City Botanic Gardens

The City Botanic Gardens is a 17-hectare heritage-listed botanical garden at Gardens Point in Brisbane City, Queensland, on a bend of the Brisbane River. Established in 1828 as a farm for the Moreton Bay penal settlement and developed as a botanic garden from 1855 under curator Walter Hill, it is notable for its central city location, mature heritage trees, ornamental ponds, bamboo grove, and extensive subtropical plant collections.

Visitors can expect a landscaped riverside garden in the Brisbane CBD with wide paved paths, expansive lawns, ornamental ponds, a bamboo grove, rainforest walk, mangrove boardwalk along the Brisbane River, and heritage features including the Walter Hill Fountain and historic plantings. The setting is flat and shaded by mature figs and palms, with open areas for picnics, seating throughout, river views toward Kangaroo Point, and access to walking and guided tour routes.

Originally established in 1828 as a farm to feed the Moreton Bay penal settlement, the site was established as a botanic reserve in 1855 with Walter Hill appointed as first curator. Hill conducted extensive plant acclimatisation and distribution, establishing the gardens as a leading colonial botanic garden. The gardens are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register for their continuous use as a botanic garden since the 1850s.

A heritage-listed cultural landscape and major public open space for Brisbane, the gardens serve as a recreational, educational and scientific resource with significant botanical collections, memorials, and public artworks. It is a focal point for community events and is closely associated with the adjacent Queensland University of Technology Gardens Point campus and Parliament House precinct.