Edinburgh Gardens, Melbourne

Edinburgh Gardens is a large park located in North Fitzroy. It is bounded by Brunswick Street and St Georges Road to the west, the curve of Alfred Crescent to the north and east, and Freeman Street to the south. It was created from a grant of land in March 1862 by Queen Victoria and laid out by Clement Hodgkinson, who designed many of Melbourne's parks and gardens,. At approximately 24 hectares (59 acres) in size, the park is large by inner urban standards.

Edinburgh Gardens were nominated for inclusion on the Register of the National Estate in 1978.

"The Edinburgh Gardens are significant in terms of the large number of established trees and garden beds and the associated garden furniture - cast iron bollards, drinking fountain, fixed seats and bandstand. The tennis club house, train track and fixed train engine and the Bowling Club house and lawns are integral to this significance, while the adjacent cricket ground, with its two gatehouses and historic grandstand, is of complementary significance. They are also notable for the open space they provide and the manner in which they complement and close the vistas observable while passing along Alfred Crescent. The significance of the precinct is seen to lie in the marriage of the built environment with a sylvan landscape. It is enhanced by the quality of individual elements, both built and floral, in terms of their historical, architectural, recreational and visual amenity".

"The area later known as the Edinburgh Gardens was set aside as a temporary public reserve in 1862. Soon after the reservation was gazetted, the first of the sporting organizations to become associated with the place, the Collingwood Commercial Cricket Club was given occupancy, establishing a tradition of organised sport within the Gardens which continues today. Around 1872 the reserve acquired its name, commemorating Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh. The balance of the Gardens was not immediately laid out or cultivated, and grazing of the land continued until the early 1880s. While the various sporting clubs had already made improvements to their respective areas, the Fitzroy Council was not appointed as managers of the Gardens until 1878. In 1882 the Gardens were permanently reserved and in 1883 a formal layout, trenching and tree planting commenced to the straightforward design of Joseph Martin Reed, Victorian Lands Department district surveyor. In 1888 the Gardens were divided by an excision of land through the centre for construction of the Fitzroy spur line of the Inner Circle Railway. The Gardens continued to be redeveloped to various degrees throughout the twentieth century with the addition of further sporting, ornamental and memorial structures and plantings.

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