Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne
A section of the Fern Gully in the Royal Botanic Gardens
Type	Public Park
Location	Melbourne, Australia
Area	38 hectares
Opened	1846
Operated by	Board of the Royal Botanic Gardens
Visitors	1 million (approx. per year)
Status	Open (7:30–9 am to sunset)
Paths	Sealed
Terrain	Low undulating hills
Water	Yarra River, Ornamental Lake, Nymphaea Lake
Vegetation	Australian Native, Lawns, Non-native traditional gardens
Connecting transport	Train, Tram, Bus, Car
Landmarks	Yarra River, Ornamental Lake, National Herbarium
Facilities	Information centre, Gift shop, Toilets, Barbecues, Shelter, Cafe and Tea rooms
Website	rbg.vic.gov.au

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are internationally renowned botanical gardens located near the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the south bank of the Yarra River. They are 38 hectares (94 acres) of landscaped gardens consisting of a mix of native and exotic vegetation including over 10,000 individual species.

The Royal Botanic Gardens have a second division in the outer Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne, some 45 km south-east of the city. The 363 hectare (897 acres) Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne have a focus solely on Australian native plants, and feature an award-winning special section called the Australian Garden, which was opened in May 2006.

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are adjacent to a larger group of parklands directly south-east of the city, between St. Kilda Road and the Yarra River known as the Domain Parklands, which includes;

The gardens are governed under the Royal Botanic Gardens Act 1991 by the Royal Botanic Gardens Board, who are responsible to the Minister for Environment.

In 1846 Charles La Trobe selected the site for the Royal Botanic Gardens from marshland and swamp.

In 1857 the first director was Ferdinand von Mueller, who created the National Herbarium of Victoria and brought in many plants.

In 1873 William Guilfoyle became Director and changed the style of the Gardens to something more like the picturesque gardens that were around at that time. He added tropical and temperate plants.

In 1877 Sir Edmund Barton, Australia's first Prime Minister and Jane Ross were married at the Royal Botanic Gardens.