DESIGN IN CONTEXT Fraser Brown

DESIGN IN CONTEXT.

THE VALUES OF EXPANDING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT SHAPES DESIGN. A ROYAL PARK CASE STUDY. FRASER BROWN. S3872985.

Contents Page.

I would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation who are the Traditional Custodians of the lands upon which I live, work and RMIT University is based.

I acknowledge and pay respects to their Ancestors and Elders, past and present and emerging, extending that respect to all other Indigenous peoples.

4

Introduction.

5

Chapter 01.

6

Timeline 01.

7

Chapter 02.

8

Timeline 02.

9

Chapter 03.

10

Timeline 03.

11

Conculsion.

12

References.

13

Appendix.

Introduction.

The design process is a complex system that forms part of an extended lineage that influences and shapes design outcomes through the consideration of different voices and surrounding contextual events. Expanding our understanding of the design process can strengthen our practice as it allows us to position our projects within a broader context, enabling for greater consideration to be implemented into design outcomes. This essay uses Royal Park as a case study to illustrate how expanding understandings of the design process, and the contexts that shape it, need to be recognised and acknowledged by us as designers throughout the duration of a project to strengthen our practice as individuals, and the agency of the Landscape Architecture profession.

Chapter 01 uses timelining to visually identify the impacts design and external change have on a design project over a temporal scale. Chapter 02 examines how events in a social context can shape a landscape and its role in society, analysing the importance of designing on more than one scale to facilitate communities and individuals. Chapter 03 investigates the importance of understanding the complexity of contexts surrounding design, allowing us as designers to consider the extended impacts changes can have on a landscape and its users.

4

5 6 Past Pre-Colonisation

1835 1850 Early British Occupancy

‘57 - ‘62 1860 1876 1890 Early Park Development

1903 1914 ‘14 - ‘18 ‘39 - ‘45

World War’s Deterioration of Royal Park

‘46 - ‘56 1956 1963 Initial Park Restoration

1977 1984 Redesign & Recovery

1997 ‘97 - ‘09 Environmentally Sustainable Design

2006 2006 2011 2015

Indigenous Recognition & Community Focused Design

FIGURE 1.1

2020

growth of the significant eucalyptus canopies in Royal Park.

the University of Melbourne. The initiative is designed to restore the under-

wildflowers under eucalyptus trees established by the City of Melbourne and

Royal Park Direct Seeding is an initiative to plant seeds of native grasses and

Royal Park Direct Seeding

form of play.

access across the space enabling anyone to be able to participate in a safe

and Human Services, the space reflects the community’s needs, providing equal

Designed by The City of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Health

play and education, Nature Play is based around the seven Wurundjeri seasons.

Designed to connect inner city kids and adults with nature through adventurous

Nature Play

portunity to redevelop the hospital’s existing footprint into a new playground.

all Australians. Relocating to an adjacent site within Royal Park, it provided op-

continue to play an important medical role for the extended community and

Royal Children’s Hospital’s increased medical services allow the hospital to

As the largest tertiary paediatric hospital in the Southern Hemisphere, the new

New Royal Children’s Hospital

Government contributed $5 million towards the Royal Park Wetlands.

through social housing afterwards. In addition to the village, Kennett’s Liberal

signed to house athletes and officials during the Games and Victorian families

Government constructed an environmentally sustainable Athletes Village de-

Winning the bid to Host the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Victoria State

Commonwealth Games

were officially opened as ‘Trin Warren Tam-boore’ in 2006.

increasing the biodiversity, and reducing portable water usage, the wetlands

bourne, the unique wetland system consists of two linked spaces. Significantly

Harvesting and recycling storm water to utilise in Royal Park and inner Mel-

Royal Park Wetlands

21 million litres for use in Royal Park.

ment and collection facilities in the northern suburbs, cleaning, and recycling

health. In response, the Melbourne City Council implemented water catch-

ed the park’s conditions, and impacted the community’s physical and mental

The extreme El Niño heat wave ravaged Royal Park’s vegetation, deteriorat-

Millennium Drought

and values, broadening Royal Park’s role within society.

digenous Open Woodlands to reflect the 1984 Master Plan’s existing principles

on the development of the Native Grassland Circle, Northern Wetlands and In-

Endorsed by the City of Melbourne, the 1997 Royal Park Master Plan focused

1997 Master Plan

and values for future development.

grow to support the changing community, providing an enduring framework

setting for individual and community engagement, and allowing the park to

and Ron Jones, focused on enhancing Royal Park’s existing character, providing

Royal Park Master Plan. The winning submission submitted by Brian Stafford,

tion with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the new

In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in conjunc-

Master Plan

scape, the garden was opened to the public in 1977.

With an emphasis on indigenous planting and the recreation of a ‘natural’ land-

traditional custodians of the land, the Wurundjeri, and Boon Wurrung people.

to reflect the appear-ance of a pre-settlement landscape, acknowledging the

Designed by Grace Fraser in 1974, the Australian Native Garden was designed

Australian Native Garden

its patients, but also subtracted a large section of parkland from Royal Park.

ing in size, the new facility could provide more extensive medical assistance to

sponding to medical challenges and the changing social environment. Increas-

dren’s Hospital was critically acclaimed as a first-class medical institution, re-

Set aside 10-acres in Royal Park by the Victorian Government, the Royal Chil-

Royal Children’s Hospital

bourne’s new energetic modernity.

Royal Park and the city and is widely cited as the significant catalyst for Mel-

pressure to clear out Melbourne’s slum areas. The initiative ultimately cleansed

The holding of the 1956 Summer Olympic Games brought public and political

Melbourne Olympic Games

desperate position for restoration and redevelopment.

opportunity for those in need. Lasting 10 years, Camp Pell left Royal Park in a

ceived as undesirable and unsafe locations by outsiders, Camp Pell provided

living conditions and numerous outbreaks of illness, violence, and crime. Per-

shortage, the Camp became known as ‘Camp Hell’, in response to the terrible

Set up by the Cain Government in response to the Victorian post-war housing

Camp Pell

became one of the worst slums in Melbourne.

Strangler’ and enhancing the damage caused from the WWI camp, Royal Park

ing Royal Park’s role within the community. Hosting the infamous ‘Brownout

to commemorated Major Floyd Pell, the camp played a pivotal part by chang-

can Troops prior to their deployment to Pacific campaigns. Named ‘Camp Pell’,

Through WWII, Royal Park accommodated thousands of Australian and Ameri-

World War II

community and Royal Park’s ecosystem.

Western Front. The Anzac military presence had a profound impact on the local

Military Camp and training ground used for the mobilisation of Anzacs to the

During the first World War, Royal Park became the site of a major Australian

World War I

renamed the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Royal Park Campus in 2005.

Park in 1914, the faculty is an integral part of Melbourne’s medical system,

commodate migrants coming to Victoria for the Gold Rush. Relocated to Royal

Originally, ‘The Immigrants Aids Society’, the hospital was established to ac-

Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park Campus

was later reduced to 9 holes in 1911.

to afford maintenance and general upkeep due to low membership, the course

ees, the Royal Park Golf Course provided an early recreational setting. Unable

Established in 1903 by local enthusiasts under control of the Royal Park Trust-

Royal Park Golf Course

erected in 1890 near to their departure point in Royal Park.

back to Melbourne proved to be fatal. A Memorial Cairn to honour them was

Having reached their goal in December of 1960, the return trip for Burke & Wills

Burke & Wills Memorial

interaction with the natural environment.

context, providing for current and future generations, facilitating community

reserved as parkland. The decision acknowledged the park’s value in an urban

opment. Officially gazetted in 1876, the remaining 424 acres were permanently

parkland, which led to the land being cleared and sold off for residential devel-

Royal Park’s condition deteriorated due to a lack of funding to maintain the

Reservation of Royal Park

wilderness.

habited by thousands who came to witness their departure into the Australian

shop fronts and special appliances. On the 20th of August, Royal Park was in-

Gulf of Carpentaria. Royal Park was host to their campsite, housing animals,

In 1860, Burke & Wills departed from Royal Park on their expedition to the

Burke & Wills Depart

as one of Victoria’s most popular visitor destinations.

Australian landscape. In 1862 the Zoo opened its doors to the public, sustaining

land for an Experimental Farm to acclimatise European food and stock to the

Founded in 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was granted 550 acres of

Royal Melbourne Zoo

site of public importance within Melbourne’s urban context.

recreation’. La Trobe’s early work and actions have entrenched Royal Park as a

acres of native bushland north of Melbourne for ‘the public advantage and

Lieutenant - Governor Charles La Trobe and the British Crown reserved 2560

Crown Reservation of land

Governor Burke of New South Wales.

was offering gifts for safe passage. The treaty was later declared invalid by

lost in translation of different aboriginal language, it was believed that Batman

the Wurundjeri People. Batman brought translators from New South Wales, but

Arriving into Port Phillip in 1935, John Batman arranged to purchase land from

Batman Treaty

Kulin Nation for rest, food, water, and a social meeting place.

was a general camping area for all Aboriginal groups, serving and providing the

political ideologies that intimately connected them together. Royal Park land

Representing information through timelining has allowed me to identify that every transformation or improvement to a landscape has a corresponding continued impact that carries with it. For example, the winning 1984 Royal Park Master Plan submission, designed by Brian Stafford and Ron Jones, has been a major catalyst for park improvements that continues to influence design occurring within Royal Park. Designed as a space

A collective of five Indigenous groups, the Kulin shared spiritual, economic, and

Design is an opportunity to implement change through creative response. As designers, our creative response should consider present and future contexts, and the resulting impact our design can have on a landscape.

The Athletes Village built for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, is an example of design considering the future context. Utilised by athletes and officials during the event, the Village was repurposed at the conclusion of the games and is presently used for social housing.

Whilst the Games only lasted a few weeks, the village’s design value has extended beyond its defined scope of the event. Considering the extended impact design can have, it allows us as designers to analyse and examine our practice and modify our creative response.

and Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation inhabited and occupied the land.

At the beginning of the semester, my initial understanding of the design process was very simplistic (Figure 1.1). I believed that the design process was a structured system engaged to produce and implement unique design solutions to improve landscapes to better facilitate a purpose or role within society in response to an issue, a need for change or the opening of an opportunity, starting with a brief and ending with a post occupancy evaluation. As a result of undertaking the methodology of timelining to investigate Royal Park’s design process, it has expanded my understanding of how the process plays an important role in enabling me and other designers to collect information, examine ideas, and effectively develop and conceptualize problem solving design through multiple mediums to produce innovative outcomes.

Before English settlement in what is now the City of Melbourne, the Wurundjeri

Kulin Nation Land

Chapter 01.

Royal Park

Timeline 01.

that can never be finished, the submission has provided an enduring framework and key values to which future improvements such as the Trin Warren Tam-boore Wetlands, Nature Play playground and 1997 Master Plan have all referenced.

Analysing the lineage and events that have shaped Royal Park has enabled me to recognise that when designing, I need to consider how a landscape is not only used in the present, but how it will continue to be utilised in the future. With a greater understanding of a project’s lineage and a design’s extended impact, it allows other designers and myself to critically analyse the impact our design decisions have on a landscape, enhancing the scope of our ability to look beyond the present and consider the broader context, enabling us to influence how a landscape is designed and occupied in the future.

Preservation

Restoration

Deterioration

Government Influenced Events

Money Invested Into Royal Park

Size of Park’s Public Space

Pre-Colonisation

Crown Reservation of Land

Batman Treaty

Royal Melbourne Zoo

Reservation of Royal Park

Burke & Wills Depart

Burke & Wills Memorial

Royal Melbourne Hospital

Royal Park Golf Course

World War II

World War I

Melbourne Olympics Games

Camp Pell

Australian Native Garden

Royal Children’s Hospital

1984 Master Plan

Millennium Drought

1997 Master Plan

Commonwealth Games

Royal Park Wetlands

New Royal Children’s Hospital

Royal Park Direct Seeding

Nature Play

Chapter 02.

Royal Park Timeline 02.

Social Definition: Royal Park’s availability and functional ability to facilitate recreation, interaction and changing needs of the community Establishing my definition of ‘social’ in the context of Royal Park (Figure 2.1), I was able to identify and analyse the key events that have reshaped the park’s landscape. Choosing three significant points in time, I developed different mappings that explore how Royal Park has changed over time in relation to the chosen social lens. Through timeline 02, I have enhanced my knowledge and understanding about the importance of designing across different scales to create efficient and effective social landscape systems.

Design can occur on a multitude of different scales.

When working on a project, it is important that we as designers recognise and consider the different focuses and target audiences when designing on large and small scales. Designing at specific scales for different user groups allows us as designers to create functional, efficient, and comfortable spaces, improving our agency and ability to shape social environments.

When designing on a large-scale, the focus and intended users that need to be considered are the people who make up the community. We as designers need to acknowledge and support the social context, atmosphere and structure of the surrounding community and social environment. The decision made by Lieutenant – Governor Charles La Trobe and the Crown in 1850 to reserve 2560 acres of native bushland for ‘the public advantage and recreation’ is an example of design occurring on a large community scale. Made in direct response to facilitate the needs of the community, La Trobe’s decision reflected the changing social environment and requirements of Melbournians. Acknowledging a project’s social context can provide a detailed insight into the requirements of a local community, allowing us as designers to carefully consider and improve our designs to better facilitate their needs.

Occurring within a project’s large-scale design, smallscale design responds to how individuals interact and engage with an environment. Designing at human scale allows us as designers to create space in relation to human dimensions, establishing connection between our sensory experience and the physical landscape. For example, Royal Park’s Nature Play playground designed by the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services directly addresses the specific requirements of the local neighbourhood by involving them through the initial stages of the design process (S. Haldane & J. Nelson, personal communication, March 29, 2021). Designed to connect inner city kids with nature through adventurous play, the playground has become an increasingly popular site in Royal Park’s social landscape. Expanding our understanding of designing at the human scale enhances our agency as designers to consider how individuals interact and engage with their surrounding environment, providing us with opportunity improve our creative practice to better facilitate specific needs.

Examining Royal Park’s design process through a social context has taught me, that when designing it is essential that I simultaneously consider community scale and human scale to address the different ways in which we engage with our environment. By developing a deeper understanding of how a social context influences the design process, it improves the ability of myself and other designers to examine the key focus and values surrounding a project, increasing our capability to design for communities as well as our ability to design on a smaller scale to facilitate connection between individuals and their environment.

