4.0 ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF COMPONENTS 4.1.27 Palmer

4.0 ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF COMPONENTS

PALMER GARDENS/PANGKI PANGKI/PARK 28: 954

4.0 ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF COMPONENTS 4.1.27 Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28



Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 Existing Planning / Development Plan Context Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 exists within the Brougham/Palmer Gardens Precinct PL18 of the City of Adelaide Development Plan (452-453). Its ‘Environment’ is described as:

ENVIRONMENT Planting Character and Landscape Design The formal historical character with carefully designed planting beds should be maintained.

No component in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 is included in the State Heritage Register. No component of Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 has been identified on the National Trust of South Australia’s Register of Significant Trees. Significant Components and Places The following section summaries any cultural landscape features that possess cultural heritage value in Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28: Overall Spatial Pattens The overall Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 retains its original shape and form as devised by Light, and contains an area of 1.82ha. It has evidence of substantial tree planting that was undertaken during the Pelzer administration that reinforces a Victorian picturesque style that has now deteriorated. A cross-axial pathway system dissects the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 that has historically, since the 1870s, always been evident in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28, and is an important aesthetic and design element in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28. Accordingly,

Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28: the overall triangular garden landscape space created by the configuration of the Palmer Place roadway, as retaining the same form as contained in Light’s 1836 ‘Plan of Adelaide’. Of some aesthetic and historical merit.

Land Use The land use shifted from a despoiled grazing wasteland to a park land with the commencement of tree plantings in the late 1870s and 1880s. From fencing in the late 1870s the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 assumed the role and function of a semi-formal garden, and this function has remained today. There is no cultural significance in the use and function of Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 except in terms of continuity of land use:

Palmer Gardens: the continuity of use of the landscape as a informal recreational

venue and space sandwiched between the upper and lower residential areas of upper and lower North Adelaide. Of some social and historical merit.

Natural Features Responsiveness There are few significant features evident:

Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 slopes: an open expansive gently sloping flank of the North Adelaide escarpment that is contained within the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 that notionally distinguishes the residential segments of upper and lower North Adelaide from each other. Of some geographical merit.

Circulation Networks Prior to Brown’s Report (1880) there is evidence of a pedestrian circulation system in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28. But from the late 1860s onwards the same cross-axial pathway system is evident in the Gardens, as created by Francis and O’Brien, and this system remains today. It is likely that a tree species created an avenue or allée effect along the main pathway and that these trees, possibly Norfolk Island Hibiscus (Lagunaria patersonii) or Pepper Trees (Schinus aeria var molle) were removed in the early 1960s because of their deteriorating health. This system contributes to the significance of the overall character of the Gardens.

Kermode-Christ Church Pathway: a major axial bitumen pedestrian pathway route inter-connecting Kermode Street to the Christ Church laneway to Jeffcott Street that has existed since the 1860s in alignment and relative width. Of some design merit.

Aquinas-Brougham Pathway: a secondary bitumen pedestrian pathway route forming a cross-axis to the main pedestrian pathway, constructed in the 1920s under Pelzer. Of some design merit.



Palmer Place roadway: the encircling vehicular roadway of Palmer Place that envelopes and defines the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28, as defined by Light in his 1836 ‘Plan of Adelaide’. Of some design merit.

Palmer Place Footpath: an unusual feature in the Park Lands and Squares of an extant quartz gravelled pathway indicative of what existed in the 1870s-1930s until pathways were bitumenised; this pathway extends along the inner northern and western flanks of the Gardens and is visually interconnected to the a similar pathway along the northern flank of Brougham Gardens/Tandotittinga/Park 29. Of some historical, design and aesthetic merit.

Boundary Demarcations No evidence is present of past demarcation devices and fencing apart from the fundamental road boundaries and gravel edge pathways that are evident. Vegetation There are several vegetation components in Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 that possess cultural heritage merit:

Sugar Gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) specimen: a large prominent specimen of a Sugar Gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) probably dating from the 1870s-80s under Pengilly or O’Brien, that has long been a visually prominent tree in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 in the absence of similar tall specimens. Of some aesthetic merit.

Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) specimens (1-2): two elderly Date Palms (Phoenix dactylifera) dating from 1893 probably arising from a donation by the Chief Justice and Lieutenant-Governor, ‘Montefiore’ owner and horticultural proponent, Sir Samuel Way. Of some botanical and historical merit.

Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) specimen: a large Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) specimen located in the north-western corner of the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28, that dates around c.1920s. A healthy and aesthetically excellent specimen. Of some aesthetic and botanical merit.

Pepper Tree (Schinus aeria var molle) specimens: two elderly Pepper Trees (Schinus aeria var molle) dating from the 1870s located at the southern end of the Kermode-Christ Church pathway. Of some aesthetic and botanical merit.

English Elm (Ulmus procera) specimen (1): mature elderly specimen of an English Elm (Ulmus procera) tree dominating the southern south-eastern flank and roadscape of Palmer Gardens. Of some aesthetic merit.

Mexican Washingtonia Palm (Washingtonia robusta) specimen: an elderly Mexican Washingtonia Palm (Washingtonia robusta) dating from 1899 probably arising from a donation of 100 cotton palms (Washingtonia spp) by politician and philanthropist George Brookman. Of some botanical and historical merit.



Cotton Palm (Washingtonia filifera) specimen: an elderly Cotton Palm (Washingtonia filifera) dating from the 1890s. Of some botanical and historical merit.

Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) specimen: a young specimen of a Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) probably planted in the 1930s. Of some aesthetic merit.

Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila) specimen: an unusual, in the Park Lands and Squares, specimen of a Climbing Fig (Ficus pumila) located in the north-west corner of the Gardens growing on the frame and trunk of a large diseased tree, possibly an Eucalyptus ssp. Of some aesthetic merit.

Funeral Cypress (Cupressus funebris) specimen: an unusual, in the Park Lands and Squares, specimen of a mature Funeral Cypress (Cupressus funebris) located in the north-western corner of the Gardens, in relative good health and form dating from the 1880s. Of some botanical and aesthetic merit.

Norfolk Island Hibiscus (Lagunaria patersonii) specimen: a large specimen of a Norfolk Island Hibiscus (Lagunaria patersonii) dating from the 1920s located at the intersection of the internal pathways in the Gardens. Of some aesthetic merit.

English Elm (Ulmus procera) specimen (2): mature elderly specimen of an English Elm (Ulmus procera) tree dominating the northern south-eastern flank and roadscape of Palmer Gardens. Of some aesthetic merit.

Spatial Arrangements There are several spatial arrangements in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28, as follows:

Kermode-Christ Church & Aquinas-Brougham Pathways: the major and the secondary axial bitumen pedestrian pathway routes that have existed since the 1860s and the 1920s respectively in alignment and relative width. Of some design merit.

Palmer Place roadway: the encircling vehicular roadway of Palmer Place that envelopes and defines the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28, as defined by Light in his 1836 ‘Plan of Adelaide’. Of some design merit.

Structures There are no structures in Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28. Small Scale Elements There are a several components present or remaining that have merit. These include:

Kermode Street Slate Steps: a series of slate slab steps added to the Kermode-Christ Church pedestrian pathway in Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 in the 1960s. Of some aesthetic merit.



Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 Gardener’s Shed: a small, green metal contemporary Gardener’s Shed (PR 40178B), located on site in 2004 to replace a dilapidated green corrugated iron Gardener’s Shed erected in c.1930. Of some social merit.

Palmer Place West Outer Slate Guttering & Kerbing: Mintaro slate guttering and kerbing on the outer western flank of the Palmer Place roadway laid in 1927. Generally measuring 0.6/0.9 x 15cm across by 0.3m deep, and carrying an incised ‘V’ or a ‘8’ on the top middle surface. Of some historical and design merit.

Palmer Place West Inner Slate Kerbing: Mintaro slate kerbing on the inner western flank of the Palmer Place roadway laid in 1927. Generally measuring 0.6/0.9 x 15cm across by 0.3m deep, and carrying an incised ‘V’ or a ‘8’ on the top middle surface. Of some historical and design merit.

Palmer Place North Inner Slate Kerbing: Mintaro slate kerbing on the inner northern flank of the Palmer Place roadway laid in 1927. Generally measuring 0.6/0.9 x 15cm across by 0.3m deep, and carrying an incised ‘V’ or a ‘8’ on the top middle surface. Of some historical and design merit.

