Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00636:body:0:p78
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00636
Segment Type: other
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Character Range: 221603–224436

Forestry Conference in 1949 to arrange for the Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, and the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, Sir Edward Salisbury, to plant trees to formally start the Gardens. Planning and planting continued throughout the 1950s. Dickson's report had stressed the importance of including Australian flora in the Gardens and a policy was adopted giving priority to native plants. This priority reflected increasing community appreciation of Australian flora in the late 1950s and 1960s. The Jervis Bay annexe was also developed in this period. It was intended as a frost-free environment to complement the site in Canberra. Another annexe for cold-tolerant plants was established in the 1950s at Mount Gingera to the west of Canberra. Active maintenance of this latter annexe ceased in the late 1960s and the area is no longer part of the ANBG.
The Gardens were, from the beginning, a scientific institution, and a herbarium and library were established in the first building on the site in 1966. The herbarium was started by Pryor and continued by botanists Erwin Gauba and ME (Betty) Phillips. A laboratory for horticultural research was built in 1970. A key part of the work of scientific staff was and continues to be field collecting expeditions. The basic structure of the Gardens, with sections devoted to different taxonomic plant groups, was established in its early years. This has been followed by sections devoted to ecological themes, such as the Rainforest Gully, which was started in 1968. Different environments were created by modifying the microclimate and landform to provide different plant habitats.
The Gardens were first opened to the public in 1967 and were formally opened by Prime Minister Gorton in 1970. At this time they were called the Canberra Botanic Gardens.
Public information and education programs were started in the late 1960s and the Gardens now has an Environmental Education Centre. A photographic collection was also established at this time and this has grown into a large and important reference collection. Research focusing on orchids began in the mid 1970s and the living collection of Australian orchids is now the most extensive in cultivation. Also at this time the Gardens began to establish a significant collection of cryptogams particularly mosses and lichens.
A new building was constructed for the herbarium and library in 1974 and the Gardens were renamed the National Botanic Gardens in 1978. Other developments included the Rock Garden (1980), Kiosk (1981), Banksia Centre (1982) and Visitor Information Centre (1985).

In 1984 the name was again changed to the Australian National Botanic Gardens. During the 1980s the ANBG computerised the records of the living collection and began the process of computerising herbarium records. The ANBG manages the