Segment: The history of Kings Park & Botanic Gardens
Presenter: Chrissy Morrissy
TX Date: 3rd March 19

Chrissy visits Perth’s premier destination, Kings Park & Botanic Gardens.

• For thousands of years people have gathered at this destination and  looked out over the river.
• While the view is stunning and the diversity of the parklands and trails speak for themselves, there are a few things about Kings Park we 6 million visitors to the Park each year may have overlooked.
• Walking is a great way to explore this park, all 4 square kilometres of it, did you know if is larger than New York’s Central Park?
• Many people may not actually know, but the Botanic Gardens were not always located in Kings Park, they use to be down at the bottom of the hill at the Supreme Court Gardens until they ran out of space as more Botanists kept bringing back their samples from around the state and nation.
• In fact, more than half of Australia’s 25,000 plant species can be seen in Kings Park.
• Visit the 750-Year-old Boab Tree, a gift from the Traditional owners of the Kimberley.
• The park ended up on Mt Eliza and not on the banks of the Swan River thanks to our first Surveyor General John Septimus Roe.
• Then when Lord John Forrest became our States first Premier, he doubled the size of the park and put in gates and roads. Officially naming it Perth Park in 1895.
• As you walk around the park you will see there are many plaques and statues, in fact Kings Park has more than any other park in the State!
• The statue of Queen Victoria was gifted to the State after her death, and in fact it was her death that led to the park being named Kings Park. When King Edward the 7th took the reins after Victoria’s death, a number of public places we renamed in his honour, including Perth Park.
• A lot of the state’s history is recorded here. Tributes to our soldiers can be seen throughout the park, including the tree lined honour avenues.
• If you take the time to read some of the plaques or perhaps go on one of the free guided tours, you will realise there is so much more than what you can see to our states number one tourist drawcard, it really is a giant story book about Destination WA.

www.bgpa.wa.gov.au