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Statement of Significance

The site of Brisbane City Botanic Gardens was selected as a public garden in 1828 by New South Wales Colonial Botanist Charles Fraser, three years after the establishment of the European settlement. Originally the garden was planted with food crops to feed the convicts. In 1855, a portion of the land was declared a 'botanic reserve' and Walter Hill was appointed as curator. The Queensland Heritage Register describes the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens as 'the most significant, non-aboriginal cultural landscape in Queensland having a continuous horticultural history since 1828, without any significant loss of land area or change in use over time.' It incorporates Brisbane's most mature gardens and features many rare and unusual species of plants. In 1868, Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Albert, the Duke of Edinburgh, planted two of a proposed avenue of six Cook Pines in the front of Parliament House. The avenue was to link Parliament House and the Brisbane River. This tree is the only one of the two which remain, and the avenue was never completed. The lower branches of this tree have been removed to discourage climbing. It is the tallest tree in the gardens at over 45 metres. This tree is native to New Caledonia.
The tree is an outstanding example of its species due to its age and size. It is an important landmark and of important landscape value, being the tallest tree in the gardens and situated on elevated ground. It is an important part of the historic Gardens, being one of its earliest plantings and commemorates Prince Albert and his visit to Brisbane in 1868.
The tree is situated near the George Street entrance to the Botanic Gardens close to Queensland Parliament House.