HERITAGE GARDENS

When Dr. John Michael Gunson bought the property in 1871 he built a new house on a terraced forecourt with fountain and driveway above the winding First Creek, establishing one of the most significant examples of late 19 th Century landscape design.

It was fortunate that the next owner of The Acacias was Sir Edwin Smith, a member of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens Board, who had also been Commissioner at International Exhibitions in Philadelphia and Paris . He would have been exposed to the latest ideas on landscaping and garden design. This was particularly evident in the conservatory-glasshouse complex he built.

The central conservatory was divided by a glazed partition, the front part being cool while the back was heated by pipes from a furnace at the rear. Slatted shelves held palms at the top and a large variety of interesting and rare plants below. Unfortunately only the back and lower front walls of this conservatory now survive.

To the north of the main conservatory there is a shadehouse for tree ferns, camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons. On the southern side a rock grotto was constructed by ‘an artistic genius’ named Charles Robinette. “All inside is built up in rockwork, with innumerable cascades and rills, at the foot of each of which is a pool… The whole place is hollowed, honey-combed, and channelled, filled with caves and holes . . . in which every conceivable form and variety of fern has been introduced.” (Adelaide Observer 28 October 1882 ) . .

The general layout of the garden has been maintained with many significant trees of heritage value as well as some original gums, so that “The integrity of this garden justifies its inclusion in the State Heritage Register and the list of the National Estate.” (Loreto College Heritage Management Plan 1997)