TasWeekend: Royal visitor for gardens’ celebrations

THIS year marks the bicentenary of the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens in Hobart, with a series of events planned to celebrate the milestone.

The Lily Pads are a new addition to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens.

THERE are banners fluttering along the main roads into Hobart and there’s a buzz in the air as one of Tasmania’s favourite gardens dresses up for its birthday. All the flags and fuss are because the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens is marking its 200th birthday this year and the celebrations start with a bang over the weeks ahead.

What was once known as Hangan’s Farm, where wheat, ­barley and potatoes were grown, is now a world-class botanic garden. The land grant was made to John and Jane Hangan in 1805 and encompassed 20ha beside the River Derwent ­between Macquarie Point and New Town. By 1818, the Hangans had moved their farm further upriver and the original grant area was fenced off as the Government Gardens and Grounds. The appointment of J Faber as superintendent of the land is taken as the date the Gardens was established.

Two hundred years on there’s a lot to celebrate. Not only is this land now a beautifully planted, well-matured and highly maintained green space on the city’s edge, it is an important place of environmental education and for the ­preservation and study of Tasmania’s native flora. The Gardens is also a place to gather and celebrate, and has been cherished by ­generations. It is Australia’s second-oldest botanic gardens (Sydney pipped us by two years).

This month, in quick succession to mark the bicentenary, the Gardens is hosting a royal visit, celebrating gardening ­royalty and hosting the premiere of a new and confronting play.

Prince Edward, son of Queen Elizabeth II (who bestowed the prefix “Royal” to the Gardens in 1967 and is shown at Government House on her 1977 tour), is officiating at the gardens next week.

ROYAL VISIT AND BICENTENNIAL LAUNCH

The royal visitor is His Royal Highness Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. He will open a new addition to the Gardens that was commissioned for the bicentenary, and unveil a plaque. A tier of three beautifully balanced circular timber platforms has been built over the edge of the Gardens’ much-loved Lily Ponds. Known as the Lily Pads and designed by Hobart-based Edwina Hughes ­of Inspiring Place, these platforms offer an improved view of the pond with its water lilies and birds, as well as the surrounding gardens which include many plants from China and Japan. This new addition to the Gardens is sure ­to become very popular for events and celebrations.

Prince Edward is visiting on Tuesday for a walk in the ­Gardens as well as to undertake his official duties. Formal ­proceedings begin at 11am and conclude when the Prince ­unveils a plaque beside theLily Padsto mark the bicentenary. As his Gardens visit is his only official public event in Tasmania, the community is invited to come along to celebrate and catch a glimpse of the Queen’s youngest son.

Tory Ross, business enterprise and marketing manager for the Gardens, urges anyone who wants to see the Prince and join in on the Gardens’ bicentennial launch to arrive early to get a good vantage point. Head towards the Lily Ponds to catch all the action from 10am, she advises.

Prince Edward will be following in the footsteps of other royal visitors to the Gardens including his mother, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who, when visiting in 1967, ­planted a tree and proclaimed the Gardens as ‘Royal’. His older brother, Prince Charles, has also visited the Gardens.

Marcus Tatton’s Corruption is one of many sculptures at the Gardens.

SPECIAL SEEDS

Gardening royalty, in the form of veteran Tassie gardener and media personality Peter Cundall, will arrive for more birthday celebrations on Sunday, April 15, with ABC radio broadcaster Chris Wisbey, who is presenting a special outdoor broadcast from 10am until noon. It will be held at the newly refurbished ‘Pod’ building in the Community Vegetable Garden (long known as “Pete’s Patch”) where there will also be a special free ­exhibition in the Pod to celebrate 80 years of ABC Radio Hobart.

Making this broadcast extra special is the launch of a Peter Cundall-endorsed seed range chosen as a practical way for ­gardeners to commemorate the bicentenary. Seeds and plants will be available for sale on the day as part of the Winter Plant Sale. Food vans on site will add to the festivities.

If you can’t make it to any of the formal celebrations this month there’s more ahead throughout the year, all overseen by the large numerals that proclaim 200. This temporary ­sculptural addition to the Gardens can be seen illuminated at night from many of the surrounding roads.

To see what else is coming up, visit the Gardens’ website at gardens.rtbg.tas.gov.au – but don’t wait for a special event, stage your own bicentennial picnic at the Gardens any time this year and share a picture on social media with the hashtag #RTBG200. There’s a special spot in the Gardens set up for ­bicentennial smart phone photographs. Now that’s something that couldn’t have been envisaged 200 years ago when the ­Gardens began to grow.

Autumn tones of the Japanese maples fringe the traditional Yatsuhashi bridge in the Japanese Garden.

MORE INFORMATION

The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens is at Lower Domain Rd in Hobart. Drop into The Hub, the new information booth just ­inside the main entrance, for information about what’s ­happening in the Gardens. Visit the Gardens Shop to pick up a bottle of Bicentennial Release Gin flavoured with botanicals distilled from plants collected in the Gardens, or to get a copy of the recently released book The Gardens, which celebrates the 200-year history of the RTBG and includes historical ­photographs, maps and stories from the archives, as well as many photos and anecdotes sourced from the community.