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Marion Mahony: The American who fell in love with the Australian bush Glenda Korporaal
Chicago-born architect Marion Mahony is best known in Australia as the wife of Walter Burley Griffin, the designer of Canberra, and for her role in founding the Sydney suburb of Castlecrag. Less well known is her passionate enthusiasm for the Australian bush − her stunning drawings of Australian treescapes and detailed study of Australia’s flora.
Planting democracy in Canberra’s parliamentary triangle Anna Howe
If you doubt that democracy can be planted, take a walk along King Edward Terrace across the centre of the Parliamentary Triangle in Canberra. The people who began planting here over a century ago firmly believed that identity could be expressed in landscapes. This article looks at four different expressions of our identity between the opening of (old) Parliament House on 9 May 1927 and (new) Parliament House on the same day in 1988.
Creating the Rainforest Gully at the Australian National Botanic Gardens Don Beer
Don Beer’s Miracle on Black Mountain traces the growth of the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) in Canberra. This edited extract describes the early development of the ANBG’s most famous feature, the Rainforest Gully.
How did we get here? Reflecting on the fires in California Meaghan Weeden
The historic California fires in 2020 saw c. 1.7 million hectares burned, 9,639 fires reported, 10,488 structures damaged or destroyed and 33 fatalities. The damage was significant and is likely to continue as climate change heats and dries this region.
Ulex europaeus (furze, goss, gorse, whin, friz) John Dwyer
For hundreds of years gorse was highly regarded in England, Scotland and Ireland for its beauty and many practical applications. Its introduction to Australia and New Zealand has seen it become a noxious weed.
Hallowed turf – The aesthetics of grass Richard Heathcote
The consideration of lawn aesthetics in Australian garden design follows the work of English landscaper Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown to the nature strip – the icon of Australian suburbia.
The Fernhill Estate: a rare colonial cultural landscape James Broadbent
Fernhill is located in the Mulgoa Valley, NSW. Overlaying evidence of Aboriginal culture in the natural landscape is an early colonial landscape of exceptional significance. The retention of native trees to create an Antipodean vision of an English gentleman’s park marks an important shift in the early colonists’ attitude to their environment. This cultural landscape can and must be preserved.