Burnley Gardens History

The Heritage listed Burnley Gardens in Richmond date back to December 17, 1860 when the Horticulture Society of Victoria established experimental gardens. The aim was to introduce new plants to the colonies, and to promote botanical and horticultural science.

The land was granted to the Society on the basis that "the land would always be accessible to the public free of charge, except on exhibition days."

The initial design of the gardens was the result of a landscape gardener, Alfred Lynch, winning a design competition.

The gardens were officially opened in 1 January, 1863, having already been planted out with conifers and other ornamentals.

By the end of 1863, the gardens had more than 1400 cultivars of fruit trees, only to be lost in a major flood which destroyed much of the gardens. However, the gardens were re-established and the trials continued, extending to vegetables in 1874.

Over time the gardens were extended. A pavilion was built in 1884 and other buildings followed, and the Society held annual horticultural shows.

In 1890, the land was sold to the Department of Agriculture and 1891 the School of Horticulture Burnley was established. This was the first school of horticulture in Australia – and in 1897, Charles Bogue Luffman became the first principal.

Luffman was a noted English landscape designer who improved the existing garden design. He included ponds, cool shady areas, sunken paths winding through shrubberies and open areas planted with ‘wild flowers’. In 1899 Luffman was responsible for including women as students at Burnley and graduates included Georgina Higgins, Emily Gibson and Edna Walling.

A comprehensive history of the gardens has been documented by Michèle Adler in her book entitled ‘Burnley Gardens: Their Design and the People who loved them’, published by Lothian, and available from Friends of Burnley Gardens. This book has been used as a reference in this article.