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Memory MarkersPrint Page Print this page

16-April-2014
16-April-2014

Photographs supplied by Graeme Saunders

The five 3.5 metre high cast aluminium pen nibs are dedicated to the planners who designed the Stirling Gardens (Western Australia's first Botanical Garden). It also honours those who wrote the recorded history of the gardens.

This garden being the oldest in Perth were originally used as an acclimatisation garden where many of its mature specimens were raised from seed. Grapes and other import fruits were first grown here. In 1845 it was opened as a botanical garden. Stirling Gardens were reconstructed in 1965 with the Toodyay stone retaining wall and shallow pools which were designed by the City of Perth.

Location

Address:Barracks Street & St Georges Terrace, Stirling Gardens, Perth, 6000
State:WA
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -31.957057
Long: 115.859286
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Sculpture
Monument Theme:Landscape
Sub-Theme:Settlement
Artist:Anne Neil

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:2004
Front Inscription

In the late nineteenth century the gardens flourished.  

On 24 November, 1898, the West Australian newspaper described the grounds as having "Well kept lawns, covered with soft spongy sward tempt the visitor to laze luxuriously on the couch spread so invitingly , while around him on every side are trim, well-kept beds of flowers, divine is shape, brilliant in bloom, delicious in perfume, and varying the more generally known forms with many that are rare and equally beautiful.    Well laid out paths wind in and about the trees and lawns, and everywhere care, intelligence, skill and a remarkable capability for extracting every possible advantage out of a small means are apparent."

In 2006, the City of Perth Art Foundation commissioned artist Anne Neill, in collaboration with landscape architects Blackwell & Associates and heritage consultant Barbara Dundas to design an artwork for this entry to Stirling Gardens.

This sculpture `Memory Markers` was inspired by the early recording of memories about Stirling Gardens. The shapes are based on the familiar ink dipping nib which expresses the esssence of the Victorian Era on which the original formal planting patterns were based

 

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au