NORFOLK ISLAND PINE AVENUES

The street tree plantings of 269 Norfolk Island pines (Araucaria heterophylla) in the nature strips of road reserve bounded by Gipps Street to Victoria Street (87 trees), Campbell Street (36 trees), Albert Street (20 trees) and Regent Street (45 trees), including William Street (51 trees), James Street (5 trees) and Sackville Street (25 trees), define James Atkinson's 1843 town plan of Belfast, now Port Fairy.

The wide streets have gravel and grass verges to the property boundaries with few sealed crossovers and few sections of curb and channelling, although some nineteenth century basalt drains survive.

In 1843 James Atkinson purchased and surveyed 5,120 acres of land and laid out streets for a township which he named Belfast. By the 1860s much of the vegetation had been cleared for fuel and farming resulting in a bare landscape subject to strong westerly winds.

In 1852 Michael Connolly, a wealthy merchant, bought six Norfolk Island Pine seedlings from Norfolk Island, two of which are known to have been planted successfully in his garden. Characterised by tall, spreading canopies providing effective windbreaks and shade with a tolerance of coastal conditions, the success of these two trees most likely influenced other settlers to plant this species.

The first recorded public plantings of Norfolk Island Pines occurred in 1869 when the Presbyterian Church in William Street established an avenue of ten trees, of which four survive. By the 1870s there was a move by Borough Councillors to initiate the first street plantings in the wide streets and by 1874 the Borough Council had formed a sub committee to select the streets suitable for planting and a process for ensuring plants would survive grazing by itinerant cattle.

In 1876 Mayor Thomas Hutton presented 6 Norfolk Island Pines to the community which were planted in Sackville Street (south) on the western side. Another Councillor offered a matching half dozen for the eastern side in 1884. These gestures were followed by a number of citizens also planting trees, primarily Norfolk Island Pines, over the next decade. By the 1890s there was also an avenue of Norfolk Island Pines located in William Street and other plantings in Regent Street.

On 25 June 1903 the Borough Council organised a successful Arbour Day resulting in the community planting one hundred and nine trees including many Norfolk Island Pines in Gipps Street. School children were offered responsibility for a specific tree's development and care.

In the following years, further Norfolk Island Pines were planted in the streets with community sponsorship evident to support the continuing establishment of consistent street tree plantings. The area between Regent, Campbell, Albert and Gipps Streets represents approximately forty percent of the total number of Norfolk Island pines planted around Port Fairy on both public and private land.

All avenues are largely intact but some individual trees are missing while others have been replaced and are still juvenile. A few individual trees are in poor condition, have a poor form or are bifurcated, a natural tendency of Norfolk Island Pines. Some trees have been severely pruned to keep branches clear of cables and wiring.

How is it significant?

The Norfolk Island Pine avenues at Port Fairy are of historic, aesthetic and social significance to the state of Victoria.

Why is it significant?

The Norfolk Island Pine Avenues are of historical significance as one of the oldest surviving street plantings using a single species which mark the occupied boundaries of the township of Belfast. They are also amongst the earliest known Norfolk Island Pine plantings in Victoria after specimens planted in 1848 demonstrated their survival, effectiveness and appeal particularly for coastal conditions. Although no longer extant, Michael Connolly's two trees were most likely the earliest known plantings of Norfolk Island in Victoria, with other known specimens planted in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens (1857), the turning circle at Melbourne Grammar (1858), an avenue along the Moyne River in the Port Fairy Botanic Garden (1869), an avenue in front of the Presbyterian Church, William Street, Port Fairy (1869) and Churchill Island (1872). The selection of a native species as a street planting is of historical significance as from the 1870s, there was a preference for exotic deciduous species such as elms, oaks, poplars and plane trees. They are also of significance as the precursor to a theme of avenue planting that was widely adopted in Victoria.

The Norfolk Island Pine Avenues are of aesthetic significance as they provide strong form and a dramatic visual impact as the signature street tree planting at Port Fairy. The trees provide an important landscape feature visible throughout the town and also from surrounding areas.

Group

Parks, Gardens and Trees

Category

Tree groups - avenue