made major improvements to the Domain. However, the Royal Botanic Gardens suffered from loss of staff positions during the First World War and, in the depression of the 1930s, the position of Director was lost. Both the Herbarium and the living collections languished. From 1945 Robert Anderson worked to reunify the two. In 1959 the title 'Royal' was granted and the Herbarium and Royal Botanic Gardens were administratively reunified under the title Royal Botanic Gardens. Knowles Mair (1965-70) achieved reunification and the Royal Botanic Gardens began its return to eminence. In 1982 the new Robert Brown Building was opened to house the Herbarium. The breadth of activities increased over these decades with the formation of the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens; educational and ecological programs; the Flora of New South Wales; the scientific journals Telopea and Cunninghamia and programs of computerised documentation of both the living and herbarium collections. These photographs were taken during the time of growth initiated by Charles Moore in the Royal Botanic Gardens and show features that are still important features of the Gardens.