Rockhampton Regional Council undertakes $7 million project to revitalise botanic gardens and zoo

Much needed toilets will be installed in the zoo area and the gardens playgrounds will be replaced, along with upgrades throughout the whole precinct. Full details.

A new playground, entrance visitor hub, back of house upgrades and zoo enclosure refurbishments are amongst the top priority projects of the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens and Zoo redevelopment.

New concept designs were revealed this week with 14 projects identified within the redevelopment.

Rockhampton Regional Council has budgeted $7.05 million across the next three financial years for the project which includes government funding.

The initial priorities in the first stage include:

• Rockhampton Botanic Gardens & Zoo Visitor Hub.

• Zoo Operations and Administration Upgrade.

• Botanic Gardens Playground Renewal.

• Zoo Enclosure Refurbishment Program.

The botanic gardens have been a popular place for events and recreation since the late 19th century.

The zoo has been operational since 1925 and is one of two remaining zoos in botanical gardens in Australia.

They form one of the main tourist attractions in the region with more than 300,000 local and non-local visitors each year.

The zoo employs 20 full time council staff and seven casuals.

A report on the project states the botanic gardens and zoo have always been promoted as two different entities which has led to missed opportunities.

A study by council in 2020/21 revealed the botanic gardens and zoo had lost some of their stature and reputation, due to a lack of proactive planning, prioritisation and investment.

This has led to the area becoming tired, largely underutilised and failing to reach its full potential.

The report also noted council had received continual complaints and requests from the community to improve facilities, infrastructure and services across the site.

Precinct concept designs:

• Rockhampton Botanic Gardens and Zoo visitor hub

• Zoo operations and administration upgrade

• Botanic Gardens playground renewal

• Zoo enclosure refurbishment program

• Hugo Lassern fernery and events courtyard

• Tea rooms amenities and kitchen refurbishment

• Lagoon pathway upgrade and pavilions

• Band stand refurbishment

• Zoo new animal enclosure program

• Curators house and curators cottage refurbishment

• Zoo play area, secondary amenities and educational amphitheatre

• Botanic Gardens central spine pathway

• Tea rooms floating timber decking

• Southern precinct expansion

Councillor for Parks, Sport and Public Spaces Cherie Rutherford was “beyond excited” to share the latest plans.

“For months now councilors and council staff have been working through various options for the future,” she said.

“The gardens and the zoo are a fabulous entity not just for the community but our whole region.

“It has served us really well for so many years now but it has reached the stage where we need to give it some love and care.”

The redevelopment will be spread across 10 years.

“We are just going off rough estimates and as we get the designs laid down then we will be able to get proper amounts for those designs,” Ms Rutherford said.

“It’s a very big undertaking… we have 14 separate projects amongst this concept design and we will do it one step at a time.”

The land is registered as a state reserve and all redevelopment works will be need to adhere to land management and heritage use plans.

“So it’s not just a matter of replacing things, we have to work very, very carefully with what we have got and work within the heritage listing boundaries,” Ms Rutherford.

The botanic gardens hold a special place in Ms Rutherford’s heart as she worked there for almost 20 years under Tom Wyatt, alongside fellow councillor Drew Wickerson, and took her children there when they were younger.

“My memories go back even longer than my children, my now husband and I used to come here and he would help me study,” she said.

“My children have very much grown up watching the animals in the zoo, down at the lagoon and playing at the playground… It’s an integral part of our life.”

Division six councillor Drew Wickerson shared the sentiments.

“It is the jewel in the crown for the whole region, tourism wise and beyond that, it is a collection of a huge diversity of plants,” he said.

“We have a huge responsibility, I think the key word is we are only curators, custodians, for this brief moment in time.”