Mr McLeay's Elizabeth Bay Garden

The gardens created by Alexander McLeay were famous from the early days of the colony of New South Wales.

Important visitors to Sydney would be taken to see them and they often recorder their impressions. The gardens at Elizabeth Bay were started in 1828 and visited long before the beautiful Elizabeth Bay House was built. By 1835 plants were being received from overseas. The house is now all that remains except for a few garden fragments.

The gardens with its walks and lookouts overlooking a wonderful view of Sydney Harbour was developed in the great semi-circle of rocky land around the Elizabeth Bay. Retaining much of the local vegetation Mr Mcleay imported an enormous range of exotic plants from all over the world. This book contains many of the lists of such plants, where they came from and who it was who sent them.

The garden is now built over by many apartment blocks and only a few remnants, mainly trees, remain. A tiny patch of garden in front of the house miraculously survived he last sub-division allowing the magnificent view from the house still to be enjoyed by visitors.

In this study by Dr Lionel Gilbert the development of the gardens by Alexander McLeay and his descendants is described. The plant additions to the gardens are listed with editorial work in the modern plant names carried out by the author. 

Lionel Gilbert
Published 2000 - Out of Print
Paperback
245mm x 180mm
75 Pages
ISBN: 0949910767