1876 Map of Royal Park Legend Public Open Space

Moonee Ponds Creek

Purpose Built Social Facilities

Roads

1946 - 1956 Map of Royal Park

Present Map of Royal Park

Legend

Legend

Areas of Restricted Access

Public Open Space

Royal Park Outline

Purpose Built Social Facilities

Medical & Social Welfare Facilities

Roads

Areas of Restricted Access

Public Open Space

Purpose Built Social Facilities

Moonee Ponds Creek

Royal Park Outline

Moonee Ponds Creek

Paths

Internal Roads

Public Transport Routes

Roads

Public Transport Routes

1876

1946 - 1956

Medical & Social Welfare Facilities

Royal Park Outline

1984

2015

Camp Pell

Master Plan

Nature Play

Set up to address the Victorian post-war housing shortage affecting the commu-

In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in conjunction

Recognising the lack of play spaces facilitating a connection to the environment,

nity, the housing set-tlement’s social climate was immediately dwindled in direct

with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the new Royal Park

Nature Play was designed to connect the inner-city community with nature through

residential development, providing new housing solutions within proximity of the

association with the low public perception of the WWII Military Camp. As illness,

adventurous play. The City of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Health

vision in establishing Royal Park. Addressing the needs of the population at the

city for Melbournians. Recognising Royal Park’s significance to the wider commu-

Master Plan. Submitted by Laceworks Landscape Collaborative, Jones and Stafford’s

violence and crime spread, the settlement was rebranded ‘Camp Hell’, leaving Roy-

time, the park’s significant presence facilitated community recreation, laying critical

nity, the remaining 424 acres were permanently reserved as parkland when the land

al Park as one of Melbourne’s roughest, unsafe, and undesirable environ-ments.

framework defining the park’s role as a social space for people.

was officially gazetted in 1876. The reservation acknowledged the park’s value and

Beginning in 1939, the negative public image of Camp Pell radically impaired the

Pre Colonisation

1850

Kulin Nation Land

Crown Reservation of land

Reservation of Royal Park

Before English settlement in the City of Melbourne, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wur-

Lieutenant - Governor Charles La Trobe and the Crown reserved 2560 acres of

With a lack of funding to maintain the parkland, Royal Park’s condition deteri-

rung people of the Kulin Nation inhabited and lived off the land. A collective of

native bushland north of Melbourne for ‘the public advantage and recreation’. La

orated. With a growing population, languished land was cleared as sold off for

five Indigenous groups, the Kulin used the land as a general camping area for

Trobe’s initial vision of Melbourne surrounded by parkland was a fundamental pro-

all Aboriginal people. Serving as a meeting place, it facilitated social interaction, allowing stories and knowledge to be shared between the different groups. Royal Park’s present design reflects the current social acknowledgement that the park is

role in Melbourne’s urban context, providing a setting for community interaction

based on Indigenous land belonging to the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people.

and recreation.

and Human Services engaged with the community, enquiring how they can explic-

winning submission placed a large focus on the ways in which people interact with-

itly address their needs. Integrating into the landscape, the playground’s youthful

in their physical and social environment, creating a platform to escape the urban

atmosphere creates a social ambience between nature and society, inviting people

park’s role within society, forcefully reducing social activity and security, leaving the

context and become a setting for interaction and recreation. The park provides

park in desperate need of redevelopment.

specific settings to meet local neighbourhood requirements for active and passive

equal access, the Nature Play forms a critical part of Royal Park’s present social

play, enjoyment, and leisure. Incorporating surrounding medical facilities, the park

landscape, promoting active play, interaction, and recreation, shaping, and consol-

is designed for people, laid out to facilitate the community and their changing

idating Royal Park’s as a social landscape.

into Royal Park though active play to engage with the native parkland. Providing

needs. The Master Plan’s strong core values and principles have provided a critical framework which has guided Royal Park’s role in society.

1840

1860

1870

1880

1890

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

Focus on Community Welfare

Change in Royal Park’s Role

Events Facilitating Social Interaction

Public Perception

Social Significance

Stolen land from the Kulin Nation

Official reservation of Royal Park (1876) to conserve the park’s role in society

Sports Facilities

The 1984 Master Plan was designed with a large focus on users

Social Housing

Crown Reservation of land (1850) for “public advantage and recreation

Camp Pell established for social housing Establishment of sporting facilities / infrastructure

7

Military camps set up in response to global climate surrounding World Wars

Current social recognition of Royal Park existing on indigenous land

FIGURE 2.1

Past

8

1835 Pre-Colonisation

‘57 - ‘62 1860 Early British Occupancy

1903

1890 Early Park Development

1914 ‘14 - ‘18

‘39 - ‘45 World War’s Deterioration of Royal Park

1956

1963 Initial Park Restoration

1977

1997 ‘97 - ‘09 Redesign & Recovery

2006 2006

Environmentally Sustainable Design

2011

Covid-19 Epidemin Begins

an integration of the community’s changing needs into Royal Park’s landscape.

to produce a social balance between rehabilitation and recreation, facilitating

playground. Collaboratively, the two developments complement one another

concurrently provided an opportunity for the creation of the new Nature Play

tionally, continuing to play a critical role in the community. The redevelopment

specialist care beyond Victoria, to children from around Australia and interna-

largest tertiary paediatric hospital in the southern hemisphere, extending its

Built into Royal Park’s landscape, the new Royal Children’s Hospital’s is the

New Royal Children’s Hospital

Demolition of existing Royal Children’s Hospital footsteps of Camp Pell.

aims to reduce any possibility of the program following the same negative

those in need. Integrating the social housing with regular residential housing

Games had concluded. The initiative creates equal housing opportunity for

the Games and partly utilised as social housing for Victorian families once the

to building an Athlete’s Village designed to house athletes and officials during

For the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Victoria State Government committed

Commonwealth Games

Official opening of Royal Park Urban Camp

Opening of new State Netball Hockey Centre

Royal Park to preserve the park’s biodiversity to maintain its role within society.

collection facilities in the northern suburbs, recycling 21 million litres for use in

social impact, the Melbourne City Council implemented water catchment and

slump in the community’s physical and mental health. Observing the drought’s

peal. As a result, fewer social activities were held in Royal Park, leading to a

park conditions, impacting recreational use of the landscape and its social ap-

The El Niño heat wave deteriorated and exhausted Royal Park’s vegetation and

Millennium Drought

First works of 1984 Master Plan begin

New Baseball Field created following a request from the Victorian Baseball Association

growing public significance.

tions to medical advancement, education, and social welfare reflect Royal Park’s

as a pioneer of Australia’s cultural and social change. Its remarkable contribu-

cal challenges and the changing social environment, solidifying its significance

was critically acclaimed as a first-class medical institution, responding to medi-

er precinct for medical staff, patients, and visitors. The Royal Children’s Hospital

Relocating to Royal Park, the government initiative created a substantially larg-

Royal Children’s Hospital

Opening of Women’s Basketball Stadium a social landscape.

The Olympic Games mark the beginning of the restoration of Royal Park as

parkland of the overhanging safety and security issues feared by the public.

of Camp Pell, altering Royal Park’s social atmosphere, instantly relieving the

Mounting political and public pressure to clean up the city led to the evacuation

tralia and the Southern Hemisphere had hosted of international significance.

The holding of the 1956 Summer Olympic Games, was the first event that Aus-

Melbourne Olympic Games

Youth Justice Centre Opened next to Royal Melbourne Hospital Parkville Cmpus

Additional sporting ovals and a baseball field added to Royal Park

Three Murders are committed by the ‘Brownout Strangler’

nity interaction in the park, leaving the landscape in an undesirable condition.

uncertainty, public perception of Royal Park diminished, reducing all commu-

conditions and host to the infamous ‘Brownout Strangler’. Swept with fear and

environment left the park as a place to avoid due to unsanitized military living

interfered with community use of the park. The change of Royal Park’s social

their deployment to Pacific campaigns. Military infrastructure restricted and

Camp to accommodate thousands of Australian and American Troops prior to

During WWII, Royal Park was taken from the community and became a Military

World War II

Moreland Ladies’ Amateur Athletics Club Track is constructed in Royal Park

Establishment of the West Coburg Tramway through Royal Park

precedent for the establishment of the controversial WWII Military Camp.

community, the success of Royal Park’s WWI Military Camp became a strong

es, characterizing part of the park as unusable space. Despite impacting the

interfered with the public’s ability to use the landscape for recreational purpos-

Australian Military Camp and training ground. The camp’s presence in the park

ployment of Anzacs to the Western Front, Royal Park became the site of an

Reflecting the change in global society and the initial mobilisation and de-

World War I

bourne, providing critical specialist care to those in need.

to Royal Park in 1914, the hospital became an integral medical facility in Mel-

providing welfare services and support to all citizens of Victoria. Relocating

for the Gold Rush. As disease spread, the Aid Society expanded its facilities,

Beginning in the 1850s, the hospital assisted migrants arriving into Melbourne

Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park Campus

Golf Course changed to 9- holes

Opening of Royal Park Psychiatric Hospital

to enjoy the game, forming part of the park’s sporting landscape.

reduced to 9-holes, the course continues to provide a location for social players

ting for social sport in Melbourne. Despite low membership numbers and being

Established in 1903, the Royal Park 18-hole Golf Course provided an early set-

Royal Park Golf Course

Creation of first sports fields in Royal Park

Horse-drawn tram line between Sydney Road and Zoo entrance constructed

Completion of Railway through Royal Park

Allotments of Royal Park go up for public sale

A Board of Trustee take over the management of Royal Park visitor destinations.

tion, currently still maintaining its position as one of Victoria’s most popular

Batman Treaty was the beginning of British colonisation in Victoria, forcefully evicting the Indigenous people

Indigenous people living together, interacting in the Kulin Nation general camping site

opened its doors to the public in 1862 where it flourished as a tourism attrac-

Commonwealth Games athletes village repurposed for social housing post games

up to acclimatize animals and crops into the Australian landscape. The Zoo

Community focused design addressing their changing needs

of land within Royal Park for the establishment of an Experimental Farm, set

Camp Pell was closed for the major social event, the 1956 Melbourne Olympics

Founded in 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was granted 550 acres

Adjective: Relating to society and living together in an organised way

Royal Melbourne Zoo

Social

the settlers to steal their land, destroying the Indigenous people’s way of living.

Inclusive spaces / areas that are non-discriminatory, all inclusive and safe

eviction of Indigenous people from the area, following the deceit exercised by

People focused / orientated

op their own housing and farmland. The failed treaty represents the inevitable

Welfare Facilities

ment for the British, providing newcomers the opportunity and setting to devel-

n

People. The interaction’s intention was to obtain land to establish a new settle-

Nature Play playground was established to connect inner city kids to nature

S oc

Camp Pell was repurposed to house victorians caught in the post war housing shortage

Batman Treaty

Military camps perceived as dangerous and unsafe locations for the community

f niti o ia l D e

Neighbouring Urbanisation

Arriving in 1935, John Batman arranged to purchase land from the Wurundjeri

Removal / eviction of indigenous people

2020

Indigenous Recognition & Community Focused Design

Royal Park

Chapter 03.

Timeline 03.

Environmental Definition: The deterioration, preservation, and restoration of Royal Park’s vegetation, biodiversity, and ecosystem induced by natural conditions, surrounding urbanisation, and its growing role within Through this chapter using my definition of ‘environmen-

recreation. If we as designers expand our understanding of

1946 - 1956 Map of Royal Park

1984 - 1997 Map of Royal Park

Present Map of Royal Park

tal’ in relation to Royal Park (Figure 3.1), I examine relative

how change within a landscape can diversely impact a proj-

Legend

Legend

Legend

events through Royal Park’s lineage that have reshaped and

ect, we can strengthen the consideration within our practice

established change to the park’s physical environment. Us-

and improve the utility of our design outcomes.

ing timelining to visualise information, I analyse the impact

Using timelining as a technique of visualising information,

major environmental events have had on the park, mapping

it has allowed me to clearly identify and scrutinize moments

three significant moments in time to represent environmen-

in Royal Park’s lineage when a single event has influenced

tal changes that have occurred. Utilizing this methodology,

more than one context surrounding the park’s landscape.

I have expanded my understanding of how design can have

The Millennium Drought created by the El Niño weather cy-

adverse impacts to a multitude of contexts, allowing me to

cle is another example of an event impacting multiple con-

consider the broader context surrounding my future design

texts. Initially deteriorating the park’s vegetation from the

projects.

extreme heat wave, the drought concurrently impacted comical damage. Undertaking research to investigate the impact

will be focused on the environmental context and may dis-

on other contexts established from an event enables me and

regard the affects and impacts of focusing on just the one

other designers to enhance the scope of our contextual con-

context. The different contexts surrounding design form a

sideration when using the design process to respond to a

fragile network, where an issue occurring in one context will

complex issue through our practice of applying unique de-

create a range of issues across other contexts.

sign solutions.

When design or change occurs within a landscape, there are

Analysing Royal Park’s environmental context has enabled

always associated impacts. As designers, we need to consid-

me to expand my understanding of the complexity of the de-

er how the result of these impacts will invariably affect more

sign process and the importance of recognising that a proj-

than one context surrounding a design project. For example,

ect’s contexts form a fragile network. My new understanding

when Royal Park was converted into major Military Camps

and appreciation of this complexity allows me and allows

during WWI and WWII, the landscape sustained serious eco-

other designers within the landscape architecture profes-

logical damage from the extensive modification and mili-

sion to consider the implications that design, and external

Acknowledgement of Environmental Importance

tary infrastructure, severely degrading the park’s biodiver-

change have on a project’s contextual network, acknowledg-

Consideration of Environmental Sustainability

sity throughout the duration of the military presence. Their

ing that we have a responsibility to investigate, understand

occupation and destruction of the landscape also restricted

and analyse the cause and effect our design can have on an

people’s ability to utilise the park and reduced its overall

entire project and its surrounding environment.

Royal Park direct seeding project to restore understorey of established eucalypts

their physical environment. Their sophisticated value and respect for the environ-

bushland for established the critical framework which has allowed Royal Park to

sold off for residential development, raising concerns for the park’s preservation.

ment sanctioned their ability to live off the land for thousands of years. Permitting

remain a key open space for people and wildlife within Melbourne. Royal Park’s

In 1876 when Royal Park was officially gazetted, its remaining 424 acres were per-

the natural resources to regrow, the bushland played a major role in preserving the

vegetation has remained largely indigenous, preserving the land’s native ecosys-

manently reserved as public parkland. The decision formally recognised the park’s

Indigenous people’s dependent relationship with the landscape.

tem. La Trobe’s work preserved natural elements of the Australian landscape, pro-

role within Melbourne’s urban environment as a pocket of open green space, pre-

tecting the rich indigenous biodiversity amidst the radical development occurring

serving the native parkland from Melbourne’s urbanisation.

1984 Master Plan’s ambition to restore Royal Park’s biodiversity and overall condition

Moonee Ponds Creek

Roads

Royal Park Outline

Moonee Ponds Creek

Roads

Royal Park Outline

Internal Roads

Paths

1m Contours

Internal Roads

Paths

1m Contours

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1984

2015

2006

Camp Pell

Master Plan

Royal Park Wetlands

Nature Play

The Camp Pell social housing settlement continued the detrimental impact and

In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in conjunction

Royal Park’s wetland system was designed to harvest and recycle storm water for

Based around the seven Wurundjeri seasons, Nature Play reflects the traditional

imposition the Military Camps had on Royal Park’s landscape. Lasting ten years,

with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the new Royal Park

irrigation within the park and inner-city Melbourne. Consisting of two linked ponds,

custodian’s way of living off the land, inviting users to engage with the play space

Camp Pell’s footprint on Royal Park left the area bereft of any indigenous vegeta-

Master Plan. Submitted by Laceworks Landscape Collaborative’s Brian Stafford and

the water management system produces an aquatic habitat and significantly in-

to indirectly experience the seasonal changes within the landscape embodied in

tion, hastening the landscape’s already heavily deteriorated condition to the point

Ron Jones, the winning submission framed the design as a non-fixed living land-

creases the native biodiversity and vegetation within Royal Park. The artificial billa-

the playground’s physical structure and reflective native planting. The City of Mel-

where the issue needed to be addressed. Emancipating the park in a detrimental

scape. The ecological restoration removed the horticultural clutter and integrated

bong actively discharges clean water into the Moonee Ponds Creek and Port Phillip

bourne and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services’ design is an

state, the Camp was the capstone for the creation of the Royal Park 1984 design

a nativist planting scheme, celebrating Australia’s native and natural elements. De-

bay, reducing Melbourne’s environmental impact. In 2006, the wetlands were of-

environmentally evocative landscape that blurs the edges of the playground effort-

competition to improve and restore Royal Park’s vegetation and ecosystem to re-

signed to appear unplanned, the Master Plan has provided enduring environmental

ficially opened as ‘Trin Warren Tam-boore’ alongside the Commonwealth Games.

lessly to naturally integrate it into the surrounding native woodlands, celebrating

instate the park role for Melbourne’s wildlife and community.

framework for Royal Park, guiding the maintenance of the landscape’s biodiversity.

1950

1960

1970

1980

Australia’s native vegetation and biodiversity.

