Illawarra Grevillea Park | |
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Illawarra Grevillea Park Botanic Garden | |
Type | Botanical Garden |
Location | Bulli, New South Wales, Australia |
Coordinates | 34°19′48″S150°54′27″E / 34.33000°S 150.90750°E |
Area | 2.4 ha (0.024 km2) |
Opened | September 25, 1993 |
Founder | Ray Brown |
Species | Grevillea, Banksia, Eremophila and miscellanious other Australian native plants. |
Facilities |
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Website | illawarragrevilleapark |
The Illawarra Grevillea Park is a botanical garden located in Bulli on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Opened in 1993 by professional gardener Ray Brown, it is notable for its extensive collection of grevilleas, both cultivars and naturally occurring species. It also features many other plants from all over Australia as well as a naturally-occurring rainforest, a small chapel, public toilets, parking and picnic facilities. [1] [2] [3] [4]
During the mid-1980s, a permanent location for Australian Plant Society Grevillea Study Group's collection of grevilleas and other native plants was needed, which at the time were being kept in pots by founder and professional gardener, Ray Brown. He had designed the layout of the park five years prior to its creation, but did not have the land available to begin construction.
Ray made an approach to Wollongong City Council for a land lease, and in 1987, the Illawarra Grevillea Park was established. [1] [2] [4] [5]
The park was officially opened to the public on September 25, 1993. [6]
To honour Ray's work and long contribution to the collection, horticulture and growing of grevilleas and the creation of the park, a newly described species of grevillea, Grevillea raybrownii was named after him by Peter Olde and Neil Marriott in 1994. [7]
On August 12, 2022, the park gained official status as a botanical garden, with an opening being conducted by NSW governor Margaret Joan Beazley. [1] [5]
Set on 2.4 hectares of land on the outskirts of Wollongong, the Illawarra Grevillea Park is a not-for-profit botanical garden featuring multiple display gardens primarily consisting of grevillea species, cultivars and hybrids, as well as a variety of other Australian native plants and a native rainforest.
The park was created with the aim of showcasing and encouraging the appreciation of Australia's plant biodiversity, providing information on native plant gardening and contributing to the study and conservation of rare and endangered plants. The park is continually maintained by volunteers throughout the year, but is only open to the public on open days on the first two Saturdays and Sundays of Autumn, Winter and Spring each year. [1] [2] [4] [8]
The park contains an extensive collection of 300-400 grevillea species, cultivars and hybrids. Many of the grevillea species were collected from the wild by Ray Brown and botanist, Peter Olde. Many of the grevilleas seen in the park are grafted. This allows a variety of new forms to be created, such as ground cover grevilleas being grafted onto Grevillea robusta to create a tall "weeping" form. Another reason grevilleas are grafted is to allow species from all across Australia, particularly those from Western Australia and the Northern Territory to grow within the park, as their roots would not survive otherwise. [2] [9]
The park has a small chapel, built as an interdenominational church in a long-gone village named Sherbrooke, which was resumed by the NSW Government and flooded for the Cataract Dam Project in 1902. Before Sherbrooke was flooded, the church was relocated in parts to Woonona near Wollongong to be used as a private residence. It was relocated again to the Illawarra Grevillea Park in 1992 to prevent it from being bulldozed for new home units. Today, the chapel serves as a wedding venue, administration venue and bookstore during the park's open days. [8] [10]
Wollongong is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound of the sea'. Wollongong lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 85 kilometres south of central Sydney. Wollongong had an estimated urban population of 302,739 at June 2018, making it the third-largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle and the tenth-largest city in Australia by population. The city's current Lord Mayor is Gordon Bradbery AM who was elected in 2021.
Bulli is a northern suburb of Wollongong situated on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Mount Keira is a suburb and mountain in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia.
Grevillea, commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus Grevillea are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the branches, the flowers zygomorphic, arranged in racemes at the ends of branchlets, and the fruit a follicle that splits down one side only, releasing one or two seeds.
