Lennox Gardens

Recalling early days in the National Capital

• Location
• Facilities
• History
• Part of the historic Hotel Canberra precinct
• A formal design recalling earlier times
• For those who enjoy formal gardens
• Reference

Location

Flynn Drive, Yarralumla.

• A map showing Inner South Canberra with the location of Lennox Gardens marked.
• A map of Lennox Gardens.

Facilities

Facilities include a picnic area and an electric barbecue and seating. Parking is provided off Flynn Drive and cycle path access is available.

History

Lennox Gardens, although created since the construction of Lake Burley Griffin in the early 1960s, has strong historical links to the early days of the National Capital. The formal exclusively exotic character is intended to be consistent with that of the gardens of the Hotel Canberra and the Albert Hall created in the 1920s by Charles Weston, Canberra's first Superintendent, Parks and Gardens. Remnant planting from the 1920s and the naming of Lennox Gardens reinforces links to this earlier period.

Part of the historic Hotel Canberra precinct

Lennox Gardens is a small part of the original Royal Canberra Golf Course established, in the 1920s, on the Molonglo River floodplain downstream of Lennox Crossing. Lennox Crossing was a low level bridge linking Acton with South Canberra.

With the filling of Lake Burley Griffin in the 1960s, the golf course and the crossing were submerged. Remaining above lake level was a portion of one fairway, the clubhouse and associated tree planting and this area was named Lennox Gardens.

The clubhouse was originally the residence of Charles Kaye, sho had constructed and estended the timber building from about 1895 onwards and operated Kayes Dairy Farm from there for many years. After the Kayes left in 1924, the cottage was converted by the Federal Capital Commission to a golf clubhous. After vacation in the 1960s by the golf club its short term occupation by the Canberra Yacht Club came to a sudden end with the building's destruction by fire in May 1965.

A large ageing Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) amongst a group of coniferous trees marking the site of the clubhouse near the northern end of the Lennox Gardens, is of historic significance. It is the sole survivor of several planted by Charles Kaye late in 1918 to commemorate the return of his son Frank from the First World War.

The name of the low level bridge was transferred to the park in 1963. David Lennox (1788-1873) was a noted Scottish-born bridge builder in New South Wales and Victoria, many of his bridges are still standing to the present day.

A formal design recalling earlier times

The design for the gardens, which are bounded by Flynn Drive and the lakeshore, envisages a formal exotic character reminiscent of the gardens, created in the 1920s, of the Hotel Canberra and Albert Hall. Charles Weston's original planting of the golf course has been integrated into the design. Planting proceeded in the 1960s, while a major development program was commenced in the 1980s.

From the formal gateway established directly opposite the rear of Hotel Canberra a wide straight red gravel pedestrian boulevard leads towards the lake. A lakeshore boulevard and oval shaped park green have also been established. This formal arrangement is being progressively extended to the northern part of the gardens.

Adjacent to the pedestrian boulevard two formal elements have been established- the first is a small English style formal garden with rose beds and climbers on a central pergola, while the second, constructed in 1993, is an "Australians in the Spanish Civil War 1936 to 1939" memorial. Three olive trees are associated with this memorial. A third formal element, the Canberra-Nara Park, has also been incorporated into Lennox Gardens.

For those who enjoy formal gardens

As Lennox Gardens matures it is becoming a popular place to visit, particularly at weekends, during the warmer months of the year. Many flowering trees put on a magnificant display in the spring.

Reference

Gray, J (1997) The Historical and Cultural Background of Selected Urban Parks in Canberra.