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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 row of Bunya Pines was planted by Walter Hill between 1858 and 1867 to skirt the riverside walk, as one of his first actions as curator of the gardens, to honour the death of a botanist friend, John Carne Bidwell, who is commemorated in the scientific name of these pines (Araucaria bidwillii). Bidwell was an important colonial botanist and Commissioner of Lands at Wide Bay who undertook extensive botanical collecting in New Zealand, New South Wales and the Wide Bay region of Queensland. In his 1868 report, Walter Hill stated that the Bunyas, 'having been extended on a line up to the Edward Street entrance, are thriving rapidly'. These trees are sacred to aboriginal tribes, who would travel to the Bunya Mountains to celebrate and feast the bunya nut. (The tree bears a massive cone, weighing up to 10 kg, and containing seeds known as nuts).
Bunya Pines have a very localized distribution and are quite rare. They are native to Queensland. Historically they were found in populations recorded as abundant and widespread in suitable habitats of South East Queensland and Wide Bay-Burnett. Today, the species is usually encountered as very small groves or single trees, except on and near the Bunya Mountains where the trees still reasonably prolific. Bunyas are large and impressive trees which form an important landmark. Their characteristic beehive shape has been a recognizable feature of the city’s skyline since the early years and can be seen in nineteenth and twentieth century photographs of the area. They provide shade and presence along the popular riverside walk in these historic gardens. Their plantings are associated with Walter Hill, the first curator of the gardens, who planted them in honour of John Carne Bidwill following his death. John Carne Bidwill sent the first specimens of these trees to Sir William Hooker in 1843 and their scientific name was given in his honour.
These trees lie along the eastern river walk of the gardens from inside the Edward Street entrance.