The Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden, Port Augusta, South Australia
The Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens at Port Augusta displays
arid zone ecosystems in an area which receives an average annual
rainfall of around 225mm per year. Winters are cool and Summer
temperatures may reach has high as 48°C in the shade. This
200 hectare site contains one of the most intact remnants of Western
Myall (Acacia papyrocarpa) and Chenopod plain, close to
the city.
photo: John Zwar
A view across the Arid Lands Botanic Garden's Chenopod shrubland and open Western Myall woodland towards the Flinders Ranges, with Mount Brown visble on the right
Designed by Landscape Architect, Grant Henderson
and opened in 1996, the Garden’s role is as a national showcase
for arid zone conservation. This is important as most Australian’s
live in densely populated coastal regions and are unfamiliar with
the flora and fauna of these areas.
The landscape surrounding the Arid Lands Centre is made up of a
network of circulation trails displaying a range of plants from different
dry regions. The gardens have a large Eremophila (Emu
Bush) display, featuring around 155 different varieties. This
is thought to be one of the largest collections of this genus in
Australia.
As water for the township of Port Augusta is transported from the
distant Murray River, water harvesting is a strong focus in the Gardens. Water
efficient irrigation methods are employed within the gardens and
treated waste water from the Visitor’s Centre is used to irrigate
parts of the collection.
Funding for the development of the site has been piecemeal which
has led to slow development of the site.
Prepared by Edwina Richardson (AAILA) 2006
References
Click on the banner for the link to the botanic garden web site:
Two articles form Landscape Australia 1997:
Zwar, John ‘A window of the Rangelands –
the
Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden, Port Augusta, SA.
Part 1 – Introduction
and Overview’ Landscape Australia, 3/1997, pp 252-253.
Henderson,
Grant ‘The site and the master plan’.
Landscape
Australia, 3/1997, pp 252-253.
