Квинс-Гарденс: Исторический парк в Брисбене

Heritage listed park in Brisbane, Queensland

Queens Gardens is a heritage listed park located on a city block between George Street, Elizabeth Street and William Street in the Brisbane CBD, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from c. 1905 to 1990s. It is also known as Executive Gardens and St Johns Church Reserve. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. Queens Gardens are adjacent to the former Land Administration Building (now the Heritage Hotel of the Treasury Casino). On the opposite side of William Street is the Old State Library Building and on the opposite side of Elizabeth Street is the former Treasury Building (now the Treasury Casino).

As an early penal colony the site was originally home to a cottage, lumber yard, engineer's store and workshops. Queens Gardens was established in several stages between 1905 and 1962, on a site which has been associated both with the earliest phase of the penal settlement at Moreton Bay, and with the establishment of the Church of England in Queensland. at the request of Thomas Joseph Ryan, lawyer, anti conscriptionist and Queensland Labor Premier 1915–1919. A bronze statue of TJ Ryan, designed by Australian sculptor Bertram MacKennal and erected by public subscription, was unveiled in the gardens in 1925. The sandstone base was provided by the Brisbane City Council. In 1962 the CIB building at the northern corner of the site was demolished and the park was extended to occupy the entire square, with a total area of A new layout for the gardens was prepared as a joint state and local government scheme in preparation for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Brisbane in March 1963. Brisbane City Council landscape architect, horticulturalist and author, Harry Oakman, was responsible for the design and landscaping, and architectural detailing was undertaken by Department of Works architect Graham De Gruchy. In 1990 the Queensland Service Women's Association erected a Monument of Memories in the park, honouring the 70,000 service women.

Queens Gardens is a public park, square in plan, that is bounded by William, Elizabeth and George Streets on the southwestern, northwestern and northeastern sides and by the Lands Administration Building (now Heritage Hotel) on the southeastern edge. Located around the perimeter of the Gardens are a number of important government buildings including the Lands Administration Building, the Treasury Building (now the Treasury Casino), the Old State Library and the Family Services Building. The main elements of the design are: an asphalt area in front of the Lands Administration Building which connects George and William Streets; a diagonal path leading from the northern corner to the centre of the asphalt area; and a large lawn bounded by Elizabeth Street, the diagonal path, the asphalt area and garden beds along William Street. A lily pond, recently rebuilt, is located adjacent to the intersection of the diagonal path and the asphalt area. On the southwestern side of the pond is a converted fountain, now a sandstone and concrete planter box. The diagonal path is emphasised by a row of colvillea trees (Colvillea racemosa). A coral tree (Erythrina spp.) marks the entrance to the park from George Street. With the exception of specimen trees most of the planting in the park is kept at a low level so as not to divide the space visually. Barriers to movement, if not vision, are created along George Street by a zig zag hedge (Acalypha) and along William Street by a chain wire fence, hedge and garden bed. Although the design of the park is relatively recent, earlier monuments have been incorporated which provide links to the previous form of the site. Two bronze statues on stone pedestals remain in their original locations. A marble slab in the paved area indicates the position of the altar of the former St John's Pro Cathedral. A statue of Queen Victoria, is centrally positioned on the asphalt area in front of the symmetrical facade of the Lands Administration Building. The diagonal path is terminated by the monument which looks towards the Treasury Building and is framed by two leopard trees (Flindersia maculosa). The bronze statue stands on a pedestal, the upper portion of which is made of brown Helidon sandstone and the lower portion of Enoggera granite. The pedestal is square in form, with chamfered corners and is set on a flight of three granite steps. Directly behind the Queen is a 1915 Krupp gun. The TJ Ryan statue also stands on a pedestal of Helidon sandstone and Enoggera granite. Separated from the main area of the park by a fence and garden, it is positioned diagonally facing the corner of William and Elizabeth Streets. An ornamental bronze plaque is attached to the pedestal. A recent addition to the park's memorials is a rough hewn block of bluestone with a bronze plaque bolted to it that commemorates the service of Australian women in war. It is located on the southwestern side of the asphalt area between rose beds. Timber and concrete benches are placed along the paths and around the lily pond. The original cast iron lamp posts on cast iron pedestals have been relocated along the paths. The planting is dominated by exotic plants with coloured foliage and decorative leaf shape. Many garden beds have plants clipped into geometric patterns. The Gardens provide a foreground for viewing the principal facades of the Lands Administration Building, the former Library and the Family Services Building, and forms a pleasant aspect for the buildings which overlook it.

Queens Gardens was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. Queens Gardens are important in demonstrating the evolution of Queensland's history, particularly in the evolution of the site from convict administration use to the centre of Anglicanism in Queensland to public park and focus for Queensland's most important government precinct. Queens Gardens also demonstrate the historic and governmental associations of the Queen Victoria and TJ Ryan statues. The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history. The site is significant for its potential to reveal substrata evidence of building materials and artefacts from the 1820s, which could contribute to an understanding of the early European settlement of Queensland. The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places. The present garden layout is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of the work of influential landscape architect Harry Oakman, and is one of the most intact of his works surviving in Brisbane. The place is important because of its aesthetic significance. The gardens, together with the Queen Victoria and TJ Ryan statues, exhibit landscape and aesthetic qualities, and a townscape contribution as the integrating core of a remarkably fine group of public buildings, which are valued by the community. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. The site has a special association with the Anglican Church and its early history in Queensland.