Vedalia Beetle (Rodalia cardinalis) seat: a brass plaque on a Victorian era style bench seat in memoriam of the discovery of the ladybird Verdalia Beetle (Rodalia cardinalis) in the Gardens by German entomologist Albert Koebele in October 1888 which he successfully introduced into California to control and eradicate the Cottony Cushion Scale (Icerya purchasi), and which is internationally recognised as the starting point of modern biological control of insects, as sponsored by the Australian Entomological Society on the occasion of their annual general meeting in Adelaide on 27 September 1994, as unveiled by Lord Mayor Henry Ninio. Of some historical and social merit.

Western Victorian Cast-Iron bollard: a Victorian cast-iron bollard, now silver-painted, erected in 1922 in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28. Of some historical merit.

North-Western Victorian Cast-Iron bollards: three Victorian cast-iron bollards, now silver-painted, erected in 1922 in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 at the Christ Church end of the Kermode-Christ Church pathway. Of some historical merit.

Eastern Victorian Cast-Iron bollard: a Victorian cast-iron bollard, now silver-painted, erected in 1922 in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28. Of some historical merit.

Historical Views and Aesthetic Qualities Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 possesses several significant vistas that structure its relationship to and within North Adelaide:



Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 Internal Vista: an internal vista looking eastwards and westwards within the Gardens. Of some aesthetic merit.

Lights Vision Vista: a vista of the Lights Vision plaza space from the southern corner of the Gardens with tree-filtered views of the city skyline and the Adelaide Oval complex. Of some aesthetic merit.

Kermode Street Vista: a view from within the Gardens looking south-eastwards over Kermode Street towards the Adelaide Hills escarpment. Of some aesthetic merit.

Christ Church Vista: a view westwards along Brougham Place/Palmer Place to Christ Church which visually teminates the north-western end of Palmer Place. Of some aesthetic merit.

Brougham Place Vista: a view eastwards along Brougham Place/Palmer Place to

Brougham Gardens/Tandotittinga/Park 29 with the Adelaide Hills escarpment in the background. Of some aesthetic merit.

Cultural Landscape Heritage Significance Evaluation The following table summarises the cultural landscape heritage components present in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28. A separate assessment, in the Main Report, positions the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28’s cultural landscape in the context of the wider Adelaide Park Land.

Palm

er Gard

ens/

Pan

gki Pan

gki/P

ark 28 Item

/ C

ompon

ent /

Place

Existin

g: Register of th

e Nation

al E

state

Existin

g: State Heritage R

egister

Existin

g: Ad

elaide C

ity Develop

men

t P

lan

Existin

g: Nation

al Tru

st of South

A

ustralia / Sign

ificant T

ree Register

High

Significan

ce

Med

ium

Significan

ce

Low

Significan

ce

Vu

lnerab

le

Recom

men

ded

: Register of th

e N

ational E

state

Recom

men

ded

: State Heritage R

egister

(a) it dem

onstrates imp

ortant aspects of th

e evolution

or p

attern of the State’s h

istory

(b) it h

as rare, un

comm

on or en

dan

gered qu

alities that

are of cultu

ral significan

ce

(c) it may yield

inform

ation th

at will contrib

ute to an

und

erstand

ing of the State’s h

istory, inclu

din

g its natu

ral h

istory

(d) it is an

outstandin

g represen

tative of a particu

lar class of p

laces of cultu

ral significan

ce

(e) it dem

onstrates a high

degree of creative, aesthetic or tech

nical accomp

lishm

ent or is an outstan

din

g rep

resentative of p

articular constru

ction tech

niques or

(f) it has stron

g cultu

ral or spiritual associations for the

comm

unity or a grou

p w

ithin

it.

(g) it has a sp

ecial association w

ith th

e life or work of a

person

or organisation or an

event of h

istorical im

portance

Recom

men

ded

: Ad

elaide C

ity D

evelopm

ent P

lan

Prop

osed: N

ational T

rust of Sou

th

Au

stralia / Significan

t Tree R

egister

Recom

men

ded

: Prep

aration of a

Con

servation Stud

y

Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 generally - - - - - M - V - Y - - - Y - Y - Y - Y



