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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. This large olive tree was planted by Walter Hill in 1859 as part of his experiments to find successful crop producing plants to establish industries in the new colony. In this case, the experiment was unsuccessful as the species requires dry cold winters to produce an abundance of fruit. The trees require 15 days of frost annually to produce fruit. The olive tree is the oldest known cultivated tree in history, the first cultivation being recorded in Crete and Syria over 5,000 years ago.
This tree is an important part of the landscape of these historic gardens as it is in a prominent place overhanging the river along the river path. It is associated with Walter Hill, the Garden's first curator, who was responsible for its planting.
The tree is about half way along the river path on the river (eastern) side of the path.