1990

2000

2010

2020

Open Space

Park Restoration

Strong continuation of native planting scheme

Environmnetally friendly / sustainable Athletes Village

Past

Creation of water harvesting / Royal Park Wetlands

FIGURE 3.1

10

1835 Pre-Colonisation

‘57 - ‘62 1860 Early British Occupancy

1903

1890 Early Park Development

1914 ‘14 - ‘18

‘39 - ’45 World War’s Deterioration of Royal Park

1956

1977

1963 Initial Park Restoration

1997 ‘97 - ‘09 Redesign & Recovery

2006

Environmentally Sustainable Design

2011

2020

Indigenous Recognition & Community Focused Design

pollination of native flowering species whilst enhancing the park’s biodiversity.

the park’s vegetation and urban ecosystem, forming habitat and increasing

to the undergrowth of the eucalyptus canopies proclaims the importance of

a native grassy understory beneath the established eucalypts, the restoration

the City of Melbourne and the University of Melbourne. Designed to recreate

mature eucalyptus trees in Royal Park by the collaborative partnership between

Close to a million seeds of native grasses and wildflowers were sown under

Royal Park Direct Seeding

Demolition of existing Royal Children’s Hospital

all designed to set new benchmark standards in sustainability.

atmosphere. The structural developments reflect El Niño’s effects on Australia,

the site’s topography, retaining mature native trees to establish a ‘built of time’

Royal Park into and through the site. The central open corridor is informed by

lage. The layout uses indigenous planting to form a character extension of

Government committed to building an environmentally friendly Athlete’s Vil-

Winning the bid to Host the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Victoria State

Commonwealth Games

Opening of new State Netball Hockey Centre for use around the city and Royal Park.

ment and collection facilities in the northern suburbs, recycling 21 million litres

and community welfare, the Melbourne City Council implemented water catch-

dry conditions. With the park’s deteriorated condition impacting the vegetation

the park, resulting in the removal of species not adept to endure Australia’s

vegetation and ecosystem. The drought identified inappropriate planting within

The El Niño heat wave that hit Australia degraded the health of Royal Park’s

Millennium Drought

role as a key part of Melbourne’s wildlife network.

the development of a pre-colonisation landscape, strengthening Royal Park’s

separated areas by establishing a circulation system the plan aimed to enhance

from the 1984 Master Plan. Increasing the usable area of parkland and uniting

indigenous open woodland, and an open grassland circle, pursuing objectives

The 1997 Master Plan focused on the development of a native wetland, an

1997 Master Plan

First works of 1984 Master Plan begin

Royal Park’s physical qualities to embody a pre-colonial character.

tion of indigenous vegetation provided vision and a symbolic link to reconnect

Wurundjeri, and Boon Wurrung of the Kulin Nation. Fraser’s distinctive selec-

reflecting a native eco-system and the traditional owners of the land, the

to reflect the appearance of a pre-settlement landscape, encapsulating and

emphasis on indigenous planting and the recreation of a ‘natural’ landscape,

Designed by Grace Fraser in 1974, the Australian Native Garden has a large

Australian Native Garden

500 Native trees planted in Royal Park by school children Royal Park.

the Military Camp significantly contributed to the redevelopment of the entire

environmental state requiring considerable large-scale ecological restoration,

years the Military Camp occupied the park. Leaving Royal Park in such a critical

the vegetation and surrounding natural elements were devastated over the six

modified with temporary structures and nissen huts scattered across the park,

the camp causing immense ecological damage to the landscape. Extensively

repurposed to provide setting for Australian and American armed forces,

Transformed into a large-scale Military Camp through WWII, the park was

World War II

It was Decided that native Australian trees would were to be planted in thepark in future

of Royal Park’s environment.

camp’s success led to future Military occupation, and increased deterioration

aging the park’s biodiversity. Inhabiting the site for an extended period, the

presence became a feature of the landscape, negatively impacting and dam-

Millennium drought’s impact on Royal Park and associated water restrictions

A changing focus to restoring Royal park’s vegetation

initial downfall for Royal Park’s vegetation and ecosystem. The constant military

Royal Park’s changing role in society has been a major catalyst for damge to park

Repurposing the landscape into a WWI Military Camp for the Anzacs, was the

Environmental challanges, damages and pollution

World War I

1997 Master Plan had a large focus on enhancing Royal Park’s role for wildlife

A focus on phyiscal surroundings, including: air, water, soil & all living organisms

221 new trees planted in Royal Park

Wildlife in Royal Park

Indigenous people pre-colonisation living off the land, only taking what they require

Following Royal Park’s role as a Military & social camp, there was a significant change in environmnetal awareness

1890

Further groupings of trees planted across Royal Park

Ecology & biodiversity

1880

Urban Imposition on Royal Park

Significance

Urban Imposition

Environmental

1876 Reservation of land, preserving Royal Park’s open space

9

Living from the land, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people relied heavily on

219 Eucalyptus trees planted

Preservation of Royal Park

Royal Park Outline

Areas of Biodiverse

Public Parkland

Availability for Wildlife

e f n iti o n

Environmental conditions directly relating to park health

Reservation of Royal Park Unable to sustain and upkeep the vast parkland, sections of land were cleared and

1870

Significance

Events influenced by 1984 Master Plan

Restoration of Royal Park

i ro n

Crown Reservation of land Lieutenant – Governor Charles La Trobe’s actions to reserve 2560 acres of native

1860

Urban Imposition on Royal Park

1946 - 1956

Kulin Nation Land

First building erected in Royal park

Env

4m Contours

Areas of Biodiverse

Public Parkland

Effect on Royal Park’s Landscape

1997 Master Plan to further assist 1984 Plan’s objectives

t al D men

Internal Roads

Urban Imposition on Royal Park

Park’s Health

Millennium drought’s impact on Royal Park vegetation

1850 Crown Reservation of land established by La Trobe

Roads

1876

1840

aesthetic appeal to facilitate social activity and community

Deterioration of Royal Park

Moonee Ponds Creek

within the settlement.

As landscape architects, we can believe that every design

Ecological destruction caused

by WWI & WWII Military camp

1850

Pre Colonisation

munity physical and mental health as a result of the ecolog-

Camp Pell social housing further damaging the land after WWII Military camp

Deterioration of Landscape

Public Parkland

References.

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melbournes-roughest-areas/10061862?nw=0

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plan, scale 160 feet to 1 inch. no.51 , Melbourne and Brunswick [cartographic mate Argus. (1944). [Portion of Camp Pell with Burke and Wills monument in foreground] [picture]. rial]. [Map]. MMBW.

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Expanding my understanding of the design process and the contexts that shape it, using the methodology of timelining and Royal Park as an example, has broadened my consideration and knowledge of the process’ complexity, enabling me to recognise the broader context surrounding a project, strengthening my practice and ability as a landscape architect to produce proficient design solutions. Design exists as part of a lineage which needs to be recognised in projects. Consideration of both present and future contexts surrounding design enhances the scope of our ability to look beyond the present to critically analyse the extended impacts change can have on a landscape. Design occurs on all scales. In projects its crucial we design at different scales, strengthening our agency to facilitate different users by creating comfortable and functional spaces enabling differing groups and individuals to connect with the physical landscape. When change occurs in a landscape, it is important we consider and recognise the diversity of the impacts that are associated with it. A project’s contexts form a fragile network and we as designers have a responsibility to understand and consider how changes within a design can impact the surrounding environment. The design process is a complex system, but expanding of our understanding of its complexity allows myself and others within the landscape architecture profession to strengthen our practice and improve our agency by understanding the factors that shape it.

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Metropolitan Melbourne Investigation Area: A Report to the Victorian

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Proeschel, F. (1851). Map of Melbourne & suburbs… https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-230010454 https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1492100 Reed, D. (2010). Royal Park. Landscape Architecture Australia , (127), 27-27. Retrieved March 28,

2021, from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/stable/45141770 Roscar. (2006). Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. [picture]. http://www.roscar.com.au/portfolio-item/melbourne-2006-commonwealth-games// Royal Children’s Hospital. (1965). Patients and Nurses Inspecting the New Hospital [picture]. https://rch150.org.au/timeline/milestones/first-patients-move-into-new-hospital- at-parkville/ Rush Wright Associates. (2021). Royal Park Wetland. http://www.rushwright.com/parks-wetlands/royal-park-wetland/ Sanderson. W.A. (1932, May 3). Early History of Royal Park, 1844 – 1933 . Victorian Historical

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City of Melbourne. (2021). Other Major Parks – Royal Park. Parks in Melbourne.

State Library of Victoria, ERGO. (2021). Batman’s Treaty. https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/fitzroy-gardens/ParksinMelbourne/Pages/Other http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/colonial-melbourne/pioneers/bat MajorParks.aspx

mans-treaty City of Melbourne Parks and Gardens Department. (n.d.). T he Melbourne City Council’s Admin

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The Australian Olympic Committee. (2021). Melbourne 1956. https://www.olympics.com.au/games/melbourne-1956/ Cotton, J. (1845). An encampment of Aboriginal Australians on the banks of the Yarra The City of Melbourne. (1998). Royal Park Master Plan. Friends of Royal Park.

Culture Victoria. (2013). Early attractions at the Zoo, 1893 . https://www.royalpark.org.au/attachments/article/118/Royal+Park+Master+Plan. https://cv.vic.gov.au/stories/land-and-ecology/melbourne-zoo-and-you-150-years/ pdf early-attractions-at-the-zoo-1893/#:~:text=Melbourne%20Zoo%20was%20found The Guardian. (2018). The ‘Brownout Strangler’: how a smiling psychopath terrorised wartime

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Victoria Project Summary – The New Royal Children’s Hospital Project https://www. gler-how-a-smiling-psychopath-terrorised-wartime-melbourne dtf.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-01/RCH-Project-Summary_FINAL.pdf The PlantHunter. (2016) Nature Play at Royal Park: Australia’s best playground. [picture].

Donati, L. (2008). ‘Royal Park’ eMelbourne: The City Past & Present. https://theplanthunter.com.au/gardens/royal-park/ http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM01282b.htm The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. (2021). Milestones.

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Health and History , 7(2), 101-125. doi:10.2307/40111614 The Royal Melbourne Hospital. (2021). History of the Royal Park Campus.

Find & Connect. (2018). Camp Pell (1946 – 1956). https://www.thermh.org.au/about/about-rmh/our-history/history-royal-park-cam https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/vic/E000676 pus Garren, A. (2017). Bye Bye Batman? Melbourne Founder’s name to be erased from electorate, The Royal Park Competition. (1985). Landscape Australia , 7(2), 134-140. doi:10.2307/45143615 history . The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/bye-bye-batman- melbourne-founders-name-to-be-erased-from-electorate-history-20170216-gue The University of Melbourne. (2020). Royal Park Direct Seeing Project. https://girg.science.unimelb.edu.au/2020/07/10/royal-park-direct-seeding-pro puj.html ject/#:~:text=In%20late%20April%2C%20almost%20a,Steve%20Livesley%20and%20 Heberger, M. (2012). Australia’s Millennium Drought: Impacts and Responses .

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Melbourne [cartographic material] . [Map]. Dept. of Crown Lands and Survey?].

Herald Sun Image Library. (1954). Children play in the dirt in Camp Pell in Royal Park. [picture] Victorian Heritage Database. (2014). Royal Park. Heritage Council Victoria. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/haunting-images-of-the-streets_ https://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/1954 that-were-once-home-to-melbournes-slums/news-story/8929dd97a96343ae9de 160c637a16c0c Victorian Heritage Register. (2014). Heritage Registration Report - Royal Park.

Hilton, D. (2003). A centenary in the Park : the history of the Royal Park Golf Club 1903-2003 / Victoria Government. (2020). Sites of Significance. Explore Victorian sites of histori

compiled and produced by Denise Hilton . Royal Park Golf Club.

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plan, scale 160 feet to 1 inch. no.31 , Melbourne and Nth Melbourne [cartographic material]. [Map]. MMBW.

11

12

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Appendix.

Appendix.

Timeline 01.

Timeline 02.

1946 - 1956

Pre Colonisation Kulin Nation Land

Master Plan

Set up in response to the post-war housing shortage for Victorians, the initial ideals of the Camp were established in good sovereignty. This quickly changed as public perception of the personnel and inadequate conditions deteriorated. Parental neglect was assumed to cause the spreading of illness in children, male youth were seen as aggressive and violent, whilst young women were viewed as sexually provocative. Misconceptions from the public and housing assistance caseworkers rendered Royal Park as undesirable and unsafe to the

Crown Reservation of Land Under the supervision of Lieutenant - Governor Charles La Trobe, the Crown reserved 2560 acres of native bushland just north of Melbourne for ‘the public advantage and recreation’. This integral reservation of land has formed the foundation for Melbourne’s iconic green open space, designing the city as a healthy and active social hub surrounded by extensive parkland.

Indigenous groups, the Kulin shared spiritual, economic, and political ideologies that intimately connected them together. Royal Park land was a general camping area for all Aboriginal groups, serving and providing the Kulin Nation for rest, food, water, and a social meeting place.

1984

Camp Pell

1850

Before English settlement in what is now the City of Melbourne, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation inhabit-

1876

In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the new Royal Park Master Plan. Submitted by Laceworks Landscape Collaborative, directed by Brian Stafford, and Ron Jones, the winning submission had a philosophical design structured on passive recreation, preservation and enhancing Royal Park’s existing character. Addressing the park’s role as an environment supporting a changing community, the design has a large focus on the ways in which people interact within their physical and social environment, creating a platform to escape the built environment and allow creativity and imagination to dictate

Reservation of Royal Park Through the 1870s, Royal Park’s conditioned deteriorated as a result of a lack of funding to maintain the extensive parkland. The harsh Australian conditions and dry soil impeded the parks improvement, which lead to the land being cleared and sold off for residential develop-

ferent activities, the park caters to local neighbourhood requirements for active and passive play and organised sport. This Master Plan has provided a critical frameregarding Royal Park. The core values and principles of the master plan have played a vital reference point for sition when advocating for or against change within the park, comparing it the 1984 design’s original intention.

2015 Nature Play Set up in response to the post-war housing shortage for VicNature Play was designed to connect inner city kids and adults with nature through adventurous play and education. Based around the seven Wurundjeri seasons, Nature Play invites users to look deeper to see the layers and seasonal change within the landscape embodied in structure, planting, and experience. The working partnership between the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services have managed

1876, the remaining 464 acres were permanently reserved as parkland.

consultation throughout the design process. The layout provides equal access across the space enabling patients from the Children’s Hospital, the elderly and everyone in between to be able to participate in a safe form of play. The Return to Royal Park is a critical part of the park’s social environment, attracting people into the park to interact with the natural environment within an urban context.

1941 - 1945

2006

World War II

1835

Throught WWII, Royal Park accommodated thousands of Australian and American Troops

Batman Treaty Arriving into Port Phillip in 1935, John Batman believed he made an arrangement to purchase land from the Wurundjeri People. The negotiation took place with tribe elders, who were not in a position to sell land, instead of the ‘chiefs’ as Batman had claimed. He also brought with him personal translators from New South Wales. Lost in translation of different aboriginal language, it was believed that Batman was offering gifts for safe passage. Declared invalid by

1857 - 1862 Royal Melbourne Zoo

Royal Park Golf Course

Established in October 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was given 550 acres of land within Royal Park as an experimental farm.

Renamed The Acclimatisation Society of Victoria in 1861, the Zoo opened its doors in Royal Park to the public in 1862.

