Fitzroy Gardens

One of the first things we noticed about Melbourne was the vast number of parks and gardens throughout the city. Apparently, Melbourne is considered to be "The Garden City" of Australia. Perhaps THE premier garden, and the oldest, is on the southeast edge of Melbourne: Fitzroy Gardens. Founded in 1848 as a public reserve, these 64 acres were officially named "Fitzroy Gardens" (after Charles Fiztroy, Governor-general of Australia from 1851 to 1855) in 1862. The original concept was to create a memorial for the first Europeans who died in the colony. A Conservatory, in the Spanish Mission style, was constructed in the gardens, for displaying glass-house plants. When we were there, a glorious exhibit of hydrangeas decorated the Conservatory (these exhibits are changed five times per year). In 1934, "Cook's Cottage" (the 1755 parental home of Captain James Cook) was brought from the village of Great Ayton in Yorkshire, England, and reconstructed in the gardens. It is one of the garden's top tourist attractions. Fitzroy Gardens is an absolutely wonderful place to explore and in which to relax.

Several of the winding paths throughout the gardens, take a stroller past beautiful English Elms.

The Spanish Mission architectural style of the Conservatory creates a great backdrop for the displays of glass-house plants that change five times per year.

During our visit to the Conservatory, hydrangeas were in full bloom...

...and we met some "new friends."

One of the top tourist attractions in the gardens is "Cooks' Cottage" - the 1755 parental home of Captain James Cook, discoverer of the east coast of Australia. Originally located in the village of Great Ayton, Yorkshire, England, it was dismantled, brick-by-brick and rebuilt in Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens in 1934.

As in most of the homes of this time period, the kitchen of "Cook's Cottage" was the focal point of family life.

A statue of Captain James Cook stands in the herb garden behind his parents' house.

Also within the gardens is this model Tudor Village, created by Edgar Wilson of London, England, and presented to the city as a "Thank You" to the citizens of Melbourne for sending food to Britain during World War II..

This "Scarred Tree" reminds visitors that the Wurundjeri tribe of Aborigines were the original settlers of Melbourne for 40,000 years. The scar was created when the tribe removed bark to make water containers, shields, and canoes.

From 1931 to 1934, sculpturer Ola Cohn carved a series of fairy likenesses on the stump of this 300 year old Red Gum tree. It is a top children's attraction within Fitzroy Gardens.