Balston Gardens

Author

City of Albany

Place Number

26939

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Location

46-92 Burgoyne Rd Albany

Location Details

Other Name(s)

Heritage Park
Public Gardens

Local Government

Albany

Region

Great Southern

Construction Date

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type	Status	Date	Documents	More information
Heritage List	Adopted	27 Oct 2020

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type	Status	Date	Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type	Status	Date	Grading/Management		More information
Type	Status	Date	Category	Description	More information
Local Heritage Survey	Adopted	27 Oct 2020	Some/moderate	Some/moderate Contributes to the heritage of the locality.

Parent Place or Precinct

03255 Heritage Park

Statement of Significance

Balston Gardens has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
It was named after Edward Balston, former Mayor of Albany who served from 1921-1924, and also a well-known figure as a shipping agent when Albany was the major port for the State and significant property owner.
It is part of Heritage Park which covers the area incorporating Mt Clarence and Mt Adelaide and has been a public garden/park since the 1880s.

Physical Description

Some of the notable features of this place include:
• A 20 acre parkland bounded by Clarence, Malcolm, Darling Streets and Burgoyne Road
• Part of the larger Public (Heritage) Park area, which takes in Mt Clarence and Mt Adelaide
• A combined natural/cultural landscape with pathways for walking trails

History

Balston Gardens fronts Burgoyne Road on the southern foot of Mount Clarence. The name Balston Gardens was officially endorsed by the Council in February 1946 after W. E. (Edward) Balston who had served as Mayor of Albany from 1921-1924. The other name considered for the public park was Nesbitt Gardens after the late Cr T. H Nesbitt (the garden in Peels Place was eventually named after Cr Nesbitt).

Balston Gardens was officially gazetted on 16 June 1950, described as Sub Lot 172, Reserve 575 of the Reserve 27068 bounded by Clarence, Malcolm and Balston Streets and Burgoyne Road but now is bordered by Clarence, Malcolm, Darling Streets and Burgoyne Road. It comprised 20 acres and was part of the larger Public (Heritage) Park area, which takes in Mt Clarence and Mt Adelaide. Prior to being named it was likely just known as Public Gardens (as shown on early maps) originally gazetted for that purpose at the same time Mt Clarence and Mt Adelaide were made Public Parks in the 1880s.

As well as his involvement with the Albany council, Balston was well-known as a prominent shipping agent in Albany particularly when Albany was the major port for the State. In 1894, Balston established and built his farm named Pendeen Homestead on Willyung Road, King River. Balston was also known for having one of the first cars in Albany. He died in 1943. After Balston Gardens was named early in 1946, in October 1946, Council also adopted a proposal from the local historical society to name Balston Walk - a short unnamed street that ran from Middleton to Wylie - in honour of Balston who had also owned a large amount of property at Middleton Beach known as Balston Estate. Today there is also Balston Road off South Coast Hwy in Gledhow.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity - Moderate
Authenticity - Moderate

Condition

Good

References

Ref ID No	Ref Name	Ref Source	Ref Date
	Schedule of Places of Heritage Value	City of Albany
	Letter from Tony Balston (grandson of W.E. Balston) to City of Albany	City of Albany	24/03/2003

Place Type

Urban Park

Uses

Epoch	General	Specific
Present Use	PARK\RESERVE	Park\Reserve

Creation Date

10 Sep 2021

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

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