FEATURE GARDEN
Rain on the Gardens’ birthday parade Julie Akmacic and Toby Golson, Australian National Botanic Gardens
When Prime Minister John Gorton opened the Australian National Botanic Gardens on 20 October 1970, he probably didn’t anticipate bushfires, hazardous smoke, hailstorms and a global pandemic interrupting the gardens’ golden anniversary in 2020. The gardens’ 50th anniversary was geared up to be a year of reflection, a year of celebration and a chance to pay tribute to five decades of scientific research, horticultural excellence and recreational enjoyment — but sadly, nature had other plans. Like many buildings and landscapes across the nation’s capital, the gardens fell victim to the destructive hailstorm that swept through Canberra on 20 January 2020. The summer storm, with hail as big as golf balls, ripped through the gardens smashing skylights and glasshouses, littering paths and garden beds with barrels of debris and tearing through the Rainforest Gully — one of Canberra’s much-loved treasures. It was this gully that helped the gardens develop into one of Canberra’s major national attractions 50 years ago — a gully that continues to take visitors on a journey through the rainforests of Australia’s eastern coastlines from Tasmania to Queensland. Back in the 1970s a misting system was installed in a dry gully near a standard public carpark. A careful selection of plants, along with artificially increased humidity, saw the development of the Rainforest Gully — a significant horticultural achievement as well as an avenue for raising public awareness about rainforests. 1967 – overlooking the car park and the portion of the gully that now represents the Tasmanian rainforest. Photo: Australian National Botanic Gardens.
56
THE BOTANIC GARDENer | ISS 55 SUMMER 2020/21
