Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00620:body:0:p23
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00620
Segment Type: other
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Character Range: 62044–64980

the Mount Stromlo Observatory.  The residential suburbs of Reid, Ainslie, Forrest and Barton also evolved from the same cycle of construction.[39]

2.4.3               Landscaped setting
The original landscaping treatments to the west, north and north-east of West Block were among the earliest in Canberra.  The works were arranged and planted by Charles Weston, officer-in-charge of afforestation at the national capital, with support and advice from others (see Section 2.4.4).
A key reference for the following section is a 1928 plan of 'permanent plantings' within the 'Government Group' at Appendix A (see also detail at Figure 11).  Photographs c. 1928 confirm that West Block's setting was initially planted to a layout which accords with what is shown in the 1928 plan.
A discussion of existing landscape conditions at, within and around West Block is at Section 2.10.4.

Commonwealth Avenue
Plantings to either side of Commonwealth Avenue were established from the beginning of 1922.  The median strip was planted with two rows of Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara) with a single row of Atlantic cedar (Cedrus atlantica) in the centre.  Further rows of Himalayan cedar were planted to the east and west sides of the Avenue with rows of Chinese elms (Ulmus chinensis) behind.  The outcome was both a formal avenue and a wind break to protect the Parliamentary Administrative Area (Figure 12).  Weston also introduced shrubs and ground covers, including roses in the area.[40]   The 1920s planting treatment and landscape character of Commonwealth Avenue has been all but lost over time.

The Parliamentary Triangle, including West Block
The FCAC considered the landscape treatment of the south end of the Parliamentary Triangle (also referred to as the Parliamentary Gardens), including West and East blocks, as the centrepiece of the Federal Capital.[41]  The approximately 35-hectare area bounded by Kings and Commonwealth avenues, State Circle and King Edward Terrace was almost entirely denuded, with the exception of some native vegetation on Mount Kurrajong and Camp Hill (discussed below).  Beautification was required to provide a suitably distinguished setting for Parliamentary proceedings, and to manage the prevailing winds.
As noted by John Gray in this doctoral thesis on Charles Weston, '[By 1924] the Federal Capital Advisory Committee decided the design of the gardens should reflect the formality of the Provisional Parliament House [then under construction], be on … strictly formal lines and include a body of ornamental water'.[42]  Plantings were used to framed vistas and create 'outdoor rooms' (Figure 13).
The selection of plantings and their final arrangement was the work of Weston, with input from Murdoch, who had instructed the use of poplars to define the Land Axis, key entrances to the Parliamentary Triangle and intersections within it.[43]  Murdoch's preference was for the balance of the trees