Home » Themes » Landscape » Settlement
Memory MarkersPrint Page 
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. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Sculpture |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Landscape |
| Sub-Theme: | Settlement |
| Artist: | Anne Neil |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | 2004 |
|---|
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
