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Statement of Significance

The Cypress trees within the Kingston Foreshore locality have heritage significance because of their historical association and location in relation to the Government Printing Office. The trees were planted contemporaneously with the opening of the Printing Office in 1927 and are the physical remains of a daily assembly point and social gathering place for the many hundreds of staff engaged throughout the operation of the Printing Office from 1927-1963. The Printing Office has since been demolished, however for past staff and the broader community alike the trees remain a landmark of the historic phase of industrial activity within Kingston. Likewise they are a reminder of the lives of working class people who once operated the range of government industrial facilities which have been removed from the Kingston Foreshores area.
The mature Cypress trees are also a significant aesthetic element in the Wentworth Avenue streetscape. They were originally complemented by an interspersed planting of Flowering Plumbs. They represent the remnant of a small formal planting typical of planting styles of the 1920s in Canberra. Similar mixed plantings of cypress and flowering plum trees are also still evident in street plantings elsewhere along Wentworth Avenue.
The Cypresses within their former triangular pocket park setting are of historical value because they demonstrate early design approaches to public landscaping within Canberra including: the composition of tall evergreens interspersed (in this case formerly) with flowering plums; the utilisation of tall and slender triangular tree forms within the limited landscaped space between kerb and building; and, the inclusion of small pocket parks within the urban area, reflected in Kingston and other early suburbs. Such planting designs were established by the first Superintendent of Parks and Gardens, Charles Weston. They continued under the direction of his successor Alexander Bruce, who is generally credited with implementing the layout of the triangular park and plantings including the Cypress trees within the Kingston Foreshores area.