Queen's Gardens

Child Places

• 02172 Peter Pan Statue, Queen's Garden

Statement of Significance

The place is an important and representative example of a public park in the Picturesque landscape style with Paradise/Oasis style design and planting elements.
The place is important in the history of the City of Perth because of its early association with the manufacture of bricks in the mid to late 1800s which were used in several prominent buildings, and for its subsequent role in the provision of public parklands in the late nineteenth century.
The Caretaker's Cottage, which forms an integral part of the Gardens, has been occupied by garden caretakers with few interruptions since 1906 and has social significance.
The place is important for its scientific value, arising from its earlier use as a brickworks and for the variety of plants it contains.
The place is a landmark within the City of Perth and have contributed a sense of place to its citizens and visitors from 1898 to the present.
The place has been highly valued by the community as a place of aesthetic delight and tranquillity, and as a preferred venue for important public and private occasions.
The place is rare in Perth as an example, in good condition, of an enclosed public garden in a Paradise/Oasis style retaining its original site and principle landscape elements.

Physical Description

Queen’s Gardens as a whole are of exceptional significance, exhibiting aesthetic, historic, social and scientific values. They are rare in Perth as an example of an enclosed public garden in a Paradise/Oasis style in good condition, retaining its original site and principle landscape elements. Queen’s Gardens have, since their inception, been highly valued by the community as a place of aesthetic delight and tranquillity and as a preferred venue for important public and private occasions. Queen’s Gardens are a landmark within the Perth city and have contributed a sense of place to its citizens and visitors from 1898 to the present.

History

Queen’s Gardens are situated on a low lying site near the Swan River. The site was used by colonists for duck hunting and horse racing before the discovery of clay suitable for brick making in the mid 1800’s. The site was mined for clay and used for production of bricks which went into serval prominent buildings, until c1890 when brick extractions become difficult. At this time the place was known as the Brickfields Reserve.
The abandoned clay pits and brick kilns attracted diverse attention. The City of Perth began filling the pits and fencing the site but by 1894 a grander vision to develop the site into public gardens had evolved. Under the direction of Sydney Landscaper Mr. A. W. Farris who was engaged by the City of Perth for the purposes and the City’s head gardener, John Braithwaite, the pits were transformed into ponds. Rustic timber bridges and limestone grottoes were built and the ground turfed and planted with trees. The place was renamed firstly as East Perth Park and then at the official opening in October 1899, as Queen’s Gardens in honour of Queen Victoria.
The Gardens become popular immediately as a venue for picnics, band concerts and garden parties. With their inward focus on the chain of ponds, verdant planting providing a contrast to and respite from what was perceived to be hard, arid surrounding environment, Queen’s Gardens successfully embodied the objectives of the Paradise/Oasis landscape style.
The caretaker cottage was constructed in 1906. In 1929 the Rotary Club of Perth presented the statue of Peter Pan as a gift to the children of Western Australia to mark the States centenary. The statue which is one of reportedly five autographed replicas of the original by Sir George Frampton in London’s Kensington Gardens, was transferred to its present position in 1933. The Statue has become a widely known and well-loved feature of the Gardens.
The Gardens became a popular tourist spot for local, interstate and international visitors, as well as providing a passive recreational space for the nearby residents and workers in the offices which developed around the site. Queen’s Gardens became popular setting for wedding photographs after the Second World War and more recently as a venue for weddings and other ceremonies.

Integrity/Authenticity

High level of integrity.
Medium level of authenticity.

Condition

Fair

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.