The formal Gardens of North Adelaide

Curated by Adelaide Park Lands Preservation Association

A trail through the Brougham Gardens and Palmer Gardens, featuring not only the gardens but also the heritage buildings that surround them. The trail commences at the north-eastern corner of King William Rd and Brougham Place and takes about 90 minutes to walk.

46-01 - Brougham Gardens Introduction and naming

For more than 180 years these two garden areas have had a special role in the history and social culture of Adelaide. The built heritage that surrounds these two gardens is also impressive, and on this trail we’ll view some of the late 19th and…

46-02 - Brougham Gardens History and layout

In Colonel Light’s 1837 design for Adelaide, there was no King William Road. King William Street did not extend northwards past North Terrace. In Light’s plan, there was a road from the western part of the city up to Montefiore Hill, and another…

46-03 - Floral Clock, flagpole and time capsule

The clock was the result of a donation by Andrew Penfold Simpson to honour South Australia’s 150th anniversary celebrations. The mechanism for the clock was given by the Simpson family in memory of their son who was killed in a car accident in…

46-04 - Teddy Love Chair & St Ann’s College

The plaque and bench were donated in 2007 by what was then called the “Teddy Love Club” as a symbol of supporting and understanding for bereaved parents. The Club has changed its name – it’s now called “Bears of Hope” still using Teddy Bears as…

46-05 - Brougham Place Uniting Church & Rose Gardens

The founding of Adelaide in 1837 was partly driven by a desire for religious freedom. In those days, there was legal discrimination in Britain against people who followed religions other than the “Established” church – the Church of England. In the…

46-06 - The trees of Brougham Gardens

To get to this point, you have just walked past a large carob tree which dates from the 1860s or 70s. Opposite the carob tree was a Turpentine tree from the Middle East. These two Italian Cypress trees form a frame to the entry pathway. Nearby…

46-07 - Lincoln College on Brougham Place

This is a residential college for tertiary students, operated by the Uniting Church and is available for students at any of Adelaide’s universities, although it is affiliated with Adelaide University. It was founded in 1952 by what was then the…

46-08 - Brougham Gardens - western corner

Lining King William road, on this south-western side, are more than a dozen London Plane trees. Behind them are many crepe myrtle trees. In the rest of this section, if you come at the right time of the year, you can be greeted by a riot of…

46-09 - Palmer Gardens - Naming and history

Pangki Pangki was a Kaurna tracker and guide. Pangki Pangki accompanied early officials Moorhouse and Tollmer up the Murray River to Lake Bonney and the Rufus River. Palmer Gardens historically has been managed and planted in close parallel with…

46-10 - Palmer Gardens Vedalia Beetle seat

Mr Koebele was the world’s first “economic entomologist”. That is to say, he was the first person to successfully use insects to control pests. He travelled the world looking for insects that could be imported to other countries to control pests…

46-11 - The trees of Palmer Gardens

Here on the eastern side, the garden is lined with what botanists call “Quercus palustris” – commonly known as Pin Oak or Swamp Spanish Oak. On the northern edge is a row of jacaranda trees – which are in bloom every November. On the western edge…

46-13 - Montefiore (part of Aquinas College)

It had two early owners in the 1850's and 1860's: a civil engineer, surveyor and architect named George Green and then a solicitor named Luke Michael Cullen. However this building became famous from the 1870's onwards because it was…

46-14 - Roche House - 21 Palmer Place

After Arthur Ayers' death the house passed in the 1920s to Sir Collier Cudmore, solicitor; president of the Liberal and Country League in the 1930’s. He was also an Olympic gold medallist in 1908, as a rower – rowing for Britain where he was…

46-15 - Boyd House - 27 Palmer Place

Boyd was famous from the 1950’s onwards, as an advocate of a new style of architecture, functionally suited to Australian climate and lifestyle. He wrote several widely-read books on the subject. He studied in England, Europe and the US in the…

46-16 - Christ Church and Rectory - 35-39 Palmer Place

These buildings are much older than the grand St Peters Cathedral, off Pennington Terrace, which is the centre of the Anglican diocese of Adelaide. The integrity of the group remains high and its significance to South Australia and the City of…

46-17 - Bishop's Court

At the time, the South Australian Register newspaper described the proposed building as “a chaste design in the Tudor Gothic, but by no means an ambitious structure for an episcopal palace." The architect, Mr Stuckey, died less than six months…

46-18 - Honeywill house - 51-54 Palmer Place

Only a few years afterwards life in this grand new house was struck by tragedy when Honeywill's wife, Emily. committed suicide here in their home, in December 1908. Honeywill then sold the property in 1910. Keeping a grand house for only nine…