Palmer Gardens - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 slopes - - - - - - L - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kermode-Christ Church pathway - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Aquinas-Brougham pathway - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Palmer Place roadway - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Palmer Place footpath - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Sugar Gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) specimen - - - - - M - V - - - - - - - - - Y - - Date Palm (Phoenix dactyilifera) specimens (1-2) - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y Y - Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) specimen - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y Y - Pepper Trees (Schinus aeria var molle) specimens - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - English Elm (Ulmus procera) specimen (1) - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Mexican Washingtonia Palm (Washingtonia robusta) specimen - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Cotton Palm (Washingtonia filifera) specimen - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) specimen - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila) specimen - - - - - - L - - - - - - - - - - - - - Funeral Cypress (Cupressus funebris) specimen - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y Y - Norfolk Island Hibiscus (Lagunaria patersonii) specimen - - - - - - L - - - - - - - - - - - - - English Elm (Ulmus procera) specimen (2) - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Kermode-Christ Church & Aquinas-Brougham pathways - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Palmer Place roadway - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Kermode Street Slate Steps - - - - - - L - - - - - - - - - - - - - Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 Gardener’s Shed - - - - - - L - - - - - - - - - - - - - Palmer Place West Outer Slate Guttering & Kerbing - - - - - M - V - - - - - - - - - Y - - Palmer Place West Inner Slate Kerbing - - - - - M - V - - - - - - - - - Y - - Palmer Place North Inner Slate Kerbing - - - - - M - V - - - - - - - - - Y - - Vedalia Beetle (Rodalis cardinalis) seat - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Western Victorian Cast-Iron bollard - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - North-Western Victorian Cast-Iron bollards - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Eastern Victorian Cast-Iron bollard - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 Internal Vista - - - - - - L - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lights Vision Vista - - - - - - L - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kermode Street Vista - - - - - M - V - - - - - - - - - Y - - Christ Church Vista - - - - - M - - - - - - - - - - - Y - - Brougham Place Vista - - - - - - L - - - - - - - - - - - - - Statement of Cultural Significance: Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 represents an integral segment of the overall Adelaide Park Lands that possesses important cultural significance in reflecting the spatial and planting design intent and philosophies of August Pelzer as well as a strong Victorian landscape style. Integral with Brougham Gardens/Tandotittinga/Park 29, it forms a significant Gardenesque intermission between the juxtaposed segments of as well as a landscaped gateway to North Adelaide, and contributes to the overall visual character of North Adelaide as venue of strong Victorian built form and spatial associations.

Recommendations:

Propose the assemblage of Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28, Brougham Gardens/Tandotittinga/Park 29 and Roberts Place Reserve (in Karrawirra/Park 12) including all trees, statues, flower beds and gardens, pathways, road channels and kerbs, road curtilages immediately adjacent, nature strip tree plantings, period light standards, and general landscape contoured ground surfaces, as the North Adelaide Gardens State Heritage Area on the basis of social, design, historical, aesthetic significance merit reasons;

Prepare a Conservation Study and Landscape Master Plan for the above recommended North Adelaide Gardens State Heritage Area recognising the 1870s-1920s



predominant period of plantings, furniture, roadscape treatments, park design style and particular views outwards from Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28 and along Frome Road from the Brougham Gardens/Tandotittinga/Park 29, that were applied in this Area and which underpin the historical and cultural character of the Area today, and seeking to mediate road closures and associated new plantings that occurred in the 1960s-70s to accord with the general historical of the Gardens;

Such a Master Plan should seek to reinstate and reinforce a formal Victorian landscape character with appropriate plantings, pathway layouts and edgings, hard surface materials, signage and infrastructure design and positioning, address the streetscapes adjoining the Gardens including their tree planting and kerb and guttering, and should seek to recognise and enhance the important visual juxtapositions and roles of Palmer and Brougham Gardens to North Adelaide;

Remove and shift the Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) avenue and specimens to a more suitable location both in the Gardens and elsewhere, and establish a tree avenue using a species commonly used in the 1880s-1920s period;

Ensure that any street tree planting along Palmer Place road reserves, adjacent to the Gardens, uses street tree species commonly used in the 1880s-1920s period in Adelaide;

Remove the Oleanders (Nerium oleander), Olives (Olea europaea), Kaffir Apple (Dovyalis caffra) hedge, Gardener’s Shed, from the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28;

Install and apply a policy that only park furniture (light standards, fencing and fence posts, seats, bollards, information signage, plaques, etc.) that have a Victorian style or character be permitted in the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28;

Remove presence of all stobie poles and overhead wires from the Palmer Gardens/Pangki Pangki/Park 28;

Revise City of Adelaide Development Plan citations pertaining to P18 to reflect the above conclusions and recommendations;

Prepare a nomination to the National Trust of South Australia Significant Tree Register for trees identified and recommended above.

4.0 ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT OF COMPONENTS 4.1.27 Palmer

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