Victoria Park's trees tell a story of change
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From ornamental plantings to post-WW2 gumtree groves, Dr Kate Quirk explains how Victoria Park’s vegetation has changed since it was extensively cleared during early settlement.
Victoria Park has fulfilled a wide range of uses for the Brisbane community over more than one hundred years.
Historical images held by the State Library of Queensland show how clearing, quarrying and reshaping the land changed Victoria Park’s natural environment, including its vegetation and the landscape to the rolling hills people recognise today.
Watch the video above, featuring Dr Kate Quirk, PHD Archaeology, Member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites and Cultural Heritage Manager for GIICA, as she talks through the park’s unique vegetation history and what we can see today.
Dr Kate Quirk PhD, M. ICOMOS, GIICA Cultural Heritage Manager
The most significant phase of change occurred in the 1930s, when the golf course was created. The course was altered nine times between 1931 and 2001. Those earthworks shaped new hills, filled low-lying areas and cleared vegetation, creating the familiar fairways and rolling hills.
As Victoria Park enters another period of change with the construction of Brisbane Stadium and the National Aquatic Centre, its vegetation and landscape will continue to evolve.
The recently released draft Victoria Park Precinct Legacy Plan looks at the broader landscape of the precinct. It includes restoring waterways, expanding wetlands, adding more shaded tree canopy and creating green links around the venue. The plan aims to integrate the stadium and National Aquatic Centre into a larger parkland setting, with commons, ridgelines, forested areas and open lawns that support major events as well as everyday community use.
Importantly, around two-thirds of Victoria Park is to remain green and public space. This will ensure the precinct becomes a place Queenslanders will enjoy well into the future.
