Established in 1816, the Royal Botanic Garden covers 30 hectares and has over 27,000 plants, right in the middle of Sydney’s CBD. With landmarks like Sydney Harbor and the Opera House as its neighbours, it is in the perfect setting.
Getting there is easy, with Circular Quay only a five-minute walk away with its buses, ferries and trains, making the Gardens are very accessible.
Walking through the gardens, you come across numerous plants and trees, all labelled with their names. Changed seasonally, the gardens are a constantly renewing landscape.
Scattered throughout, are statues and sculptures, all of which add to the fun of the walk. One of the highlights, is the koala sculptures, complete with glasses.
Giant Floral Koala
Giant Floral Bee
The Satyr
Lewis Wolfe Levy Fountain
Don’t miss a visit to the Calyx, as its current display of carnivorous plants is amazing. We spent a long time looking around at all the different species on display. Take a look at their website for opening-times and what the current display is.
The Calyx
Pitcher Plants The Calyx
Pitcher Plants The Calyx
The Royal Botanic Gardens are surrounded by 34 hectares of manicured gardens in the Domain. This encompasses Mrs Macquarie’s Chair with magnificent views over Sydney Harbour.
Mrs Macquarie’s Chair
What Did We Think?
The Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney is a great place to visit and wander through, as its ever changing landscape always has something new to offer. Its amazing location on Sydney Harbour with the Opera House and Bridge nearby, give is a great backdrop. The Garden is worth visiting, for a relaxing walk in the centre of Sydney.
Civic Park is bordered by council buildings on one side and the art gallery and St Andrews Presbyterian Church on the other, while situated in the centre of the Newcastle CBD. A great place to relax, or take a casual walk around, because it’s quiet with plenty of places to sit.
Newcastle Town Hall From Civic Park
Captain Cook Memorial Fountain
Located as the centrepiece of Civic Park is the James Cook Memorial Fountain, built for the bicentenary of Cook’s voyage and mapping of the east coast of Australia. In 1770, Lieutenant (later captain) James Cook claimed the east coast for the British Crown, naming it New South Wales. This large water feature is a great place in summer, with seats located around it, and impressive at night when illuminated.
Captain Cook Memorial Fountain
War Memorial Grove
Developed from a community desire to honour servicemen and women killed during the world wars, the War Memorial Garden is in a corner of Civic Park, opposite the Art Gallery. Constructed from public and private funds, some of the money with some coming from families with relatives commemorated on each of the 68 plaques featured throughout the garden.
Volunteer members of the New Lambton Heights Garden Club undertook much of the work, a relationship which is continued today.
A quiet area for reflection, it’s worth wandering through to pay your respects.
Royal Australian Air Force Memorial
Vietnam Memorial
Navy Memorial
Memorial Plaques
War Memorial
The war memorial was originally dedicated to World War Two service personnel, but has since been re-dedicated to all wars Australia has been involved in. Ceremonies are held here throughout the year on relevant anniversaries, so there may be one happening when you visit.
Civic Park War Memorial
Vietnam and National Service Memorial
The Vietnam and National Service Memorial commemorates the soldiers killed during the Vietnam War. A brass plaque on the memorial provides a brief description of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The rear section of the memorial has a separate memorial to Australia’s National Service and Combined Forces personnel.
Vietnam War Memorial
Newcastle Art Gallery
Located above Civic Park on Layman Street, the Art Gallery often hosts exhibitions throughout the year. In addition, the Gallery owns an impressive collection of Australian paintings. To read more about our visit to the Newcastle Art Gallery, click here.
Newcastle Art Gallery Entrance
Baptist Tabernacle
Located above Civic Park the Baptist Tabernacle is an interesting building but is only open to the public during services.
Baptist Tabernacle
St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
Situated across the road from the Baptist Tabernacle, St Andrews is not always open, so you may have to appreciate this building from the outside. Even if it’s closed, the building is worth admiring for its architectural value.
St Andrews Presbyterian Church
Old Newcastle City Administration Centre The Roundhouse
Currently undergoing a redevelopment to a five star hotel, the old Newcastle Administration Centre originally opened in 1977. The design was a collaborative effort between Architects Romberg & Boyd and Wilson & Suters. The architectural style is Brutalist, for it’s striking design.
