The Botanic Gardens Story

The Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Gardens are set within a magnificent 82 hectare site that has a magic and spirit that affects all who visit. It includes a lagoon, rocky gullies, palm filled valleys, bushland and riparian rainforest, and Mountain Creek runs along the western boundary.

Aboriginal people probably passed through here on their way to the coast and it was first settled by Europeans in 1910. Two-thirds of the site was cleared for dairy farming, sugar cane and pineapple growing and the remainder was intensively logged.

With its forty years re-growth, the site is the perfect palette for the establishment of a unique, environmentally significant regional botanic garden.

Development

The council purchased the land for the gardens in 1997. In 1998 Landplan Studio was commissioned to develop a master plan for the gardens. Major work did not begin until 2000 and the gardens were opened by the Governor of Queensland, Major General Peter Arneston, on 1 December 2001.

Later, the council purchased an additional 20 hectare area adjacent to the gardens with plans to extend the gardens and facilities.

More than 75% of the site which is bushland will be conserved and enhanced with bush walking tracks. The remaining areas that were intensively farmed are being used for the prime display gardens.

This unique concept allows visitors to see our local native plants in their natural habitat, and used in landscaped gardens to demonstrate their use in horticulture, amenity and home gardening..

Aims

The Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Gardens are a haven of beauty and tranquility that showcase the flora of the Sunshine Coast region. It is a place where we can feel connected to nature and to one another and where we can discover ways to create a sustainable future for those who follow us.

Its aims are:

to provide open space for passive recreation and community interaction
to cultivate, conserve, research and display the plants of the Sunshine Coast region
to provide botanical, environmental and horticultural education and interpretation
to be a centre for art and cultural activities
to demonstrate environmentally sustainable ways of creating man-made structures
to explore and explain our past and future relationship with the land
to be economically viable through tourism, education, art and culture, horticulture and contribution to lifestyle.