Description of the attraction
The Palmetum Botanical Garden in Townsville is a land of palm trees. The garden is located in the Annandale area, near the Ross River, James Cook University and Townsville Hospital. Opened in 1988, today the garden covers an area of 17 hectares, where about 300 species of palm trees, including the rarest ones, grow - this is the largest collection of palm trees in the world!
Palmetum develops every day: the management of the garden regularly purchases and grows new types of trees, walking paths and observation platforms are being built for tourists. But this botanical garden is famous not only for its palm trees, but also for a wide variety of birds - fans of "birdwatching" will not be disappointed. In the garden, you can also see a memorial dedicated to the memory of 18 soldiers who died during the training flight of the Black Hawk Down.
Anderson Park Botanic Garden is a favorite vacation spot for Townsville residents.
In the park's arboretum, you can see an amazing variety of tropical ferns, palms, fruit and economically valuable plants and one of the world's largest collections of pandanas. Most of the plant specimens come from the rainforests of the Cape York Peninsula and North Queensland. The collection of pandanas includes most of the species of pandanas native to Australia, as well as plants from New Guinea, Southeast Asia, the island of the western Pacific and Madagascar. The greenhouse contains a collection of tropical plants such as bromeliads, ginger, nepentes and palms. In the tropical orchard, you can see exotic lychees, persimmons, azimines, breadfruit, dates, coffee, cinnamon and other “gastronomic” specimens.
In 1932, the park was named after William Anderson, the park's first curator. In the same year, the first plantings appeared on the territory. In 1956 and 1963, the territory of the park was expanded, and it acquired its modern appearance. Today, Anderson Park covers more than 20 hectares and is an example of an innovative approach to landscaping and a real gem of the city.
Royal Gardens (Queens Gardens) - Townsville's third botanical garden, the smallest (its area is only 4 hectares). It is located at the foot of Castle Hill, close to the city center and the Strand. The garden is divided into quadrants, with a fountain in the center of each. Special zones include a rose garden, flower beds, 2 small hedge-shaped labyrinths and an alley of pea trees. The garden also has a small aviary that is home to peacocks, small lorises and cockatoos.
Formally, the "Royal Gardens" were founded in 1870, but then they served to supply the local population with food and agricultural development. The original 40.5 hectares of land were intended for planting exotic plant species such as coconut, mango, oil palm. Some of the "pea trees" and araucaria planted at that time still grow in the garden and are arguably the oldest cultivated plants in Australia. At the end of the 19th century, the garden began to slowly transform from "industrial" into a real recreation area for the townspeople. But the Second World War slowed down this process: during the war, the Royal Gardens served as a military base for 100 thousand American soldiers. And only in 1959 the garden began to fulfill its modern functions, although its territory was reduced 10 times.
