ULMUS PROCERA

Avenue of Ulmus procera (English Elm) along Camp Road in Castlemaine. Unusually, the elms are along a pedestrian walkway between the sports ground and the realigned Barker’s Creek. 

Measurements as at 06/12/2024
Number of trees: 28
Average Circumference (m): 3.54
Average Height (m): 20.7m
Date planted: 1/9/1888

This avenue of trees is significant at State Level due to their historic documentation, and outstanding contribution of the landscape.? 

The trees form a significant part of the historic landscape of the Camp Reserve, dating to a vision professed by Lieutenant Colonel John Bull in 1863 for a "promenade for the townspeople...planted with poplars or elms, along the bank of the creek skirting the Camp".  

 

The plan was gazetted for public recreation in 1895, including planting the perimeter of the Reserve with European trees and retention of native trees within the boundaries. John Bull had a major role in the establishment of Castlemaine, arriving as a gold commissioner in 1852, then contributing substantially to the town over the next 44 years.  

The oldest photo recorded in this avenue is that taken of the 1890 New Year's Eve flood, which shows the trees to be 2 - 3 m tall. The photo of the newly completed velodrome, in the mid to late 1890s, show the elms to be well established. The 1915 post card illustrates the beauty of the avenue, with the trees in the Verey photo in winter matching the trees at the same age, but in winter. A 1946 aerial photo shows the avenue to be all but continuous, with a few of these trees now missing.