Celebrating Regional Biodiversity: Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens Rosser Park by Kate Heffernan

Reviewed by Lynette Reilly, Friends of the Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens

This inspiring book details the fascinating journey of this 31‑ha site, coming almost full circle from a heavily vegetated natural area frequented by the region’s First Nations People, through a period of economic growth with sugar cane farming then small holdings, to the current botanic garden featuring regional flora.

The book’s foreword is by Lawrie Smith AM, Principal Landscape Architect and Master Planner of the Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens (GCRBG).

The author, Kate Heffernan, is uniquely qualified to write on this topic. She was a horticulture and garden design lecturer for 20 years, as well as a professional botanical consultant. Kate was also the founding member of the GCRBG. Since 1998, her passion, drive and commitment has contributed to the formation of the gardens and its continuing growth and recognition. A former garden presenter for ABC Gold Coast, Kate has been a feature writer for horticulture and landscape professional journals and has led garden tours in Australia and overseas. She is a past chair of the Queensland branch of BGANZ and past state representative to the national BGANZ Congress. She says her proudest achievement is her involvement in these gardens. She is an honorary life member of the Friends of the gardens.

Lynette Reilly

Kate has been a feature writer for horticulture and landscape professional journals and has led garden tours in Australia and overseas.

The book has 100 pages and over 250 photographs and is described by Alex Jakimoff, Friends president, as ‘images of tranquillity, of people and plants, and of a community creating something wonderful.’

A dip into the book’s contents shows how the gardens’ displays promote and conserve the region’s flora, blending science, education, horticulture and conservation with social justice, recreation and pleasure. The contents include:

• Gold Coast city: one of most biodiverse in Australia, with some flora growing at the northern limits of the temperate zone and others at the southern limits of the sub‑tropic zone.

The gardens display and conserve this unique and diverse flora – a result of variable climatic conditions, landforms shaped by the might of a volcano and sea level changes • Early history, from First Nations Peoples to James Cook and early settlers • Living legends: veteran trees in the gardens and those planted by pioneers in the mid‑1860s • The rich heritage of the Rosser family: in 1969 patron Gene

Rosser’s family gave the original land to the community for environmental purposes. Heritage values of the Rosser home garden are priceless amid the modern Gold Coast city • Steps in founding the Friends association, and the prolonged process to agreement by the City Council for a local botanic garden • Granting Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status for the

Friends, and the gardens becoming a regional botanical garden, with a high percentage of its plants being regional natives, especially those rare, endangered, vulnerable and of city‑wide significance • The Herbarium

• Plant collection precincts (of which there are 22) • The Story of our Country precinct, which conserves Indigenous heritage.

This is not a dry history but one that comes to life through Kate’s compelling writing and enriching photographs.

Overall impression – a must‑have for anyone interested in botanic gardens in general and the Gold Coast’s Regional Botanic Gardens in particular.

Published by Kate Heffernan in 2020, ISBN 9780646828374. Available from the Friends Centre. RRP $39, Members’ price $34. Email info@friendsgcrbg.org.au or phone 0449 561 674 for order and postage details. All profits from sales go to Friends GCRBG.

Closed‑forest gorge, GC Regional Botanic Gardens. Credit: Kate Heffernan

Kate Heffernan and Lawrie Smith AM (Master Planner of the Gardens). Credit: Kate Heffernan