Celebrating 60 Years of the Botanic Garden at Kings Park
The State Library is proud to partner with the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Western Australian Botanic Garden at Kings Park. Both institutions support learning and research and hold a special place in the hearts of Western Australians.
The Western Australian Botanic Garden opened in 1965 and displays over 3,000 species of the State's unique flora for conservation, preservation, scientific research and education.
What you may not know is that the history of the Botanic Garden—and of botany more broadly—is depicted in thousands of photographs, documents and clippings held within the State Library’s rich archive. Step into the State Library’s Theatre Foyer and explore these colourful gems from our collection.
How the Botanic Park came to be
Stories
This story is based on the oral history of forester, ecologist and one of the first Directors of Kings Park, John Stanley Beard (1916–2011), and features a collection of historical photos of Kings Park.
Stories
Photographs and films
WA history
Douglas "Dick" Perry helped open the first pine nursery in Gnangara. Dick cultivated the finest seedlings after examining over 250,000 from the Forest of Leiria, Portugal. The State Library collection has hundreds of his exquisite wildflower photos and slides.
WA history
A life-long love for research and history meant Dr Rica Erickson was a regular at the State Library.