Established in 1903 by local enthusiasts under control from the Royal Park Trustees, the Royal Park Golf Course provided an early setting for social sport. Unable to afford maintenance and general upkeep due to low membership, the course was later reduced to 9 holes in 1911.

deceit and greed exercised in the colonisation of Australia

1840s

1914 - 1918 World War I

1900s

Designed by Melbourne based landscape designer Grace Fraser in 1974, the Australian Native Garden, located by Gatehouse Street, is an appreciation of Native Australia. With an emphasis on indigenous planting and the recreation of a ‘natural’ landscape, the garden was opened to the public in 1977 with the appearance of a pre-settlement landscape.

Endorsed by the City of Melbourne, the 1997 Royal Park Master Plan put special emphasis on the development of three major planted features to enrich the character of the park, create major attractions for visitors and make

in Royal Park and inner Melbourne. Consisting of two linked spaces, the unique landscape and water management system improves environmental outcomes, producing an aquatic habitat, ducing portable water usage. The wetlands were

native grassland circle, northern wetlands and indigenous open woodlands maintain the recommendations from the 1984 Master Plan,

1940s

2006 for the commencement of the Commonwealth Games.

1980s

Royal Park Direct Seeding In late April, close to a million seeds of native

-

1914 Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park Campus

Winning the 1999 Bid to Host the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Victoria State Government committed to building an environmentally friendly Athlete’s Village. Housing athletes and rian families as social housing once the Games have concluded. The Village’s sustainable design

Millennium Drought Through the extreme weather conditions generated from the El Niño weather cycle that ravaged Australia, Royal Park’s vegetation suffered immensely through the incredible heat wave. With limited water available, Melbourne City Council implemented water catchment and collection facilities in the northern suburbs, cleaning, and recycling 21 million litres for use in Royal Park.

the Southern Hemisphere. There was widespread agitation among the public to close ‘Camp Hell’, cleansing Melbourne from the housing slum which was viewed as a stain over the city.

Beginning as, ‘The Immigrants Aids Society’, the hospital was established to accommodate migrants coming to Victoria for the Gold Rush.

Rapidly expanding, patients were moved to larger building in Royal Park in 1914. Becoming part of Melbourne Health, the hospital was renamed the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Royal Park Campus in 2005.

Commonwealth Games

1996 - 2009

Selected in 1949 to host the 1956 Summer

Australia withstood. In addition to the Village, the Victoria Government contributed $5 million towards the Royal Park wetlands.

Iteration 2.1

Iteration 1.1 1963

1984

Set aside 10-acres in Royal Park by the Victorian Government, construction of the new Children’s Hospital was impeded for numerous years due to lack of financial support from the government. Becoming the Royal Children’s Hospital in 1953, the hospital was officially opened in 1963 by Queen Elizabeth II.

Neglected and labelled as a “horticultural dumping ground” through the 1970s, Royal Park’s native aesthetic and appeal was lost and confused. Following various unsuccessful proposals to redevelop the park, inappropriate planting of exotic trees, and various outraged local groups, in 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition for the Royal Park Master Plan. Held in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), the winning design was submitted by Laceworks Landscape Collaborative, directed by Brian Stafford, and Ron Jones, two landscape architecture lecturers from RMIT. Their philosophical design focused on passive

Royal Children’s Hospital

1914 - 1918 World War I

During the first World War, Royal Park became the site of a major Australian Military Camp and training ground used for the mobilization of Anzacs to the Western Front.

1944

Royal Melbourne Hospital Out growing its old building on the corner of Lonsdale and Swanston Streets, the hospital was renamed the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 1935, and relocated to a 10-acre block in Royal Park.

Occupied by the United States 4th General Hospital from 1942 – 1944 through WWII, the new buildings were officially handed to the RMH on the 10th of December 1944.

1890

Roya Pa k

2006

Master Plan (1984)

eucalyptus trees in Royal Park. The initiative is a collaborative partnership between the City of Melbourne and the University of Melbourne designed to create a native grassy understorey beneath the established eucalypts.

2006

Melbourne Olympic Games

Leaving from Royal Park in 1860, Burke & Wills departed on their expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Park was host to their campsite which housed a large array of animals, tent shopfronts and special appliances. On the 20th of August, Royal Park was inhabited by thousands who came to witness their departure into the Australian wilderness.

2020

New Royal Children’s Hospital

2000s

1956

Having reached their goal in December of 1960, the return trip for Burke & Wills back to Melbourne proved to be fatal. A Memorial Cairn to honour them was erected in 1890 near to their departure point in Royal Park.

2011 In 2007 the Labour Government of Victoria announced the redevelopment of the Royal Children’s Hospital project.

Relocating to an adjacent site within Royal Park, the announcement was contested by the public and members of environmental groups seeking to protect the park. It was established that the redevelopment would reinstate and return the existing site as parkland to the state, but this plan was altered, and it was to be constructed into a playground. The Hospital was later opened in 2011 by Queen Elizabeth II.

by Queen Elizabeth II.

Burke & Wills Memorial

Burke & Wills Depart

Set aside 10-acres in Royal Park by the Victorian Government, construction of the new Children’s Hospital was impeded for numerous years due ment. Becoming the Royal Children’s Hospital in

the site of a major Australian Military Camp and training ground used for the mobilisation of Anzacs to the Western Front.

1890 1860

Royal Children’s Hospital

Adopted from the 1984 Master Plan, the wetland system harvests and recycles storm water

Master Plan (1997)

Australian Native Garden

1963

Royal Park Wetlands

1997

1977

in WWII. Named ‘Camp Pell’, the base commemorated Major Floyd Pell, an American pilot killed defending Darwin against the Japanese in February 1942. Living in tents and prefabricated Nissen huts, the less than ideal living conditions were made to feel more like home for American Troops, handing out American place names and

1903

Royal Park Wetlands Adopted from the 1997 Master Plan, the wetland system harvests and recycles storm water to ensure indigenous flora and fauna are retained in Royal Park and inner Melbourne. Consisting of two linked spaces, the unique landscape and water management system improves environmental outcomes, producing an aquatic habitat, significantly increasing the biodiversity and reducing portable water usage. The wetlands were officially opened as ‘Trin Warren Tam-boore’ in 2006 for the commencement of the Commonwealth Games.

recreation, preservation and enhancing Royal Park’s existing character. Addressing the park’s role as an environment supporting a changing community, the principle that a park can never be finished, allows the design to grow and continue to serve as a place for people’s enjoyment. Designed as a natural Australian landscape, indigenous species are an integral part of the planting scheme, utilised across the entire park to re-embody a pre-settlement landscape catering to native wildlife considering environmental conditions.

2015

Nature Play Building on other recent Australian native focused additions to Royal Park, Nature Play connects inner city kids with nature through play and education. Based around the seven Wurundjeri seasons, Nature Play invites users to look deeper to see the layers and seasonal change within the landscape embodied in structure, planting, and experience. The working partnership between City of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services have managed to construct an engaging imaginative space which both celebrates and utilises Royal Park’s dramatic location to create a resilient landscape that will serve as a legacy for current and future generations.

Burke & Wills Memorial Having reached their goal in December of 1960, the return trip for Burke & Wills back to Melbourne proved to be fatal. A monument to honour them was erected in 1890 from their departure point in Royal Park.

1997

Pre Colonisation

Master Plan (1997)

1860

Kulin Nation Land

Endorsed by the City of Melbourne, the 1997 Royal Park Master Plan put special emphasis on the development of three major planted features to enrich the character of the park, create major attractions for visitors and make significant contributions to native fauna. The native grassland circle, northern wetlands and indigenous open woodlands maintain the recommendations from the 1984 Master Plan, reflecting the design’s existing principles.

Burke & Wills Departure

Before English settlement in Australia, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation inhabited and occupied the land. The site was a general camping area for all Aboriginal groups.

Leaving from Royal Park in 1860, Burke & Wills departed on their expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria. The park was host to their camp site which housed a large array of animals, tents and special appliances. On the 20th of August, Royal Park was inhabited by thousands who came to witness their departure into the Australian wilderness.

1840s

1860s

1880s

1920s

1940s

1960s

1980s

2000s

1835

Batman Treaty

1977

1876

Arriving into Port Phillip in 1935, John Batman made an arrangement to purchase land from the Wurundjeri People. Occurring under strange circumstances, the negotiation took place with tribe elders, who were in not in a position to sell land, instead of the ‘chiefs’ as Batman had claimed. He also brought with him personal translators from New South Wales. Lost in translation of different aboriginal language, it was believed that Batman was offering gifts for safe passage. Obtaining 240,000 hectares of land for farming, Batman took almost all of the Kulin Nation’s ancestral land.

Reservation of Royal Park Through the 1870s, Royal Park’s conditioned deteriorated as a result of a lack of funding to maintain the extensive parkland. The harsh Australian conditions and dry soil impeded the parks improvement, which lead to the land being cleared and sold off for residential development. When Royal Park was officially gazetted in 1876, the remaining 464 acres were permanently reserved as parkland.

1956

Australian Native Garden

2020

Designed by Melbourne based landscape designer Grace Fraser in 1974, the Australian Native Garden, located by Gatehouse Street, is an appreciation of Native Australia. With an emphasis on indigenous planting and the recreation of a ‘natural’ landscape, the garden was opened to the public in 1977 with the appearance of a pre-settlement landscape.

In late April, close to a million seeds of native grasses and wildflowers were sown under eucalyptus trees in Royal Park. The initiative is a collaborative partnership between the City of Melbourne and the University of Melbourne designed to create a native grassy understorey beneath the established eucalypts.

Royal Park Direct Seeding

1996 - 2009

Melbourne Olympic Games

Millennium Drought

Selected in 1949 to host the 1956 Summer Olympic Games, it was the first time that Australia had hosted, the first time it was held outside of Europe or the United States, and first time in the Southern Hemisphere. There was widespread agitation among the public to close down ‘Camp Hell’, cleansing Melbourne from the housing slum which was viewed as a stain over the city.

1850

Crown Reservation of Land Under the supervision of Lieutenant - Governor Charles La Trobe, the Crown reserved 2560 acres of native bushland just north of the Melbourne GPO for ‘the public advantage and recreation’.

The bushland that was reserved was set aside to play an integral role in La Trobe’s vision of Melbourne as a healthy and active city surrounded by extensive parkland.

Through the extreme weather conditions generated from the El Niño weather cycle that ravaged Australia, Royal Park’s vegetation suffered immensly through the incredible heat wave. With limited water available, Melbourne City Council implemented water catchment and collection facilities in the northern suburbs, cleaning and recycling 21 million litres for use in Royal Park.

1941 - 1945 World War II

2006

Commonwealth Games

Throught WWII, Royal Park accommodated thousands of Australian and American Troops prior to their deployment to Pacific campaigns in WWII. Named ‘Camp Pell’, the base commemorated Major Floyd Pell, an American pilot killed defending Darwin against the Japanese in February 1942. Living in tents and prefabricated Nissen huts, the less than ideal living conditions were made to feel more like home for American Troops, handing out American place names and creating American sports fields.

1857 - 1862

Melbourne Zoo

Winning the 1999 Bid to Host the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Victoria State Government commitmented to building an environmentally freindly Athlete’s Village.

Housing athletes and officials during the Games and utilised for Victorian families and as social housing once the Games have concluded. The Village’s sustainable design reflected the severe environmental conditions Australia withstood. In addition to the Village, the Victoria Government contributed $5 million towards the Royal Park wetlands.

1946 - 1956 Camp Pell

Once US troops had left, the former base was quickly repossessed and repurposed by the Victorian Housing Commission. The expansive set up of tents became a home for around 3,000 Victorians enduring the post-war housing shortage. The tragically inadequate housing settlement gained quick notoriety as ‘Camp Hell’ due to its horrific living conditions becoming one of Melbourne’s worst slums. With tents occupied by up to three families, contagious diseases spread like wild fire, bringing rise to media and political pressure to close the settlement for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Established in October 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was given 550 acres of land within Royal Park as an experimental farm. Renamed The Acclimatisation Society of Victoria in 1861, the Zoo opened its doors in Royal Park to the public in 1862 where it remains presently.

Iteration 2.2

Iteration 1.2 Roya Pa k m

Through the 1870s, Royal Park’s condition deteriorated as a result of a lack of funding to maintain the extensive parkland. The harsh Australian conditions and dry soil impeded the parks improvement, which led to the land being cleared and sold off for residential development. When Royal Park was officially gazetted in 1876, the remaining 464 acres were permanently reserved as parkland. Ensuring the parkland remained, the official decision acknowledged and recognised the park’s value in an urban context, catering to current and future generations, facilitating community interaction with the natural environment.

1876

1914

1914 - 1918

Indigenous Australia & Establishment of the British

1941 - 1945

1946 - 1956

1956

1963

1984

2006

2006

2011

Recovery & Design

Past

1835 Pre-Colonisation

1890

1903 Early Park Development

1914

1914 - 1918

1941 - 1945 World War’s Deterioration of Royal Park

Set aside 10-acres in Royal Park by the Victorian Government, construction of

allow creativity and imagination to dictate how space is used. Providing specific settings for different activities, the park caters to local neighbourhood requirements for active and passive play and organised sport. This Master Plan has provided a critical framework that guides and influences future design decisions regarding Royal Park.

The core values and principles of the master plan have played a vital reference point for designers to reflect upon that allows them to take a position when advocating for or against change within the park, comparing it the 1984 design’s original intention.

the new Children

from political and public pressure, Camp Pell and related housing settlements

were cleared out, ultimately cleansing Royal Park and the city, widely cited as

significant catalysts for Melbourne’s new energetic modernity.

tralia and the Southern Hemisphere had hosted of international significance;

The holding of the 1956 Summer Olympic Games, was the first event that Aus-

1956

being held for the first time outside of Europe or the United States. Brought on

Park became an area to avoid. Additionally, Camp Pell provided framework for

future social housing, adding to the park’s declining public perception.

Pell’, to commemorated Major Floyd Pell, the base of prefabricated nissen huts

played a pivotal role in the change of Royal Park’s social environment. With its

average living conditions and host to the infamous ‘Brownout Strangler’, Royal

Through WWII, Royal Park accommodated thousands of Australian and Amer-

ican Troops prior to their deployment to Pacific campaigns. Named ‘Camp

Military Camp and training ground used for the mobilisation of Anzacs to the

Western Front. The military camp became a foundation for the future establish-

ment of the WWII military and social housing settlement, ‘Camp Pell’.

During the first World War, Royal Park became the site of a major Australian

the hospital was renamed the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Royal Park Campus.

commodate migrants coming to Victoria for the Gold Rush. Rapidly expanding,

patients were moved to larger building in Royal Park in 1914. Presently located

in the same position, the faculty became part of Melbourne Health in 2005 and

Beginning as, ‘The Immigrants Aids Society’, the hospital was established to ac-

Unable to afford maintenance and general upkeep due to low membership, the

course was later reduced to 9 holes in 1911 around the beginning of WWI, the

unused space repurposed for the military camp.

Established in 1903 by local enthusiasts under control from the Royal Park

Trustees, the Royal Park Golf Course provided an early setting for social sport.

thousands alive at the time.

Wills back to Melbourne proved to be fatal. A Memorial Cairn to honour them

was erected in 1890 near to their departure point in Royal Park. Maintained

by the City of Melbourne, the Cairn signifies the loss endured by the tens of

Having reached their goal in December of 1960, the return trip for Burke &

in 1862. As one of Victoria’s most popular visitor destinations and the major at-

1857 - 1862

tractor for the park, the zoo continues to play an integral role within Royal Park.

Founded in 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was given 550 acres of land

for the establishment of an Experimental Farm. Renamed the Acclimatisation

Society of Victoria and reduced in 1861, the Zoo opened its doors to the public

to their campsite, housing a large array of animals, tent shopfronts and special

appliances. On the 20th of August, Royal Park was inhabited by thousands who

came to witness their departure into the Australian wilderness.

