Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne
public gardens in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
The Alexandra Gardens is a 5.2-hectare (13-acre) urban park located on the south bank of the Yarra River, opposite Federation Square and the city centre of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.
The Gardens are bounded by the Yarra River to the north, Princes and Swan street bridges, with Queen Victoria Gardens and Kings Domain across Alexandra Avenue to the south. Created in 1901 under the direction of Carlo Catani, Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, the Alexandra Gardens were named in honour of Alexandra of Denmark, in the year her reign as Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress consort of India began.
The park is located on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurung people; and is administered by the City of Melbourne.
Domain Parklands
Alexandra Gardens is part of a 123-hectare (300-acre) larger area of parklands directly south-east of the city, bounded by the Yarra River, Anderson Street, Domain Road and St Kilda Road, collectively known as the Domain Parklands. In addition to Alexandra Gardens, these parklands also include Alexandra Park, the Kings Domain and Kings Doman South, Queen Victoria Gardens, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne Gardens (Royal Botanic Gardens), Melbourne Observatory, the Shrine of Remembrance Reserve and Government House Reserve.
The Domain Parkland and Memorial Precinct was added to the Australian National Heritage List on 12 February 2018 by the Australian Government in recognition of the Domain's association with Australia's national heritage – in particular, as a place where the Traditional Owners asserted control to ensure the return and (re)burial of their ancestors is in accordance with their cultural protocols. The precinct also demonstrates a rare government domain with strong Victorian era components of significant to the Australian people.
Additionally, the entire Domain Parklands were added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 25 July 2013 by the Government of Victoria in recognition of its historical, archaeological, aesthetic, architectural, scientific (horticultural), and social significance to the State of Victoria.
History
From the time of European settlement of Melbourne in 1835, the area of the gardens was used for timber cutting, cattle grazing and as a brickmakers' field.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne” is public gardens in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Alexandra, Gardens and Melbourne, not as a finished interpretation.
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