Bandstand, Brisbane Botanic Gardens

Date1900-1920

Object numberANMS0227[051]

NamePhotograph

MediumSilver gelatin print

DimensionsOverall: 152 x 202 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Robert D McKilliam

Terms

DescriptionA black and white photograph of the rotunda in the botanic gardens in Brisbane. Queensland's first band performance concert was held in the city botanic gardens in 1857 showcasing the 'Brisbane Band'. Ther rotunda was added in 1878 and still stands today.HistoryThe area became a public garden in 1828 although it had been under European cultivation since 1825, planted by convicts and maintained as a source of food for the growing colony. In 1855 the first botanic curator was appointed, Walter Hill. Hill had been the foreman of the propagation and new plant departments the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London prior to arriving in Queensland. He embraced his new role with enthusiasm and trialled new commercial species and ornamental gardens in Brisbane. "Perhaps Hill's greatest economic achievement was on 25 April 1862 when, with a planter from Barbados John Buchot, he granulated the first sugar in Queensland and Australia by 'crushing the canes with a lever and boiling the juice in a saucepan. No one was allowed to witness the tremendous experiment (carried out in the dead of night) which was to settle the problem of whether the juice of Queensland sugar cane would granulate'." [Australian Dictionary of Biography, Supplementary Volume, (MUP), 2005] SignificanceThis image is a part of the Captain Robert McKilliam collection. Captain McKilliam worked for the Aberdeen White Star Line for 32 years and sailed aboard such famous clipper ships as SALAMIS and THERMOPYLAE. He moved to Sydney in 1913 where he served as Assistant Wharf Master on Darling Island.