In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the new Royal Park Master Plan. Submitted by Laceworks Landscape Collaborative, directed by Brian Stafford, and Ron Jones, the winning submission had a philosophical design structured on passive recreation, preservation and enhancing Royal Park’s existing character. Addressing the park’s role as an environment supporting a changing community, the design has a large focus on the ways in which people interact within their physical and social environment, creating a platform to escape the built environment and

1963 Initial Park Restoration

1977

1997 Redesign & Recovery

1997 - 2009

2006 Environmentally Sustainable Design

2006

2020

2011 Indigenous Recognition & Community Focused Design

Iteration 2.3 Roya m

Timeline 01

1860 Early British Occupancy

Iteration 1.3 Royal Park

Leaving from Royal Park in 1860, Burke & Wills departed on their expedition

City of Melbourne.

aboriginal language, it was believed that Batman was offering gifts for safe

passage. Declared invalid by Governor Burke of NSW, the treaty represents the

deceit and greed exercised by the British in stealing the land to create the

ment to purchase land from the Wurundjeri People. Batman brought with him

Arriving into Port Phillip in 1935, John Batman believed he made an arrange-

2020

2015

Sustainability, Recognition & Community

personal translators from New South Wales. Lost in translation of different

eucalypts. The restoration to the undergrowth of the significant eucalyptus

canopies signifies the importance of the park’s vegetation, emphasising its

role within Melbourne’s social environment.

sown under eucalyptus trees in Royal Park. The initiative is a collaborative

partnership between the City of Melbourne and the University of Melbourne

designed to create a native grassy understorey beneath the established

In late April, close to a million seeds of native grasses and wildflowers were

Royal Park Direct Seeding

to be able to participate in a safe form of play. The Return to Royal Park is a

critical part of the park’s social environment, attracting people into the park to

interact with the natural environment within an urban context.

specified through their continuous input and consultation throughout the

design process. The layout provides equal access across the space enabling

patients from the Children’s Hospital, the elderly and everyone in between

experience. The working partnership between the City of Melbourne and the

Victorian Department of Health and Human Services have managed to con-

struct an engaging imaginative space which reflects the community’s needs

through adventurous play and education. Based around the seven Wurundjeri

seasons, Nature Play invites users to look deeper to see the layers and

seasonal change within the landscape embodied in structure, planting, and

Nature Play was designed to connect inner city kids and adults with nature

Nature Play

playground. Integrating into the landscape, the new buildings relocation has

opened Royal Park, creating an entry point with a newfound sense of arrival

into site for park users.

Royal Park, the announcement was contested by the public and members

of environmental groups seeking to protect the park. It was established that

the redevelopment would reinstate and return the existing site as parkland

to the state, but this plan was altered, and it was to be constructed into a

In 2007, the Victorian Labour Government announced the redevelopment of

the Royal Children’s Hospital project. Relocating to an adjacent site within

New Royal Children’s Hospital

Australia endured. In addition to the Village, the Victoria Government contrib-

uted $5 million towards the Royal Park Wetlands.

lage. Designed to house athletes and officials during the Games and utilised

for Victorian families as social housing once the Games have concluded, the

Village’s sustainable design reflected the severe environmental conditions

Winning the bid to Host the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Victoria State

Government committed to building an environmentally friendly Athlete’s Vil-

Commonwealth Games

aquatic habitat, significantly increasing the biodiversity, and reducing portable

water usage. The wetlands were officially opened as ‘Trin Warren Tam-boore’

in 2006 for the commencement of the Commonwealth Games.

storm water to ensure existing flora and fauna are retained in Royal Park and

inner Melbourne. Consisting of two linked spaces, the unique landscape and

water management system improves environmental outcomes, producing an

Adopted from the 1984 Master Plan, the wetland system harvests and recycles

Royal Park Wetlands

Melbourne City Council implemented water catchment and collection

facilities in the northern suburbs, cleaning, and recycling 21 million litres for

use in Royal Park.

through the incredible heat wave. Deteriorated park conditions impacted

social engagement with the green spaces and community physical and

mental health. With limited water available from outdoor water restrictions,

Through the extreme weather conditions generated from the El Niño weath-

1997 - 2009

1997

Development, Deterioration and War

er cycle that ravaged Australia, Royal Park’s vegetation suffered immensely

Millennium Drought

wetlands and indigenous open woodlands maintain the recommendations

from the 1984 Master Plan, reflecting the design’s existing principles.

special emphasis on the development of three major planted features to

enrich the character of the park, create major attractions for visitors and make

significant contributions to native fauna. The native grassland circle, northern

Endorsed by the City of Melbourne, the 1997 Royal Park Master Plan put

1997 Master Plan

advocating for or against change within the park, comparing it the 1984

design’s original intention.

that guides and influences future design decisions regarding Royal Park. The

core values and principles of the master plan have played a vital reference

point for designers to reflect upon that allows them to take a position when

to dictate how space is used. Providing specific settings for different activities,

the park caters to local neighbourhood requirements for active and passive

play and organised sport. This Master Plan has provided a critical framework

supporting a changing community, the design has a large focus on the ways in

which people interact within their physical and social environment, creating a

platform to escape the built environment and allow creativity and imagination

new Royal Park Master Plan. Submitted by Laceworks Landscape Collaborative,

directed by Brian Stafford, and Ron Jones, the winning submission had a phil-

osophical design structured on passive recreation, preservation and enhancing

Royal Park’s existing character. Addressing the park’s role as an environment

In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in

conjunction with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the

Master Plan

wurrung of the Kulin Nation.

native Australian landscapes. With an emphasis on indigenous planting and

the recreation of a ‘natural’ landscape, the garden was opened to the public

in 1977 with the appearance of a pre-settlement landscape, encapsulating

and reflecting the traditional owners of the land, the Wurundjeri and Boon

Designed by Melbourne based landscape designer Grace Fraser in 1974, the

1977

Australian Native Garden, located by Gatehouse Street, is an appreciation of

Australian Native Garden

responding to medical challenges and the changing social environment,

lamenting its significance as a pioneer in Australia’s cultural and social change.

the new Children’s Hospital was impeded for numerous years due to lack of fi-

nancial support from the government. Becoming the Royal Children’s Hospital

in 1953, the hospital was critically acclaimed as a first class medical institution,

Set aside 10-acres in Royal Park by the Victorian Government, construction of

Royal Children’s Hospital

cited as significant catalysts for Melbourne’s new energetic modernity.

being held for the first time outside of Europe or the United States. Brought

on from political and public pressure, Camp Pell and related housing settle-

ments were cleared out, ultimately cleansing Royal Park and the city, widely

The holding of the 1956 Summer Olympic Games, was the first event that Aus-

tralia and the Southern Hemisphere had hosted of international significance;

Melbourne Olympic Games

Misconceptions believed by the public and housing assistance caseworkers

rendered Royal Park one of the most undesirable and unsafe environments in

Melbourne, leaving the park in a desperate position for development.

cause the spreading of illness in children, male youth were seen as aggressive

and violent, whilst young women were viewed as sexually provocative.

shortage, the initial ideals of the Camp were established in good sovereignty.

This quickly changed as the public perception of the personnel and inade-

quate conditions concurrently deteriorated. Parental neglect was assumed to

Set up by the Cain Government in response to the Victorian post-war housing

Camp Pell

average living conditions and host to the infamous ‘Brownout Strangler’, Royal

Park became an area to avoid. Additionally, Camp Pell provided framework for

future social housing, aiding the park’s decline in public perception.

ican Troops prior to their deployment to Pacific campaigns. Named ‘Camp

Pell’, to commemorated Major Floyd Pell, the base of prefabricated nissen huts

played a pivotal role in the change of Royal Park’s social environment. With its

Through WWII, Royal Park accommodated thousands of Australian and Amer-

World War II

the Western Front.

During the first World War, Royal Park became the site of a major Australian

Military Camp and training ground used for the mobilisation of Anzacs to

World War I

Royal Park Campus.

expanding, patients were moved to larger building in Royal Park in 1914.

Presently located in the same position, the faculty became part of Melbourne

Health in 2005 and the hospital was renamed the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s

Beginning as, ‘The Immigrants Aids Society’, the hospital was established

to accommodate migrants coming to Victoria for the Gold Rush. Rapidly

Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park Campus

the course was later reduced to 9 holes in 1911.

Trustees, the Royal Park Golf Course provided an early setting for social sport.

Established in 1903 by local enthusiasts under control from the Royal Park

1903

Unable to afford maintenance and general upkeep due to low membership,

Royal Park Golf Course

was erected in 1890 near to their departure point in Royal Park.

Having reached their goal in December of 1960, the return trip for Burke &

1890

Wills back to Melbourne proved to be fatal. A Memorial Cairn to honour them

Burke & Wills Memorial

generations, facilitating social connection and community interaction with the

natural environment.

was officially gazetted in 1876, the remaining 464 acres were permanently

reserved as parkland. Ensuring the parkland remained, the official decision

recognised the park’s value in an urban context, catering to current and future

Through the 1870s, Royal Park’s conditioned deteriorated as a result of a

lack of funding to maintain the extensive parkland. The harsh Australian

conditions and dry soil impeded the parks improvement, which lead to the

land being cleared and sold off for residential development. When Royal Park

Reservation of Royal Park

role within Royal Park.

land for the establishment of an Experimental Farm. Renamed the Acclimati-

sation Society of Victoria and reduced in 1861, the Zoo opened its doors to

the public in 1862. As one of Victoria’s most popular visitor destinations and

1857 - 1862

the major attractor for the park, the zoo continues to play an integral social

Founded in 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was given 550 acres of

Royal Melbourne Zoo

cial appliances. On the 20th of August, Royal Park was inhabited by thousands

who came to witness their departure into the Australian wilderness.

Leaving from Royal Park in 1860, Burke & Wills departed on their expedition

to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Receiving national recognition, the Park was host to

1860

their campsite which housed a large array of animals, tent shopfronts and spe-

Burke & Wills Depart

surrounded by parkland has formed the backbone allowing the parkland to

continue to exist as it does presently.

public advantage and recreation’. This reservation of land to form Royal Park

has entrenched the open space as a site of grand public importance within

Melbourne’s city limits. La Trobe’s early works and vision of Melbourne

Under the supervision of Lieutenant - Governor Charles La Trobe, the Crown

1850

reserved 2560 acres of native bushland just north of Melbourne for ‘the

Crown Reservation of land

passage. Declared invalid by Governor Burke of NSW, the treaty represents

the deceit and greed exercised by the British in stealing the land to create the

City of Melbourne.

ment to purchase land from the Wurundjeri People. Batman brought with him

personal translators from New South Wales. Lost in translation of different

aboriginal language, it was believed that Batman was offering gifts for safe

Arriving into Port Phillip in 1935, John Batman believed he made an arrange-

Batman Treaty

the deceit and greed exercised by the British in stealing the land to create the

City of Melbourne.

personal translators from New South Wales. Lost in translation of different

aboriginal language, it was believed that Batman was offering gifts for safe

Arriving into Port Phillip in 1935, John Batman believed he made an arrange-

ment to purchase land from the Wurundjeri People. Batman brought with him

Kulin Nation Land

passage. Declared invalid by Governor Burke of NSW, the treaty represents

1835

to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Receiving national recognition, Royal Park was host

Under the supervision of Lieutenant - Governor Charles La Trobe, the Crown reserved 2560 acres of native bushland just north of Melbourne for ‘the public advantage and recreation’. This reservation of land to form Royal Park has entrenched the open space as a site of grand public importance within Melbourne’s city limits. La Trobe’s early works and vision of Melbourne surrounded by parkland has formed the backbone allowing the parkland to continue to exist as it does presently.

Before English settlement in what is now the City of Melbourne, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation inhabited and occupied the land. A collective of five Indigenous groups, the Kulin shared spiritual, economic, and political ideologies that intimately connected them together. Royal Park land was a general camping area for all Aboriginal groups, serving and providing the Kulin Nation for rest, food, water, and a social meeting place.

1835

Nature Play was designed to connect inner city kids and adults with nature through adventurous play and education. Based around the seven Wurundjeri seasons, Nature Play invites users to look deeper to see the layers and seasonal change within the landscape embodied in structure, planting, and experience. The working partnership between the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services have managed to construct an engaging imaginative space which reflects the community’s needs specified through their continuous input and consultation throughout the design process. The layout provides equal access across the space enabling patients from the Children’s Hospital, the elderly and everyone in between to be able to participate in a safe form of play.

The Return to Royal Park is a critical part of the park’s social environment, attracting people into the park to interact with nature and the natural environment within an urban context.

Set up by the Cain Government in response to the Victorian post-war housing shortage, the initial ideals of the Camp were established in good sovereignty. This quickly changed as the public perception of the personnel and inadequate conditions concurrently deteriorated. Parental neglect was assumed to cause the spreading of illness in children, male youth were seen as aggressive and violent, whilst young women were viewed as sexually provocative. Misconceptions believed by the public and housing assistance caseworkers rendered Royal Park one of the most undesirable and unsafe social environments in Melbourne, leaving the park in a desperate position for development. The Camp was a major catalyst for the creation of the Royal Park 1984 design competition, as the City of Melbourne wanted to restore Royal Park’s intended status within the community.

Pa k

Preservation

Restoration

Deterioration

Government Influenced Events

Money Invested Into Royal Park

Size of Park’s Public Space

Pre-Colonisation Batman Treaty Crown Reservation of Land Royal Melbourne Zoo Burke & Wills Depart Reservation of Royal Park Burke & Wills Memorial Royal Park Golf Course Royal Melbourne Hospital World War I World War II Camp Pell Melbourne Olympics Games Royal Children’s Hospital Australian Native Garden 1984 Master Plan 1997 Master Plan Millennium Drought Royal Park Wetlands Commonwealth Games New Royal Children’s Hospital Nature Play

Past

13

Early Park Development

1914

Initial Park Restoration

1984

1997 ‘97 - ‘09 Redesign & Recovery

the University of Melbourne. The initiative is designed to restore the under-

growth of the significant eucalyptus canopies in Royal Park.

form of play.

Royal Park Direct Seeding

Royal Park Direct Seeding is an initiative to plant seeds of native grasses and

wildflowers under eucalyptus trees established by the City of Melbourne and

Designed by The City of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Health

and Human Services, the space reflects the community’s needs, providing equal

access across the space enabling anyone to be able to participate in a safe

Designed to connect inner city kids and adults with nature through adventurous

2015

play and education, Nature Play is based around the seven Wurundjeri seasons.

Nature Play

New Royal Children’s Hospital

all Australians. Relocating to an adjacent site within Royal Park, it provided op-

portunity to redevelop the hospital’s existing footprint into a new playground.

Royal Children’s Hospital’s increased medical services allow the hospital to

As the largest tertiary paediatric hospital in the Southern Hemisphere, the new

2011

continue to play an important medical role for the extended community and

Government contributed $5 million towards the Royal Park Wetlands.

Government constructed an environmentally sustainable Athletes Village de-

signed to house athletes and officials during the Games and Victorian families

Commonwealth Games

2006 2006

Environmentally Sustainable Design

through social housing afterwards. In addition to the village, Kennett’s Liberal

Winning the bid to Host the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Victoria State

bourne, the unique wetland system consists of two linked spaces. Significantly

increasing the biodiversity, and reducing portable water usage, the wetlands

were officially opened as ‘Trin Warren Tam-boore’ in 2006.

Royal Park Wetlands

Harvesting and recycling storm water to utilise in Royal Park and inner Mel-

ment and collection facilities in the northern suburbs, cleaning, and recycling

21 million litres for use in Royal Park.

1997 Master Plan

on the development of the Native Grassland Circle, Northern Wetlands and In-

digenous Open Woodlands to reflect the 1984 Master Plan’s existing principles

and values, broadening Royal Park’s role within society.

