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Stirling Gardens
Stirling Gardens
Type	Urban park
Location	Perth, Western Australia
Coordinates	31°57′23″S 115°51′36″E / 31.9565°S 115.86°E / -31.9565; 115.86
Created	1845
Etymology	Named after James Stirling
Operated by	City of Perth
Status	Open

Stirling Gardens is a small public park in Perth, Western Australia.

Located on the corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street, west of the Government House and north of the Supreme Court buildings, it contains a group of significant sculpture items.

History

Originally established by the Perth Vineyard Society in 1845 with Government approval, the Gardens were leased to Henry Laroche Cole for a ten-year period in 1846, and were eventually returned to Government control at the end of that period. In 1868 Enoch Barratt was appointed as the Government Gardener to tend Government Gardens (now known as Stirling Gardens), a position which he held until he retired in 1880.

It is one of a series of landscape features that is classified by the National Trust.

The statue of Alexander Forrest, the brother of Sir John Forrest, was constructed by Pietro Porcelli. It was first made in Guildford clay, then in plaster of Paris—sent to Italy to cast it in wax and finally in bronze. It was unveiled by Premier Walter James on 28 August 1903. It was moved to its current location in 1916.

It has been called Stirling Square in the past, despite the coincidence of a square of the same name in Guildford.

See also

• Australia's Open Garden Scheme
• Gardening in Australia
• Heritage gardens in Australia
• Supreme Court Gardens, separated from Stirling Gardens by the Supreme Court buildings

References

1. Summers, Lise, From wasteland to parkland (Thesis, 2007, University of Melbourne)
2. Eringa, Karel (1998), Windows on the past : windows to the future : 46 landscapes classified by the National Trust, Environment Centre of W.A, retrieved 21 March 2012 page 77
3. "THE ALEXANDER FORREST STATUE". Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 29 September 1916. p. 2. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
4. "Alexander Forrest". Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 25 August 1949. p. 13. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
5. "STIRLING-SQUARE FENCES". The West Australian. Vol. 57, no. 17, 043. Western Australia. 18 February 1941. p. 5. Retrieved 9 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "STIRLING-SQUARE GATES". The West Australian. Vol. 52, no. 15, 619. Western Australia. 17 July 1936. p. 24. Retrieved 9 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.

Further reading

• Austen, Tom; St. George Books (1988), The streets of old Perth, Saint George Books, ISBN 978-0-86778-038-3
• Considine and Griffiths Architects (1997), Stirling Gardens, Perth : conservation plan, Considine and Griffiths, retrieved 21 March 2012
• Richards, Oline (1982), "A fairer Athens and a freer Rome: historic public gardens in Perth, WA", Heritage (Australian Heritage Society), 1 (1): 66–69, ISSN 0155-2716

External links

• 1959 aerial photographs looking north and east across Stirling Gardens, State Library of Western Australia

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