Treasury Gardens c.1905

A colour postcard of the Treasury Gardens, c.1905.  It was printed in Germany.

When the Treasury Gardens were first layed out they included an ornamental pond.  In 1901 William Guilfoyle, director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, was asked to redesign the pond into a Japanese Garden.  It was completed in 1903.

The picture is taken looking over the Japanese Garden towards the government buildings in Treasury Place. The pond, being roughly C-shaped, allowed for two small bridges to cross over it.  Each had arched lattice sides made to simulate bamboo, but were actually red gum.  Between the two bridges, in the centre of the image, is a tea-house with a thatched roof, and to the right of it a canoe is moored at the foot of a short flight of steps. 

Newspapers at the time gave a full description of the layout and plantings.  See links below.