Endorsed by the City of Melbourne, the 1997 Royal Park Master Plan focused

Millennium Drought

The extreme El Niño heat wave ravaged Royal Park’s vegetation, deteriorat-

ed the park’s conditions, and impacted the community’s physical and mental

health. In response, the Melbourne City Council implemented water catch-

and values for future development.

and Ron Jones, focused on enhancing Royal Park’s existing character, providing

setting for individual and community engagement, and allowing the park to

grow to support the changing community, providing an enduring framework

In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in conjunc-

tion with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the new

Royal Park Master Plan. The winning submission submitted by Brian Stafford,

Master Plan

Australian Native Garden

traditional custodians of the land, the Wurundjeri, and Boon Wurrung people.

With an emphasis on indigenous planting and the recreation of a ‘natural’ land-

scape, the garden was opened to the public in 1977.

Designed by Grace Fraser in 1974, the Australian Native Garden was designed

1977

1963

to reflect the appear-ance of a pre-settlement landscape, acknowledging the

Royal Children’s Hospital

dren’s Hospital was critically acclaimed as a first-class medical institution, re-

sponding to medical challenges and the changing social environment. Increas-

ing in size, the new facility could provide more extensive medical assistance to

its patients, but also subtracted a large section of parkland from Royal Park.

Set aside 10-acres in Royal Park by the Victorian Government, the Royal Chil-

bourne’s new energetic modernity.

Melbourne Olympic Games

pressure to clear out Melbourne’s slum areas. The initiative ultimately cleansed

The holding of the 1956 Summer Olympic Games brought public and political

1956

Royal Park and the city and is widely cited as the significant catalyst for Mel-

opportunity for those in need. Lasting 10 years, Camp Pell left Royal Park in a

desperate position for restoration and redevelopment.

shortage, the Camp became known as ‘Camp Hell’, in response to the terrible

living conditions and numerous outbreaks of illness, violence, and crime. Per-

‘46 - ‘56

ceived as undesirable and unsafe locations by outsiders, Camp Pell provided

Set up by the Cain Government in response to the Victorian post-war housing

Camp Pell

became one of the worst slums in Melbourne.

to commemorated Major Floyd Pell, the camp played a pivotal part by chang-

ing Royal Park’s role within the community. Hosting the infamous ‘Brownout

‘39 - ‘45 World War’s Deterioration of Royal Park

Strangler’ and enhancing the damage caused from the WWI camp, Royal Park

World War II

Through WWII, Royal Park accommodated thousands of Australian and Ameri-

can Troops prior to their deployment to Pacific campaigns. Named ‘Camp Pell’,

World War I

Western Front. The Anzac military presence had a profound impact on the local

‘14 - ‘18

community and Royal Park’s ecosystem.

During the first World War, Royal Park became the site of a major Australian

Military Camp and training ground used for the mobilisation of Anzacs to the

renamed the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Royal Park Campus in 2005.

Originally, ‘The Immigrants Aids Society’, the hospital was established to ac-

commodate migrants coming to Victoria for the Gold Rush. Relocated to Royal

Park in 1914, the faculty is an integral part of Melbourne’s medical system,

Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park Campus

was later reduced to 9 holes in 1911.

ees, the Royal Park Golf Course provided an early recreational setting. Unable

Established in 1903 by local enthusiasts under control of the Royal Park Trust-

1903

1890

to afford maintenance and general upkeep due to low membership, the course

Royal Park Golf Course

Burke & Wills Memorial

back to Melbourne proved to be fatal. A Memorial Cairn to honour them was

erected in 1890 near to their departure point in Royal Park.

Having reached their goal in December of 1960, the return trip for Burke & Wills

Reservation of Royal Park

reserved as parkland. The decision acknowledged the park’s value in an urban

context, providing for current and future generations, facilitating community

interaction with the natural environment.

parkland, which led to the land being cleared and sold off for residential devel-

Royal Park’s condition deteriorated due to a lack of funding to maintain the

1876

opment. Officially gazetted in 1876, the remaining 424 acres were permanently

shop fronts and special appliances. On the 20th of August, Royal Park was in-

habited by thousands who came to witness their departure into the Australian

wilderness.

Burke & Wills Depart

In 1860, Burke & Wills departed from Royal Park on their expedition to the

‘57 - ‘62 1860 Early British Occupancy

Gulf of Carpentaria. Royal Park was host to their campsite, housing animals,

Founded in 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was granted 550 acres of

land for an Experimental Farm to acclimatise European food and stock to the

Australian landscape. In 1862 the Zoo opened its doors to the public, sustaining

as one of Victoria’s most popular visitor destinations.

Royal Melbourne Zoo

site of public importance within Melbourne’s urban context.

acres of native bushland north of Melbourne for ‘the public advantage and

Lieutenant - Governor Charles La Trobe and the British Crown reserved 2560

1850

recreation’. La Trobe’s early work and actions have entrenched Royal Park as a

Crown Reservation of land

lost in translation of different aboriginal language, it was believed that Batman

was offering gifts for safe passage. The treaty was later declared invalid by

Governor Burke of New South Wales.

Arriving into Port Phillip in 1935, John Batman arranged to purchase land from

1835 Pre-Colonisation

the Wurundjeri People. Batman brought translators from New South Wales, but

Batman Treaty

political ideologies that intimately connected them together. Royal Park land

was a general camping area for all Aboriginal groups, serving and providing the

Kulin Nation for rest, food, water, and a social meeting place.

Before English settlement in what is now the City of Melbourne, the Wurundjeri

and Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation inhabited and occupied the land.

A collective of five Indigenous groups, the Kulin shared spiritual, economic, and

Kulin Nation Land

Royal Park Direct Seeding

2020

Indigenous Recognition & Community Focused Design

Iteration 1.4

14

Iteration 2.4

Appendix.

Timeline 03.

Royal Park

1946 - 1956

Timeline 03 A visual exploration of the environmental impacts that have shaped Royal Park’s landscape. Considering how key events have improved, damaged, or modernised Royal Park’s physical environment, vegetation, health, and ecosystem.

1835

1860

1857 - 1862

1903

1890

Early British Occupancy

1914

1914 - 1918

1941 - 1945

Early Park Development

1956

Nature Play was designed to connect inner city kids and adults with the natural environment through adventurous play. Based around the seven Wurundjeri seasons, Nature Play invites users engage with the landscape to see the intricate layers and seasonal change within the landscape embodied in the playground’s physical structure and reflective planting. The City of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services have constructed an active imaginative space which reflects the community’s needs specified through their continuous input and consultation throughout the design process. Blurring the edges, the playground effortlessly integrates into the surrounding native woodlands naturally, appearing as if the play space has grown independently. The layout provides equal access across the space allowing hospital patients, the elderly and able-bodied users to participate in an exciting form of active play.

2006 Royal Park Wetlands

2006

Redesign & Recovery

the park’s biodiversity.

lished eucalypts. The restoration to the undergrowth of the eucalyptus canopies

signifies the importance of the park’s vegetation and urban ecosystem, forming

habitat and increasing pollination of native flowering species whilst enhancing

In late April, close to a million seeds of native grasses and wildflowers were

sown under mature eucalyptus trees in Royal Park. The initiative is a collabo-

rative partnership between the City of Melbourne and the University of Mel-

bourne designed to recreate a native grassy understorey beneath the estab-

Royal Park Direct Seeding

state, but this plan was altered, and the existing site was repurposed into a

playground.

the edges of the hospital and park remains in unsolved. It was established that

the redevelopment would not exceed the hospital’s pre-existing footprint in

Royal Park and would reinstate and return the existing site as parkland to the

Park, the announcement was contested by the public and members of envi-

ronmental groups seeking to protect the park to prevent the hospital from en-

croaching further into the landscape as the undetermined relationship between

In 2007, the Victorian Labor Government announced the redevelopment of the

Royal Children’s Hospital project. Relocating to an adjacent site within Royal

New Royal Children’s Hospital

Liberal Government contributed $5 million towards the Royal Park Wetlands.

native trees to establish a ‘built of time’ atmosphere. The structural develop-

ments reflect El Niño’s effects on Australia, all designed to set new benchmark

standards in sustainability. In addition to the Village, Jeff Kennett’s Victorian

lage. The layout utilises indigenous planting to contribute to local habitat val-

ues, forming a character extension of Royal Park into and through the site. The

central open corridor is informed by the site’s topography, retaining mature

Winning the bid to Host the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Victoria State

Government committed to building an environmentally friendly Athlete’s Vil-

Commonwealth Games

Park to counteract the limited amount of water available for outdoor watering.

deteriorated condition impacting the vegetation and community’s health, the

Melbourne City Council implemented water catchment and collection facilities

in the northern suburbs, cleaning, and recycling 21 million litres for use in Royal

cycle that impacted Australia, the health of Royal Park’s vegetation and ecosys-

tem declined significantly due to the immense heat wave and water restrictions.

The drought identified inappropriate planting issues within the park, high-

lighting species not adept to endure Australia’s dry conditions. With the park’s

Through the extreme weather conditions generated from the El Niño weather

1997 - 2009

1997

Initial Park Restoration

Millennium Drought

encouraging Royal Park’s role as a key part of Melbourne’s wildlife network.

Special emphasis was placed on the development of a native wetland, an in-

digenous open woodland, and an open grassland circle on the hilltop of Royal

Park south.

of the park to dictate variations in planting patterns, unite separated areas by

establishing a circulation system, and continue the development of a native

landscape evocative of pre-colonisation. The Plan simultaneously prioritised

is heavily concentrated on environmental upgrades whilst keeping the original

design philosophy. The recommendations and changes of the Plan increased

the usable area of parkland, allowed the topography and geological factors

Consistent with the 1984 Master Plan, the City of Melbourne’s 1997 Master Plan

1997 Master Plan

ing a native ecosystem and traditional owners of the land, the Wurundjeri, and

Boon Wurrung of the Kulin Nation. Fraser’s design not only connects visitors to

Royal Park but also provides setting for native fauna.

native Australian landscapes. With an emphasis on indigenous planting and the

recreation of a ‘natural’ landscape, the garden was opened to the public in 1977

with the appearance of a pre-settlement landscape, encapsulating and reflect-

Designed by Melbourne based landscape designer Grace Fraser in 1974, the

1977

1963

World War’s Deterioration of Royal Park

Australian Native Garden, located by Gatehouse Street, is an appreciation of

Australian Native Garden

section of parkland from Royal Park, the development failing to take advan-

tage of the exposure and opportunity to reconnect to the park’s environment.

the new Children’s Hospital was impeded for numerous years due to lack of

financial support from the government. Becoming the Royal Children’s Hospital

in 1953, the new hospital site occupied and thereby subtracted a large southern

Set aside 10-acres in Royal Park by the Victorian Government, construction of

Royal Children’s Hospital

the Games. Whilst drastic, the closure of Camp Pell was a turning point in the

recovery of Royal Park to its intended state.

being held for the first time outside of Europe or the United States. At its

closure, all residents of Camp Pell were evicted after mounting political and

social pressure to clean up Melbourne in the lead up the commencement of

The holding of the 1956 Summer Olympic Games, was the first event that Aus-

tralia and the Southern Hemisphere had hosted of international significance;

Melbourne Olympic Games

extensive future removal.

of immense ecological damage to Royal Park, leaving the landscape critically

derelict and extensively modified. Bulldozing of Military Camp structures addi-

tionally distributed residual asbestos fragments across the grasslands, requiring

scale Military Camp accommodating Australian and American Troops prior to

their deployment to Pacific campaigns. Named ‘Camp Pell’, to commemorate

Major Floyd Pell, the settlement of prefabricated nissen huts was the causation

Through WWII, the southern end of Royal Park was transformed into a large-

World War II

Western Front. The Military Camp established an avenue for the future estab-

lishment of the WWII Military Camp and social housing settlement, ‘Camp Pell’

that inflicted severe long term environmental damage to Royal Park.

During the first World War, Royal Park became the site of a major Australian

Military Camp and training ground used for the mobilisation of Anzacs to the

World War I

Hospital’s Royal Park Campus.

the Society and its patients relocated to a vacant industrial school site in Royal

Park in 1914. Presently located in the same position, the faculty became part of

Melbourne Health in 2005 and the hospital was renamed the Royal Melbourne

Beginning as, ‘The Immigrants Aids Society’, the hospital was established to ac-

commodate migrants coming to Victoria for the Gold Rush. Rapidly expanding,

Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park Campus

closing the zoo. Unable to afford maintenance and general upkeep due to low

membership, the course’s condition regressed and was reduced to 9 holes in

1911 around the beginning of WWI.

Established in 1903 by local enthusiasts under control from the Royal Park

Trustees, the 18-hole Royal Park Golf Course had a large presence within park

Royal Park Golf Course

was erected in 1890 near to their departure point in Royal Park. Maintained

by the City of Melbourne, the Cairn represents the unruly nature of the Aus-

tralian landscape.

Having reached their goal in December of 1960, the return trip for Burke &

Wills back to Melbourne proved to be fatal. A Memorial Cairn to honour them

Burke & Wills Memorial

continued to expand, disrupting the remaining parkland.

and equipment in the Australian landscape. Renamed the Acclimatisation So-

ciety of Victoria and reduced in size in 1861, the Zoo opened its doors to the

public in 1862. Over time, the zoo’s increasing facilities and access points have

Founded in 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was given 550 acres of land

for the establishment of an Experimental Farm to test crops, farming techniques

Royal Melbourne Zoo

appliances. On the 20th of August, Royal Park was inhabited by thousands who

came to witness their departure into the Australian wilderness.

Leaving from Royal Park in 1860, Burke & Wills departed on their expedition

to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Receiving national recognition, Royal Park was host

to their campsite, housing a large array of animals, tent shopfronts and special

Burke & Wills Depart

the area, restricting their freedom of movement, inhibiting their dependant

relationship with the land.

the dispossession of land from the Indigenous people of the Kulin Nation. As

the British settler population increased, the natural environment quickly be-

came a built environment, forcing the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung to vacate

From 1950 through to the early 1870s Royal Park’s condition deteriorated because of a lack of funding to maintain the extensive parkland. The harsh Australian conditions and dry soil impeded the parks improvement, leading to the land being cleared and sold off for residential development. Officially gazetted in 1876, Royal Park’s remaining 424 acres were permanently reserved as parkland. The decision and formal recognition of the park has provided protection, maintenance and continual care for the extensive landscape and diverse native ecosystem, permitting the vegetation to continue to grow and serve the natural environment

Batman’s unsuccessful treaty for land ownership represents the beginning of

Reservation of Royal Park

Lieutenant – Governor Charles La Trobe’s push for the British Crown to reserve 2560 acres of native bushland for ‘the public advantage and recreation’ established the critical framework which has allowed Royal Park to remain a key public open space within Melbourne.

Contrasting other formally designed parkland established by La Trobe, Royal Park remained largely natural and untouched by settlers for active and passive recreation whilst accommodating native fauna.

Batman Treaty

Crown Reservation of land

Living from the land, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people relied heavily on their physical environment. Providing food, water, and refuge for camping sites, the indigenous population camped in various locations, depending on the season, where resources were available, allowing the land to rejuvenate when they had departed, enabling them to return to use the site for future use. Their sophisticated value and respect for the environment sanctioned their ability to live off the land for tens of thousands of years.

Pre-Colonisation

Nature Play

1876

Kulin Nation Land

Past

2015

Master Plan In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the new Royal Park Master Plan. Submitted by Laceworks Landscape Collaborative, directed by Brian Stafford, and Ron Jones, the winning submission had a philosophical design structured on passive recreation, preservation and enhancing Royal Park’s existing character. Designed as a non-fixed living landscape, the ecological restoration of Royal Park removed the horticultural clutter, integrating a nativist planting scheme, removing exotic and select non-native species to create a natural ambience.

The design’s naturalistic woodlands, dominant eucalypts, and native grasslands produce a seamless unity between Australia’s native and natural elements, whilst also remaining environmentally sustainable and considerate given they require less water and maintenance.

