Newington House - The Garden

The Garden

Elements of the former house garden, and estate landscaping remain today. These include the outline of the formal carriage loop north of the house, isolated elements such as mature trees and an avenue of rainforest tree species and palms going north from the house towards the river. More detailed elements such as a pedestal and urn, east of the house on the edge of the former carriage loop also remain. Tree plantings lining the former carriage loop north of the house include Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis), southern nettle trees (Celtis australis) and cotton palms (Washingtonia robusta) with their tall, clean trunks to 20m high. An avenue of trees towards the river comprises Bunya Bunya pines (Araucaria bidwillii), hoop pines (Araucaria cunninghamii), Moreton Bay figs (Ficus macrophylla), Canary Island date palms and swamp mahoganies (Eucalyptus robusta). The latter of these may be later plantings. Walkway planting dates to the 1860s-1900, the main period of popularisation and fashionability of these species, and their promotion by such public figures as then Directors of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Charles Moore and Joseph Maiden. These men provided such species to many public institutions such as hospitals. Cotton and Canary Island date palms were also commonly promoted species in this period. Close to Holker Street and the main entry are large specimens of Hill's fig (Ficus hillii) and Moreton Bay figs, transplanted from estate remnants to the east of the current entry driveway as part of a redevelopment of the main entry. These trees are at least of 1880s vintage but possibly older. Significance trees throughout the site include the extremely rare Schotia afra (Kaffir bean, Boer bean) and the surviving turpentines (Syncarpia glomulifera) which are likely to be indigenous to the site.