Banksia Park
Historic walking tracks in Manningham parks
Banksia Park lies in the most historic arca of our city for that is where it all started! The park is also the first of the Yarra Valley Parks, opened in 1978. It is the most popular picnic setting in the arca. Any fine weekend the lawns are covered with happy groups, playing games or sitting round lunch hampers with their children playing on the grass while others walk along the surrounding paths and from the barbeques comes the appetising smell of grilling snags or steak.
In 1837 John Wood drove his flocks of sheep across the river to graze on the rich river flats of Bulleen. The previous year Richard Bourke had walked along the north side of thcYarra and came across several pastoralists who had settled here. His description of one of the huts gives a graphic picture of the conditions under which these men lived. "There was a bench, a stool, a cracked cup or two, tin pannikins, a couple of knives and forks and a plate or two. All to eat is Irish salted pork, damper, tea and sugar. Light is produced by bunting rags in pieces of fat pork. Other settlers soon arrived. The Ruffy brothers leased a grazing run nearer to Templestowe, then Laidlaw and Kerr took over Woods run. Laidlaw stayed in the area and became Bulleen's first permanent settler. Across the river at Heidelberg, wealthy men built homes and some leased grazing land in Bulleen; they crossed the river at a ford alongside the site of the present Banksia Street Bridge. To give better access between Heidelberg and Bulleen an enterprising man installed a punt here, an ambitious project, for this was the only crossing over the Yarra beyond the it at Melbourne.
Melbourne Parks and Waterways were aware of the history so they laid a °Heritage Trail" of twelve cairns, with attractive illustrated plaques. to tell the story of the area. Starting at the Banksia Street Bridge they are placed along the walking path that follows the winding course of the Yarra. The first river crossings, the ford. the punt and the bridge are illustrated, then at the far end alongside Heide, a plaque tells the story of the Heidelberg School of Art.
During the 1840s Sydney Ricardo purchased land that included Banksia Park. He grew vegetables and pumped water from the river to irrigated his crops. Ricardo had been a business man in England; unlike many other farmers he had no previous knowledge of farming and learnt methods of farming suitable for local conditions. With the advantage of having business skills he became one of the most successful farmers in the Melbourne area. The community in this area elected Ricardo, being a small farmer, to represent them in the newly formed Victorian Parliament against the large land owners. Ricardo's land became a dairy farm in the 1880s, then in 1930 John and Sunday Reid purchased part of the land later building the house, Heide, that is now the Museum of Modern Art.
While walking along the park trails we see a variety of landscape. The trail Comes under the bridge from Yarra Flats Park. Along here river red gums throw shade across the river, the path runs though heavy foliage and opens into park land. In the wet lands we see ducks, coots, frogs, swamp hens and lots of other wetland life adding to the many interests in the Park. At the far end we walk through heavy foliage and a reminder of the orchard days in an omamental Japanese cherry grove. Firewood is provided for barbeques Or the walker can enjoy Devonshire Tea at the Heide Museum tea room.
Banksia Park is always active with people strolling along the walking trails. In early morning, groups meet for a healthy walk before work. During the day individuals, friends, married couples or people walking their dog, can be seen.
At weekends, parties of girls power walk along the paths, their faces tense and determined while more mature women relax as they enjoy their exercise. Although there are groups of women, of different ages, family groups and individual men, groups of men are never seen.
Perhaps it is the relaxing atmosphere of the park with its trees, the grass and the river that people, who on other occasions arc reserved, always greet others as they pass each other along the trails.
Source: Irvine Green writing in 1996 09 DTHS Newsletter
Banksia Park
Templestowe Road, Bulleen (172.12)A Board of Works regional park planned on North American principles with distributed car parks, shared footways, information signs and interpretation signs, picnic and barbeque facilities, play equipment and sculptures.
The principal landscape images are of pasture and woodland edge. Vegetation consists of some remnant River Red Gums, with plantings of Eucalypts, Acacias and exotic species including Prunus and Pin Oak. Nine interpretive plaques are located along the footway which follows the river course.
Note the old stand of exotic trees adjacent to one memorial including Italian Poplar, Indian Bean Tree, Ash leaf Maple, Common Ash, Alder, Spanish Chestnut & Pussy Willow.
The area was farmed by Sydney Ricardo, a State Member of Parliament. Some rubble footings from his house apparently remain within the grounds of Heide II, and quince and pear trees planted during his ownership are thought to remain within the park (1)
Of local significance.
(1) Maris Taylor, pers. comm.
Excerpt from: City of Doncaster and Templestowe Heritage Study 1991 Richard Peterson p. 1-4
Banksia Park
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