Designed to appear unplanned, Jones and Stafford’s Master Plan has provided a key environmental framework for Royal Park, aiding the park’s future design decisions to improve and maintain its ecological benefits.

Adopted from the 1984 Master Plan, the Royal Park wetland system harvests and recycles storm water for irrigation to ensure existing flora and fauna are retained within Royal Park and inner-city Melbourne. Consisting of two linked ponds, the unique landscape and water management system improves environmental outcomes by producing an aquatic habitat, significantly increasing the biodiversity and vegetation types, and reducing portable water usage. The resulting landscape and artificial billabong environment facilitate a diverse wetland ecology for the community, native animals and actively discharges clean water into the Moonee Ponds Creek and Port Phillip bay. In 2006, the wetlands were officially opened as ‘Trin Warren Tam-boore’ for the commencement of the Commonwealth Games.

boundaries, nearly stretching to the east, west, north, and southern limits, en-

1850

Pre Colonisation

1984

Camp Pell Set up by the Cain Government in response to the Victorian post-war housing shortage, the Camp Pell social housing settlement continued the military camp’s detrimental impact on Royal Park. The 3000 new social housing residents inhabited the existing nissen huts, creating what had become labelled as ‘Camp Hell’ due to its limited facilities, increasing illness, and social status. Lasting ten years, Camp Pell’s footprint on Royal Park left the area bereft of any indigenous vegetation, leaving the landscape in a heavily deteriorated condition. The Camp was a major catalyst for the creation of the Royal Park 1984 design competition, as the City of Melbourne wanted to improve and restore Royal Park’s vegetation and ecosystem.

2020

2011

Environmentally Sustainable Design

Indigenous Recognition & Community Focused Design

Iteration 3.1 Reservation of Royal Park

Beginning of Camp Pell

1930

1940

1984 Master Plan

1950

1860

1970

1980

1997 Master Plan

1990

1946 - 1956

Royal Park Wetlands

2000

Nature Play

2010

2020

Park’s Health

1984 Master Plan In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the new Royal Park Master Plan. Submitted by Laceworks Landscape Collaborative, directed by Brian Stafford, and Ron Jones, the winning submission had a philosophical design structured on passive recreation, preservation and enhancing Royal Park’s existing character. Designed as a non-fixed living landscape, the ecological restoration of Royal Park removed the horticultural clutter, integrating a nativist planting scheme, removing exotic and select non-native species to create a natural ambience.

The design’s naturalistic woodlands, dominant eucalypts, and native grasslands produce a seamless unity between Australia’s native and natural elements, whilst also remaining environmentally sustainable and considerate given they require less water and maintenance.

Designed to appear unplanned, Jones and Stafford’s Master Plan has provided a key environmental framework for Royal Park, aiding the park’s future design decisions to improve and maintain its ecological benefits.

Urban Imposition

Open Space

Nature Play

2006 Royal Park Wetlands Adopted from the 1984 Master Plan, the Royal Park wetland system harvests and recycles storm water for irrigation to ensure existing flora and fauna are retained within Royal Park and inner-city Melbourne. Consisting of two linked ponds, the unique landscape and water management system improves environmental outcomes by producing an aquatic habitat, significantly increasing the biodiversity and vegetation types, and reducing portable water usage. The resulting landscape and artificial billabong environment facilitate a diverse wetland ecology for the community, native animals and actively discharges clean water into the Moonee Ponds Creek and Port Phillip bay. In 2006, the wetlands were officially opened as ‘Trin Warren Tam-boore’ for the commencement of the Commonwealth Games.

Park Restoration

Role for Wildlife

Legend RMH - Royal Park Campus & Other Faculties

Legend Royal Melbourne Hospital - Royal Park Campus Site Location for future Native

Past

1835

1860

Pre-Colonisation

1857 - 1862

Royal Melbourne

Degraded Land from Camp Pell & Military Camps

Internal Military

Garden

Roads

Hospital

Sports Fields & Facilities

Royal Park Outline

Burke & Wills

Royal Melbourne

Memorial Cairn

Zoo

Royal Children’s Hospital

Moonee Ponds Creek

Roads

1m Contour Lines

Public Transport Routes

Royal Children’s

Psychiatric

Hospital Site

Hospital

Memorial Cairn

Native

Proposed Future

Woodlands

Wetlands

Buildings

Burke & Wills

Grassland Circle

Royal Park Outline

Paths

Moonee Ponds

Roads

Creek Northern

Sports Fields & Facilities

1m Contour Lines

Melbourne Institute of TAFE

Legend

Public Transport Routes

RMH - Royal Park Campus & Other Faculties Australian Native Garden

Royal Melbourne Zoo

Former Athletes Village

Native

Internal Paths

Woodlands

Royal Park

Wetlands

Royal Park Direct Seeding

Outline

Buildings

Grassland Circle

Moonee Ponds

Nature Play

Sports Fields & Facilities

Burke & Wills Memorial Cairn

New Royal Hospital

1914

1914 - 1918

1941 - 1945

Early Park Development

1956

2006

Redesign & Recovery

Roads

Public Transport

the park’s biodiversity.

lished eucalypts. The restoration to the undergrowth of the eucalyptus canopies

signifies the importance of the park’s vegetation and urban ecosystem, forming

habitat and increasing pollination of native flowering species whilst enhancing

2020

2011

Environmentally Sustainable Design

In late April, close to a million seeds of native grasses and wildflowers were

Routes

sown under mature eucalyptus trees in Royal Park. The initiative is a collabo-

1m Contour Lines

Royal Park Direct Seeding

state, but this plan was altered, and the existing site was repurposed into a

Playground

playground.

the edges of the hospital and park remains in unsolved. It was established that

the redevelopment would not exceed the hospital’s pre-existing footprint in

Royal Park and would reinstate and return the existing site as parkland to the

Park, the announcement was contested by the public and members of envi-

ronmental groups seeking to protect the park to prevent the hospital from en-

Commonwealth Games

Park to counteract the limited amount of water available for outdoor watering.

deteriorated condition impacting the vegetation and community’s health, the

Melbourne City Council implemented water catchment and collection facilities

in the northern suburbs, cleaning, and recycling 21 million litres for use in Royal

cycle that impacted Australia, the health of Royal Park’s vegetation and ecosys-

tem declined significantly due to the immense heat wave and water restrictions.

The drought identified inappropriate planting issues within the park, high-

lighting species not adept to endure Australia’s dry conditions. With the park’s

Through the extreme weather conditions generated from the El Niño weather

1997 - 2009

1997

Initial Park Restoration

Millennium Drought

encouraging Royal Park’s role as a key part of Melbourne’s wildlife network.

Special emphasis was placed on the development of a native wetland, an in-

digenous open woodland, and an open grassland circle on the hilltop of Royal

Park south.

of the park to dictate variations in planting patterns, unite separated areas by

establishing a circulation system, and continue the development of a native

landscape evocative of pre-colonisation. The Plan simultaneously prioritised

is heavily concentrated on environmental upgrades whilst keeping the original

design philosophy. The recommendations and changes of the Plan increased

the usable area of parkland, allowed the topography and geological factors

Consistent with the 1984 Master Plan, the City of Melbourne’s 1997 Master Plan

1997 Master Plan

ing a native ecosystem and traditional owners of the land, the Wurundjeri, and

Boon Wurrung of the Kulin Nation. Fraser’s design not only connects visitors to

Royal Park but also provides setting for native fauna.

native Australian landscapes. With an emphasis on indigenous planting and the

recreation of a ‘natural’ landscape, the garden was opened to the public in 1977

with the appearance of a pre-settlement landscape, encapsulating and reflect-

Designed by Melbourne based landscape designer Grace Fraser in 1974, the

1977

1963

World War’s Deterioration of Royal Park

Australian Native Garden, located by Gatehouse Street, is an appreciation of

Australian Native Garden

section of parkland from Royal Park, the development failing to take advan-

tage of the exposure and opportunity to reconnect to the park’s environment.

the new Children’s Hospital was impeded for numerous years due to lack of

financial support from the government. Becoming the Royal Children’s Hospital

in 1953, the new hospital site occupied and thereby subtracted a large southern

Set aside 10-acres in Royal Park by the Victorian Government, construction of

Royal Children’s Hospital

the Games. Whilst drastic, the closure of Camp Pell was a turning point in the

recovery of Royal Park to its intended state.

being held for the first time outside of Europe or the United States. At its

closure, all residents of Camp Pell were evicted after mounting political and

social pressure to clean up Melbourne in the lead up the commencement of

The holding of the 1956 Summer Olympic Games, was the first event that Aus-

tralia and the Southern Hemisphere had hosted of international significance;

Melbourne Olympic Games

extensive future removal.

of immense ecological damage to Royal Park, leaving the landscape critically

derelict and extensively modified. Bulldozing of Military Camp structures addi-

tionally distributed residual asbestos fragments across the grasslands, requiring

scale Military Camp accommodating Australian and American Troops prior to

their deployment to Pacific campaigns. Named ‘Camp Pell’, to commemorate

Major Floyd Pell, the settlement of prefabricated nissen huts was the causation

Through WWII, the southern end of Royal Park was transformed into a large-

World War II

Western Front. The Military Camp established an avenue for the future estab-

lishment of the WWII Military Camp and social housing settlement, ‘Camp Pell’

that inflicted severe long term environmental damage to Royal Park.

During the first World War, Royal Park became the site of a major Australian

Military Camp and training ground used for the mobilisation of Anzacs to the

World War I

Hospital’s Royal Park Campus.

the Society and its patients relocated to a vacant industrial school site in Royal

Park in 1914. Presently located in the same position, the faculty became part of

Melbourne Health in 2005 and the hospital was renamed the Royal Melbourne

Beginning as, ‘The Immigrants Aids Society’, the hospital was established to ac-

commodate migrants coming to Victoria for the Gold Rush. Rapidly expanding,

Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park Campus

closing the zoo. Unable to afford maintenance and general upkeep due to low

membership, the course’s condition regressed and was reduced to 9 holes in

1911 around the beginning of WWI.

Established in 1903 by local enthusiasts under control from the Royal Park

Trustees, the 18-hole Royal Park Golf Course had a large presence within park

boundaries, nearly stretching to the east, west, north, and southern limits, en-

Children’s Hospital Site

Creek

rative partnership between the City of Melbourne and the University of Mel-

Former Royal

bourne designed to recreate a native grassy understorey beneath the estab-

Children’s

1903

1890

Early British Occupancy

Australian Native

Royal Park Psychiatric

Royal Children’s Hospital Location

Buildings

Zoo

Royal Park Golf Course

was erected in 1890 near to their departure point in Royal Park. Maintained

by the City of Melbourne, the Cairn represents the unruly nature of the Aus-

tralian landscape.

Having reached their goal in December of 1960, the return trip for Burke &

Wills back to Melbourne proved to be fatal. A Memorial Cairn to honour them

Garden

Burke & Wills Memorial

continued to expand, disrupting the remaining parkland.

and equipment in the Australian landscape. Renamed the Acclimatisation So-

ciety of Victoria and reduced in size in 1861, the Zoo opened its doors to the

public in 1862. Over time, the zoo’s increasing facilities and access points have

Founded in 1857, the Zoological Society of Victoria was given 550 acres of land

for the establishment of an Experimental Farm to test crops, farming techniques

Royal Melbourne Zoo

appliances. On the 20th of August, Royal Park was inhabited by thousands who

came to witness their departure into the Australian wilderness.

Leaving from Royal Park in 1860, Burke & Wills departed on their expedition

to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Receiving national recognition, Royal Park was host

to their campsite, housing a large array of animals, tent shopfronts and special

relationship with the land.

Burke & Wills Depart

From 1950 through to the early 1870s Royal Park’s condition deteriorated because of a lack of funding to maintain the extensive parkland. The harsh Australian conditions and dry soil impeded the parks improvement, leading to the land being cleared and sold off for residential development. Officially gazetted in 1876, Royal Park’s remaining 424 acres were permanently reserved as parkland. The decision and formal recognition of the park has provided protection, maintenance and continual care for the extensive landscape and diverse native ecosystem, permitting the vegetation to continue to grow and serve the natural environment

the area, restricting their freedom of movement, inhibiting their dependant

Lieutenant – Governor Charles La Trobe’s push for the British Crown to reserve 2560 acres of native bushland for ‘the public advantage and recreation’ established the critical framework which has allowed Royal Park to remain a key public open space within Melbourne.

Contrasting other formally designed parkland established by La Trobe, Royal Park remained largely natural and untouched by settlers for active and passive recreation whilst accommodating native fauna.

the dispossession of land from the Indigenous people of the Kulin Nation. As

Living from the land, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people relied heavily on their physical environment. Providing food, water, and refuge for camping sites, the indigenous population camped in various locations, depending on the season, where resources were available, allowing the land to rejuvenate when they had departed, enabling them to return to use the site for future use. Their sophisticated value and respect for the environment sanctioned their ability to live off the land for tens of thousands of years.

the British settler population increased, the natural environment quickly be-

Reservation of Royal Park

came a built environment, forcing the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung to vacate

1876

Crown Reservation of land

Batman’s unsuccessful treaty for land ownership represents the beginning of

1850

Batman Treaty

Pre Colonisation Kulin Nation Land

Melbourne

Nature Play was designed to connect inner city kids and adults with the natural environment through adventurous play. Based around the seven Wurundjeri seasons, Nature Play invites users engage with the landscape to see the intricate layers and seasonal change within the landscape embodied in the playground’s physical structure and reflective planting. The City of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services have constructed an active imaginative space which reflects the community’s needs specified through their continuous input and consultation throughout the design process. Blurring the edges, the playground effortlessly integrates into the surrounding native woodlands naturally, appearing as if the play space has grown independently. The layout provides equal access across the space allowing hospital patients, the elderly and able-bodied users to participate in an exciting form of active play.

croaching further into the landscape as the undetermined relationship between

Linking events that have impacted and influenced future development which has shaped and created environmental change within Royal Park.

2015

Camp Pell Set up by the Cain Government in response to the Victorian post-war housing shortage, the Camp Pell social housing settlement continued the military camp’s detrimental impact on Royal Park. The 3000 new social housing residents inhabited the existing nissen huts, creating what had become labelled as ‘Camp Hell’ due to its limited facilities, increasing illness, and social status. Lasting ten years, Camp Pell’s footprint on Royal Park left the area bereft of any indigenous vegetation, leaving the landscape in a heavily deteriorated condition. The Camp was a major catalyst for the creation of the Royal Park 1984 design competition, as the City of Melbourne wanted to improve and restore Royal Park’s vegetation and ecosystem.

In 2007, the Victorian Labor Government announced the redevelopment of the

1920

Royal Children’s Hospital project. Relocating to an adjacent site within Royal

1910

New Royal Children’s Hospital

1900

Liberal Government contributed $5 million towards the Royal Park Wetlands.

1890

native trees to establish a ‘built of time’ atmosphere. The structural develop-

1880

ments reflect El Niño’s effects on Australia, all designed to set new benchmark

1870

standards in sustainability. In addition to the Village, Jeff Kennett’s Victorian

1860

lage. The layout utilises indigenous planting to contribute to local habitat val-

1850

ues, forming a character extension of Royal Park into and through the site. The

Significant events cumulatively impacting Royal Park’s environment, working collaboratively establishing change to the Park’s ecosystem and landscape.

1840

central open corridor is informed by the site’s topography, retaining mature

1830

A visual exploration of the environmental impacts that have shaped Royal Park’s landscape. Considering how key events have improved, damaged, or modernised Royal Park’s physical environment, vegetation, health, and ecosystem.

