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Mount Macedon Gardens Area

Location

MOUNT MACEDON VIC 3441 - Property No G13129

File Number

G13129

Level

National

Statement of Significance

The Mount Macedon gardens area is of National significance:

- as the most representative area of hill station gardens in Victoria, and with Mount Wilson and the Adelaide Hills, amongst the best in Australia; key characteristics include a steep and elevated terrain with an outlook over valleys or plains, extensive use of terracing to provide access and to facilitate the pursuit of horticulture;

- as an area containing several gardens and properties of outstanding significance (including Alton, Ard Choille, Braemar House, Duneira, Durrol and Hascombe); many gardens of high significance (including Ard Rudah, Brookdale, Cameron Lodge, Cheniston, Curramundi, Drusilla, Dreamthorpe, Forest Glade, Glen Rannoch, Huntly Burn, Karori, Matlock, Marnanie, Penola, Penrith, Sefton, Tanah Merah and Timsbury); an outstanding garden - Bolobek - falls outside the boundaries but has a strong relationship to the area;

- as a collection of gardens which contain a wide range of rare and unusual trees and plants, probably the best concentration of such vegetation in Victoria outside the Royal Botanic Gardens;

- as a focus of debate in the nineteenth century amongst Victoria's 'gentlemen scientists' over such issues as land selection, forest policy, meteorology/climate, garden design and plant acclimatisation, all demonstrated by physical attributes within the area;

- for surviving examples of work of some of Victoria's most important garden designers including William Sangster and Edna Walling;

- for the survival of an unusual concentration of properties owned by leaders of commerce, especially those involved in the formation of BHP;

- for the retention of several memorial sites, including the Macedon Honour Avenue (badly burnt but replanted), the Macedon Cemetery and the Memorial Cross;

- for the retention of key elements of an early twentieth century tourist destination: these elements include guest houses, scenic lookouts and tourist roads.

There is a need for the National Trust landscape committee to assess the surrounding landscape and this may augment the statement of significance and the extent of classification.
See also Garden file: G13101 Cameron Lodge

Group