The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in Acton, Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. The botanic gardens was added to the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.
The Wollongong Botanic Garden is located in the Wollongong suburb of Keiraville at the foot of Mount Keira in New South Wales, Australia. It is the local botanical gardens of the Illawarra and was established in 1964. It was opened in September 1970.
Albion Park railway station is a heritage-listed railway station located on the South Coast railway line on the Princes Highway in Albion Park Rail, New South Wales, Australia. The station was designed by New South Wales Government Railways and built during 1887 by William Monie & Company, with the single line railway line built by David Proudfoot and Thomas Logan. The complex is also known as the Albion Park Railway Station Group. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The station is located close to Shellharbour Airport.
Brachychiton acerifolius is a large tree of the family Malvaceae endemic to tropical and subtropical regions on the east coast of Australia. It is famous for the bright red bell-shaped flowers that often cover the whole tree when it is leafless. It is commonly known as the flame tree, Illawarra flame tree, lacebark tree, or kurrajong.
The Illawarra escarpment, or officially the Illawarra Range, is the fold-created cliffs and plateau-eroded outcrop mountain range west of the Illawarra coastal plain south of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The range encloses the Illawarra region which stretches from Stanwell Park in the north to Kiama, Gerringong and the Shoalhaven River in the south.
The Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) (ANPSA) is a federation of seven state-based member organisations for people interested in Australia's native flora, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation.
Grevillea aquifolium is a shrubby or scrambling plant endemic to South Australia and Victoria. Common names include holly grevillea, prickly grevillea or variable prickly grevillea. It occurs naturally in woodland, open forest and heathland.
The Australian flowering shrub Grevillea alpina has several common names, including mountain grevillea, alpine grevillea, and cat's claws. It is not limited to alpine environments, and in fact is less common at high elevation than low. The species is variable in appearance, with five general forms described: small-flowered, Grampians, Northern Victorian, Goldfields, and Southern Hills forms. It is found in dry forests and woodlands across Victoria and into southern New South Wales. Some forms of the plant are low to the ground, and some become a spreading shrub. The flowers come in many colours, from white to green to shades of red and pink, or a pattern of several colours. The curled flowers are 1 to 3 centimetres in length. It is attractive to nectar-feeding insects and birds.
Bellambi is a suburb of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It has a railway station on the NSW TrainLink South Coast Line.
Grevillea juniperina, commonly known as juniper- or juniper-leaf grevillea or prickly spider-flower, is a plant of the family Proteaceae native to eastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland in Australia. Scottish botanist Robert Brown described the species in 1810, and seven subspecies are recognised. One subspecies, G. j. juniperina, is restricted to Western Sydney and environs and is threatened by loss of habitat and housing development.
Grevillea victoriae, also known as royal grevillea or mountain grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to mountainous regions of south-eastern continental Australia. It is an erect to spreading shrub with elliptic to lance-shaped leaves, and pendulous clusters of red to orange flowers.
Grevillea caleyi, also known as Caley's grevillea, is a critically endangered species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area around the Terrey Hills and Belrose area in New South Wales. It is an open, spreading shrub, growing up to 4 m (13 ft) tall with deeply divided leaves with linear lobes, and fawn flowers with a maroon to red style.
Grevillea laurifolia, commonly known as laurel-leaf grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a prostrate, trailing shrub with egg-shaped, heart-shaped or round leaves, and clusters of reddish to deep maroon flowers.
Grevillea lanigera 'Mt Tamboritha' is a cultivar of the genus Grevillea, planted widely in Australia and other countries for its ornamental foliage and flowers. It is the most popular form of Grevillea lanigera in cultivation. It is also known by the names 'Mt Tamboritha form', 'Compacta', 'Prostrate', 'Prostrate Form' or the misnomer 'Mt Tambourine'.
Grevillea raybrownii is a flowering shrub in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It has divided, pointed leaves and dense clusters of flowers usually at the end of branches.