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Statement of Significance

The rich, fertile soil, temperate climate and the interest of many of its citizens in things botanical, has resulted in Toowoomba Region’s ability to grow a wide range of indigenous and non-indigenous plants. In 1860, the area was the first to hold an Agricultural Show in Queensland – 15 years before Brisbane. Walter Hill, the then Government Botanist and first curator of the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, travelled to Toowoomba to advise with the design and planning of Queen's Park and street plantings in Toowoomba. He subsequently imported many tree species from Europe, Asia and other parts of the world to be planted there. Hill Street in Toowoomba is named in his honour. The town attracts many visitors in September for its famous Carnival of Flowers, where people come from near and far to enjoy Toowoomba’s many parks and gardens.The area that is now Queen’s Park and the Toowoomba Botanic Gardens (26.3 ha) was gazetted as a public reserve in 1869 and the Botanic Gardens were established in the 1870s as a place for botanic research and as a regional adjunct to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens (established in 1855). The then Mayor William Groom obtained £500 from the colonial government in 1874 to establish the botanic gardens. Walter Hill assisted with its designing and planning. Many of the trees planted in Queen's Park were imported by him from throughout the world. The far sightedness and work of the early planners has provided Toowoomba with a wonderful green area close to the centre of the city. The young trees planted in 1875 now form broad avenues of mature shady trees throughout the park. Queen's Park, and its superb floral presentations and leafy environment, are one of the central features of Toowoomba’s Spring Carnival of Flowers, an annual event held in September each year. The Harding Avenue was planted in 1885 by Richard Ross Harding, the second curator of the Toowoomba Botanic Gardens. The first curator was Edward Wray.
An outstanding example of a camphor laurel avenue. It makes a major contribution to the landscape in these historic gardens and is an important landmark. The avenue has contemporary association with the community as it is one of Toowoomba's main historical shady walks in the main central park. It is associated with a significant person, Richard Ross Harding, the second curator of Toowoomba’s Botanic Gardens who planted the avenue. It is a really great looking avenue of trees. Camphor laurels are scarcely weedy in Toowoomba, unlike the serious problem that they cause in coastal southeast Queensland.

The avenue runs south to north and parallel with Lindsay Street towards the eastern (top) end of the park; it is approximately 350 m long and runs from Margaret Street (southern end) past the western extension of Arthur Street to the boundary with the Toowoomba Botanic Gardens (northern end).