30 years' experience working for federal and state government environment and heritage departments and agencies. 10 years Chair of Sydney & Northern NSW branch of the Australian Garden History Society. As many years on the Society's National Management Committee. Current co-chair with Bronwyn Blake. Guest lecturer in heritage landscapes and trees at several universities (Sydney, NSW, Technology) and Sydney Northern School of Technical & Further Education (TAFE): Horticulture & Arboriculture School.
John Carne Bidwill was born in 1815 in England and died in Queensland in 1853. His short life is ... more John Carne Bidwill was born in 1815 in England and died in Queensland in 1853. His short life is relevant to Australia's garden history, botany, the horticultural use of Australian plants in European gardens and the colonial history of Sydney, New Zealand, Wide Bay and Maryborough. He may have been the first to introduce plant breeding into Australia. In a short life, and working in his spare time, he contributed more than many full-time and longer-lived horticulturists. This included discovering new species, crossing new hybrids (specific and inter-generic), and propagating and promulgating plants for the nursery trade and gardeners. His efforts are marked by his name gracing many Australian and New Zealand plants, exotic plant hybrids and modern suburbs of Sydney and Maryborough. This brief biography outlines Bidwill's time in Australasia and Queensland.
With Europe’s oldest public landscaped space (748AD) and oldest surviving garden (c1250AD), Spain... more With Europe’s oldest public landscaped space (748AD) and oldest surviving garden (c1250AD), Spain at its south-western edge is rich in garden history. Waves of invasion, conversion to and mediation between cultures have fostered layered landscapes reflecting the adapting of old spaces and agri-/horticultural traditions, a place now unafraid of the new, yet fiercely proud of tradition. Recent designers and management trends are discussed in the context of environmental sustainability, population demographics and increasing engagement with the outside world. Findings of a 2005 study tour, interviewing change- and decision-makers, reviewing gardens and parks old and new works in them, are outlined.
Spain faces similar challenges to Australia – affluence, urbanisation, migration, water and over-... more Spain faces similar challenges to Australia – affluence, urbanisation, migration, water and over-consumption. Its range of climate gives parallels worth study. It has garden history dating to Greek, Roman settlement, Islamic occupation and since. This report on my study tour covers who is making decisions on change in historic parks and gardens; how decisions are made and draws parallels Australia could learn from.
‘Riverine’ gardens are sited to overlook (and be seen from) river systems, such as the labyrinth ... more ‘Riverine’ gardens are sited to overlook (and be seen from) river systems, such as the labyrinth of river system forming Sydney Harbour–a confluence of the Parramatta, Lane Cove and Duck Rivers. Equally 'Marine' villa or pleasure gardens face the sea - its bays, inlets, ports. Both comprise gardens located, designed and arrayed to be seen by others, from and across water. And to enjoy panoramic or sweeping views themselves, over the same water. What kind of gardens were made in the colony of New South Wales, where, by whom? Why were they so-located, so-designed and arrayed? This project seeks to eek out, examine and make some sense of this widespread 'type', over time and to track what became of it, with increasing infill, subdivision and ever-closer settlement.
John Carne Bidwill was born in 1815 in England and died in Queensland in 1853. His short life is ... more John Carne Bidwill was born in 1815 in England and died in Queensland in 1853. His short life is relevant to Australia's garden history, botany, the horticultural use of Australian plants in European gardens and the colonial history of Sydney, New Zealand, Wide Bay and Maryborough. He may have been the first to introduce plant breeding into Australia. In a short life, and working in his spare time, he contributed more than many full-time and longer-lived horticulturists. This included discovering new species, crossing new hybrids (specific and inter-generic), and propagating and promulgating plants for the nursery trade and gardeners. His efforts are marked by his name gracing many Australian and New Zealand plants, exotic plant hybrids and modern suburbs of Sydney and Maryborough. This brief biography outlines Bidwill's time in Australasia and Queensland.
With Europe’s oldest public landscaped space (748AD) and oldest surviving garden (c1250AD), Spain... more With Europe’s oldest public landscaped space (748AD) and oldest surviving garden (c1250AD), Spain at its south-western edge is rich in garden history. Waves of invasion, conversion to and mediation between cultures have fostered layered landscapes reflecting the adapting of old spaces and agri-/horticultural traditions, a place now unafraid of the new, yet fiercely proud of tradition. Recent designers and management trends are discussed in the context of environmental sustainability, population demographics and increasing engagement with the outside world. Findings of a 2005 study tour, interviewing change- and decision-makers, reviewing gardens and parks old and new works in them, are outlined.
Spain faces similar challenges to Australia – affluence, urbanisation, migration, water and over-... more Spain faces similar challenges to Australia – affluence, urbanisation, migration, water and over-consumption. Its range of climate gives parallels worth study. It has garden history dating to Greek, Roman settlement, Islamic occupation and since. This report on my study tour covers who is making decisions on change in historic parks and gardens; how decisions are made and draws parallels Australia could learn from.
‘Riverine’ gardens are sited to overlook (and be seen from) river systems, such as the labyrinth ... more ‘Riverine’ gardens are sited to overlook (and be seen from) river systems, such as the labyrinth of river system forming Sydney Harbour–a confluence of the Parramatta, Lane Cove and Duck Rivers. Equally 'Marine' villa or pleasure gardens face the sea - its bays, inlets, ports. Both comprise gardens located, designed and arrayed to be seen by others, from and across water. And to enjoy panoramic or sweeping views themselves, over the same water. What kind of gardens were made in the colony of New South Wales, where, by whom? Why were they so-located, so-designed and arrayed? This project seeks to eek out, examine and make some sense of this widespread 'type', over time and to track what became of it, with increasing infill, subdivision and ever-closer settlement.
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