Winning the bid to Host the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Victoria State

Crown Reservation of Land

Kulin Nation Land

Timeline 03

Government committed to building an environmentally friendly Athlete’s Vil-

Royal Park

Indigenous Recognition & Community Focused Design

Iteration 3.2 Royal Park

1946 - 1956

Timeline 03 The deterioration, preservation, and restoration of Royal Park’s vegetation, biodiversity, ecosystem, and natural resources induced by natural conditions, surrounding urbanisation, and its growing role within society.

Significant events cumulatively impacting Royal Park’s environment, working collaboratively establishing change to the Park’s ecosystem and landscape.

Linking events that have impacted and influenced future development which has shaped and created environmental change within Royal Park.

Pre Colonisation Kulin Nation Land Living from the land, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people relied heavily on their physical environment. Providing essential food, water, and refuge for camping sites, the indigenous population camped in differing locations where resources were available, moving freely depending on the season, allowing time for the land to rejuvenate and replenish when they had departed, enabling them to return and use the site in the future. Their sophisticated value and respect for the environment sanctioned their ability to live off the land for thousands of years, preserving an ecological balance between themselves and their surroundings, creating an environmental lifecycle within their ecosystem. Permitting the natural resources to regrow, the native bushland played a major role in preserving the indigenous people’s dependant relationship with the environment, facilitating a sustainable form of living among the landscape, a value that is currently growing among today’s community.

1850

1984 Master Plan In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the new Royal Park Master Plan. Submitted by Laceworks Landscape Collaborative, directed by Brian Stafford, and Ron Jones, the winning submission had a philosophical design structured on passive recreation, preservation and enhancing Royal Park’s existing character. Designed as a non-fixed living landscape, the ecological restoration of Royal Park removed the horticultural clutter, integrating a nativist planting scheme, removing exotic and select non-native species to create a natural ambience. The design’s naturalistic woodlands, dominant eucalypts, and native grasslands produce a seamless unity between Australia’s native and natural elements, whilst also remaining environmentally sustainable and considerate. Designed to appear unplanned, Jones and Stafford’s Master Plan has provided key enduring environmental framework for Royal Park, aiding future design decisions to improve and maintain the landscape’s ecological biodiversity.

1876

Crown Reservation of land

Reservation of Royal Park

Lieutenant – Governor Charles La Trobe’s push for the British Crown to reserve 2560 acres of native bushland for ‘the public advantage and recreation’ established the critical framework which has allowed Royal Park to play a large role and remain a key public open space for people and wildlife within Melbourne. Contrasting other formally designed parkland established by La Trobe, Royal Park remained largely natural, indigenous, and untouched by settlers, preserving the land’s native ecosystem, a significant decision that initiated Royal Park’s trademark native Australian aesthetic. La Trobe’s personal involvement and acknowledgement of the importance of green space in an urban context preserved natural elements of the Australian landscape across Melbourne, protecting the rich indigenous biodiversity amidst the radical development occurring within the settlement.

From 1850 through to the early 1870s Royal Park’s vegetation and natural resources steadily declined. Unable to sustain and upkeep the vast parkland, sections of land were cleared and sold off for residential development, raising concerns for the park’s preservation having established its significance within Melbourne.

In 1876 when Royal Park was officially gazetted, its remaining 424 acres were permanently reserved as public parkland. The park’s declining health brought awareness to its environmental significance, as the decision formally recognised the park’s role within Melbourne’s urban environment as a pocket of open green space.

Providing definitive protection, the preservation of Royal Park permanently defines the landscape in the built environment, preventing future urbanisation from covering the land, allowing the biodiverse ecosystem to remain a part of Melbourne.

2015

Camp Pell Set up by the Cain Government in response to the Victorian post-war housing shortage, the Camp Pell social housing settlement continued the military camp’s detrimental impact and imposition on Royal Park. The 3000 new social housing residents inhabited the existing nissen huts, creating what had become labelled as ‘Camp Hell’ due to its limited facilities, increasing illness, and inadequate living conditions. Lasting ten years, Camp Pell’s footprint on Royal Park left the area bereft of any indigenous vegetation, hastening the landscape’s already heavily deteriorated condition to the point where the issue needed to be addressed.

Emancipating the park in a detrimental state, the Camp was a major catalyst for the creation of the Royal Park 1984 design competition, as the City of Melbourne wanted to improve and restore Royal Park’s vegetation and ecosystem to reinstate the park to its previous role for Melbourne’s wildlife and community.

Legend Urban Imposition

Site Location for future Native Garden Internal Park Military Roads

Roads

4m Contour Lines

Royal Park Outline

Public Transport Routes

2006 Royal Park Wetlands Adopted from the 1984 Master Plan, the Royal Park wetland system was designed to harvest and recycle storm water for irrigation within Royal Park and inner-city Melbourne. Consisting of two linked ponds, the unique landscape and water management system improves environmental outcomes by producing an aquatic habitat, significantly increasing the native biodiversity and vegetation, and reducing portable water usage within Royal Park. The resulting landscape and artificial billabong environment facilitate a diverse wetland ecology for the Royal Park community and native wildlife. In addition, the wetland billabong actively discharges clean water into the Moonee Ponds Creek and Port Phillip bay, reducing Melbourne’s environmental impact. In 2006, the wetlands were officially opened as ‘Trin Warren Tam-boore’ for the commencement of the Commonwealth Games.

Legend

Degraded Land From Camp Pell & Military Camps

Moonee Ponds Creek

Nature Play

Urban Imposition

Australian Native Garden

Proposed Future Wetlands

Grassland Circle

Buildings

In response to inner Melbourne’s dense urban landscape, Nature Play’s ambition is to connect inner city kids and adults with the natural environment through active play. Based around the seven Wurundjeri seasons, Nature Play reflects the traditional custodian’s way of living off the land, inviting users to engage with the play space to indirectly experience the seasonal changes within the landscape embodied in the playground’s physical structure and reflective native planting. Restoring the site of the existing Royal Children’s Hospital carpark, the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services have constructed an environmentally evocative landscape that blurs the edges of the playground effortlessly to naturally integrate it into the surrounding native woodlands. The energetic landscaping and planting of native vegetation entices a youthful response, provoking users to immerse themselves into Royal Park, actively welcoming greater community experience within the natural environment. The nature-based-play core principles and values of the park’s Nature Play playground has refreshed Royal Park’s façade, framing the parkland as more than an extensive native bushland.

Native Woodlands

Royal Park Outline

Paths

1m Contour Lines

Moonee Ponds Creek

Roads

Public Transport Routes

Legend Urban Imposition

Wetlands

Australian Native Garden

Buildings

Grassland Circle

Nature Play Playground

Moonee Ponds Creek

1m Contour Lines

1840

1860

1870

1880

1890

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

Roads

Native Woodlands

Royal Park Direct Seeding

Internal Paths

Royal Park Outline

Public Transport Routes

2010

2020

Park’s Health

Urban Imposition

Open Space

Park Restoration

1956

World War’s Deterioration of Royal Park

1997

1997 - 2009

Redesign & Recovery

2006

whilst enhancing the park’s biodiversity.

established eucalypts. The restoration to the undergrowth of the eucalyptus

canopies proclaims the importance of the park’s vegetation and urban eco-

system, forming habitat and increasing pollina-tion of native flowering species

In the first half of the year close to a million seeds of native grasses and wild-

flowers were sown under mature eucalyptus trees in Royal Park. The initiative is

a collaborative partnership between the City of Melbourne and the University

2020

2011

Environmentally Sustainable Design

of Melbourne designed to recreate a native grassy understorey beneath the

Royal Park Direct Seeding

New Royal Children’s Hospital

Liberal Government contributed $5 million towards the Royal Park Wetlands.

native trees to establish a ‘built of time’ atmosphere. The structural develop-

ments reflect El Niño’s effects on Australia, all designed to set new benchmark

standards in sustainability. In addition to the Village, Jeff Kennett’s Victorian

lage. The layout utilises indigenous planting to contribute to local habitat val-

ues, forming a character extension of Royal Park into and through the site. The

central open corridor is informed by the site’s topography, retaining mature

Winning the bid to Host the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the Victoria State

Government committed to building an environmentally friendly Athlete’s Vil-

Commonwealth Games

21 million litres for use around the city and Royal Park to counteract the limited

amount of water available for outdoor watering.

dry conditions. With the park’s deteriorated condition impacting the vegetation

and community health, the Melbourne City Council implemented water catch-

ment and collection facilities in the northern suburbs, cleaning, and recycling

er cycle that impacted Aus-tralia, the health of Royal Park’s vegetation and

ecosystem degraded significantly due to the immense heat wave and water re-

strictions. The drought identified inappropriate planting issues within the park,

highlighting resulting in the removal of species not adept to endure Australia’s

Through the extreme weather conditions generated from the El Niño weath-

Millennium Drought

encouraging Royal Park’s role as a key part of Melbourne’s wildlife network.

Special emphasis was placed on the development of a native wetland, an indig-

enous open woodland, and an open grassland circle on the hilltop of Royal Park

south in pursuit of objectives from the 1984 Master Plan.

of the park to dictate variations in planting patterns, unite separated areas by

establishing a circulation system, and continue the development of a native

landscape evocative of pre-colonisation. The Plan simultaneously prioritised

is heavily concentrated on environmental upgrades whilst keeping the original

design philosophy. The recommendations and changes of the Plan increased

the usable area of parkland, allowing the topography and geological factors

Consistent with the 1984 Master Plan, the City of Melbourne’s 1997 Master Plan

1997 Master Plan

physical qualities to embody a pre-colonial character.

and reflecting a native eco-system and the traditional owners of the land, the

Wurundjeri, and Boon Wurrung of the Kulin Nation. Fraser’s distinctive selection

of indigenous vegetation provided vision and a symbolic link expressed in the

winning 1984 Royal Park Master Plan submission, reconnecting Royal Park’s

native Australian landscapes. With an emphasis on indigenous planting and

the recreation of a ‘natural’ landscape, the garden was opened to the pub-

1977

lic in 1977 with the appearance of a pre-settlement landscape, encapsulating

Designed by Melbourne based landscape designer Grace Fraser in 1974, the

1963 Initial Park Restoration

Australian Native Garden, located by Gatehouse Street, is an appreciation of

Melbourne Olympic Games

to the entire park redevelopment.

ternatively became the location of new social housing. Leaving Royal Park in

such a critical environmental state requiring considerable large-scale ecological

restoration, the Military Camp inflicted the initial impairment which intensified

and surrounding natural elements were devastated over the six years when the

Military Camp occupied the park. Already damaged and essentially viewed as

nothing more than derelict land, the remaining structures and landscape al-

mense ecological damage to the landscape. Extensively modified with tempo-

rary structures and nissen huts scattered across the park, distributing residual

1939 - 1945

asbestos fragments throughout the landscape once bulldozed, the vegetation

sen huts through WWII, the southern end of Royal Park was quickly imposed

and ravaged by troops and associated machinery. The park was repurposed to

provide setting for Australian and American armed forces, the camp causing im-

Transformed into a large-scale Military Camp settlement of prefabricated nis-

1914 - 1918

Australian Native Garden

1914

Early Park Development

Royal Children’s Hospital

1903

World War II

1890

World War I

1857 - 1862

Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park Campus

1860 Early British Occupancy

Royal Park Golf Course

Burke & Wills Memorial

1835 Pre-Colonisation

Royal Melbourne Zoo

Past

Burke & Wills Depart

Batman Treaty

Availability for Wildlife

Indigenous Recognition & Community Focused Design

Iteration 3.3 Pa k

m

Living from the land, the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people relied heavily on their physical environment. Their sophisticated value and respect for the environ-

Lieutenant – Governor Charles La Trobe’s actions to reserve 2560 acres of native bushland for established the critical framework which has allowed Royal Park to remain a key open space for people and wildlife within Melbourne. Royal Park’s

In 1876 when Royal Park was officially gazetted, its remaining 424 acres were per-

the natural resources to regrow, the bushland played a major role in preserving the

vegetation has remained largely indigenous, preserving the land’s native ecosys-

manently reserved as public parkland. The decision formally recognised the park’s

Indigenous people’s dependent relationship with the landscape.

The Camp Pell social housing settlement continued the detrimental impact and

Unable to sustain and upkeep the vast parkland, sections of land were cleared and

tem. La Trobe’s work preserved natural elements of the Australian landscape, pro-

role within Melbourne’s urban environment as a pocket of open green space, pre-

tecting the rich indigenous biodiversity amidst the radical development occurring

serving the native parkland from Melbourne’s urbanisation.

15

‘57 - ‘62 1860 Early British Occupancy

1903

1890 Early Park Development

irrigation within the park and inner-city Melbourne. Consisting of two linked ponds,

Based around the seven Wurundjeri seasons, Nature Play reflects the traditional custodian’s way of living off the land, inviting users to engage with the play space

Master Plan. Submitted by Laceworks Landscape Collaborative’s Brian Stafford and

the water management system produces an aquatic habitat and significantly in-

to indirectly experience the seasonal changes within the landscape embodied in

Ron Jones, the winning submission framed the design as a non-fixed living land-

creases the native biodiversity and vegetation within Royal Park. The artificial billa-

the playground’s physical structure and reflective native planting. The City of Mel-

scape. The ecological restoration removed the horticultural clutter and integrated

bong actively discharges clean water into the Moonee Ponds Creek and Port Phillip

bourne and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services’ design is an

state, the Camp was the capstone for the creation of the Royal Park 1984 design

a nativist planting scheme, celebrating Australia’s native and natural elements. De-

bay, reducing Melbourne’s environmental impact. In 2006, the wetlands were of-

environmentally evocative landscape that blurs the edges of the playground effort-

competition to improve and restore Royal Park’s vegetation and ecosystem to re-

signed to appear unplanned, the Master Plan has provided enduring environmental

ficially opened as ‘Trin Warren Tam-boore’ alongside the Commonwealth Games.

lessly to naturally integrate it into the surrounding native woodlands, celebrating

instate the park role for Melbourne’s wildlife and community.

framework for Royal Park, guiding the maintenance of the landscape’s biodiversity.

Royal Park.

years the Military Camp occupied the park. Leaving Royal Park in such a critical

environmental state requiring considerable large-scale ecological restoration,

the Military Camp significantly contributed to the redevelopment of the entire

repurposed to provide setting for Australian and American armed forces,

modified with temporary structures and nissen huts scattered across the park,

the camp causing immense ecological damage to the landscape. Extensively

‘39 - ’45 World War’s Deterioration of Royal Park

the vegetation and surrounding natural elements were devastated over the six

Transformed into a large-scale Military Camp through WWII, the park was

of Royal Park’s environment.

aging the park’s biodiversity. Inhabiting the site for an extended period, the

presence became a feature of the landscape, negatively impacting and dam-

1914 ‘14 - ‘18

camp’s success led to future Military occupation, and increased deterioration

initial downfall for Royal Park’s vegetation and ecosystem. The constant military

Repurposing the landscape into a WWI Military Camp for the Anzacs, was the

1835 Pre-Colonisation

Royal Park’s wetland system was designed to harvest and recycle storm water for

with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) for the new Royal Park

Camp Pell’s footprint on Royal Park left the area bereft of any indigenous vegetation, hastening the landscape’s already heavily deteriorated condition to the point where the issue needed to be addressed. Emancipating the park in a detrimental

within the settlement.

Past

In 1984 the Melbourne City Council launched a design competition in conjunction

imposition the Military Camps had on Royal Park’s landscape. Lasting ten years,

sold off for residential development, raising concerns for the park’s preservation.

ment sanctioned their ability to live off the land for thousands of years. Permitting

Australia’s native vegetation and biodiversity.

Designed by Grace Fraser in 1974, the Australian N

Roya

1956

1977

1963 Initial Park Restoration

1997 ‘97 - ‘09 Redesign & Recovery

2006

Environmentally Sustainable Design

2011

2020

Indigenous Recognition & Community Focused Design

Iteration 3.4