Description
This painting Gum Trees – South Parklands, was inspired by our lovely Adelaide Parklands.
The city of Adelaide is bordered on all four sides by a belt of beautiful parklands, namely North, South, East and West parklands, separating the city of Adelaide from surrounding suburbia.
Adelaide is a planned city, and the Adelaide Park Lands are an integral part of Colonel William Light’s 1837 plan. They originally consisted of 2,300 acres (930 ha) “exclusive of 32 acres (13 ha) for a public cemetery“. Over the years there has been constant encroachment on the park lands by the state government and others. In 2018, the loss is about 230 hectares (570 acres).
In the 2010s, about 25% of the Park Lands are the location of government, public and cultural buildings.
Of the remaining approximately 700 hectares, many parts have been sculpted into planned gardens and playing fields.
Some of the remainder is remnant or regenerated Adelaide Plains grasslands or grassy woodlands, of which 230 hectares have been designated and developed by the city council as areas for native fauna and flora.
The wonderful olive groves on Park Terrace were one of the first sites for the (European settlers) plantings of olives, and are the only section of the Park Lands that have kept the same use since the Council took over formal care of the Park Lands in the 1860s