Description of the attraction
King's Park is the largest city park in Melbourne, located 4 km from the downtown in the Parkville area. On the territory of the park, 181 hectares, there are a tennis club, a golf club, football stadiums, baseball and cricket grounds, a hockey center, cycling and many walking paths. During the summer months, members of the Astronomical Society of Victoria set up telescopes here and observe the myriad stars in the southern hemisphere's night sky.
At the corner of Gatehouse Street and Royal Parde is a garden with spacious lawns and wide avenues of eucalyptus, acacias and casuarinas. The park is home to many animals and birds - robins, bronze cuckoos, colorful parrots, oriental and pale-headed rosellas, hawks, eagles, smoky kites and other birds.
Back in 1845, the Governor of Victoria, Charles La Trobe, reserved an area of 10 square kilometers. to create a park, however, by the time of its creation in 1854, the area of the park had been reduced to 6, 25 sq. km. In the future, it was once again reduced to 2, 8 square kilometers, which was caused by the rapid growth of the population of Melbourne and the need to build new residential areas. In 1860, the Burke and Wills expedition set out from King's Park, which was to cross Australia from south to north. On the way back, the travelers died, and today a cairn of stones is installed in the park in memory of them.
In the early 1990s, Royal Park underwent extensive renovation: a new pond was dug, parking lots were reorganized, and the exterior courtyard adjacent to the Melbourne Zoo Park was completed. In 1997, the planting of new plants was completed, most of which were Australian trees and shrubs.