Newcastle Council Chambers
Newcastle City Hall
Built in 1929 to house the newly created Newcastle City Council, this beautiful building is now a multi-purpose Function/Conference venue. Located opposite Civic Park on King Street, the building is an example of Inter-War Academic Classical architecture.
Shortland Centenary Fountain
Erected in 1897 by the Mayor David Miller and originally located at Newcastle Beach, this fountain commemorates the centenary (1797-1897) of the European discovery of the area by Lieutenant Shortland. Removed from its original location, it is now located at Christie Park.
Shortland Centenary Fountain
What Did We think?
Newcastle Civic Park is a great place to visit, because of its many memorials and beautiful buildings. It’s a relaxing place to wander around, while enjoying the manicured gardens and visit the Art Gallery. When you have finished, Derby Street with its cafes and restaurants is right next door.
Located in Laman Street Cooks Hill above Civic Park, the Newcastle Art Gallery contains an impressive art collection, primarily Australian artists. Limited display area restricts the number of art works on display, but a rotation ensures new works every few months.
The large sculpture of a nest and giant egg mark the entrance to the gallery, making it easy to find.
The gallery often displays special exhibits, which adds another reason to visit. During our last visit, the exhibit was Between Two Worlds, which featured works of art produced by Australian artists of Chinese heritage.
Newcastle Art Gallery Entrance
Permanent Collection
The gallery’s collection consists of over 6,500 items, covering areas of ceramics, painting, photography, prints & drawings, sculpture and video & new media. Works from colonial to the present are represented, from local, Australian and several international artists.
Foyer Ceiling
Painting From the Permanent Collection
Painting From the Permanent Collection
Between Two Worlds
This was a great exhibit to walk around, because of the variety and quality of the works. Unfortunately, it has now finished, but a new one by George Gittoes is on display until mid-April 2020.
Foyer Ceiling Newcastle Art Gallery Exhibit
Untitled by Guo Jian
Bronze Power Dragon by Guan Wei
The Open and Spacious Second Floor
Samurai Painting Part of the Between Two Worlds Exhibit
Part of the Between Two Worlds Exhibit
Newcastle Art Gallery Exhibit
Between Two Worlds Exhibit
Newcastle Art Gallery Sculpture Garden
Don’t forget to look at the sculpture garden while at the art gallery. Access is via a door near the toilets, to the left of the main entrance. With under a dozen sculptures, it is small, but still interesting and worth walking around to enjoy the displays.
Newcastle Art Gallery Sculpture Garden
Sculpture by Margel Hinder
Submarine 1993 by Edward Milan
Two Forms 1958 by Kathleen Shillam
Skyscraper by Vlase Nikoleski
Beacon 1992 by Akio Makigawa
Mary Magdalene 1978 by George Bladessin
New Displays in September 2020
When we re-visited in September 2020, there were new exhibits on display from the Gallery’s collection, along with this year’s Kilgour Prize entrants. We had an enjoyable time looking at the artwork.
Newcastle Art Gallery
Marion Borgelt – Liquid Light Horizontal Triptych No. 1
Kilgour Prize 2020 – On Display Until November 2020
In 1987, artist Jack Kilgour bequeathed funds for the creation of a major figurative and portrait art competition to be run in perpetuity at Newcastle Art Gallery. Today, the Kilgour Prize is one of Australia’s major art prizes, and awards $50,000 for the most outstanding work of art as determined by a panel of three judges, and $5,000 for the People’s Choice Award, as determined by votes from the public.
For figurative and Portrait Painting
The Kilgour Prize 2020
Kenneth Lambert – I See Myself Reflected in You
Jordan Richardson – The Dunce
Oliver Shepherd – The Proposal (Portrait of the Hon. Michael Kirby AC CGM)
Daniel Butterworth – Self Waiting For Life To Happen Number Two
What Did We Think?
A great place to visit and because the exhibits change regularly, a great place to go back to. Well laid out, it offers ample opportunities for photographs.
As we do not have copyright permission for any of the artworks shown here, none of these photos are for sale. However, photos from many of our other stories can be found on Shutterstock.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
