Queens Gardens, Brisbane, Heritage-listed park in Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia
Queens Gardens is a square public park bounded by William, Elizabeth and George Streets and by the former Land Administration Building, now the Heritage Hotel of the Treasury Casino. Its layout combines an asphalt area linking George and William Streets, a diagonal path from the northern corner to that area, a large lawn, garden beds along William Street and a rebuilt lily pond. The 1906 bronze statue of Queen Victoria, a replica by Thomas Brock, stands on a pedestal carved by William Kitchen.
The site held the engineer's weatherboard cottage, likely Brisbane Town's first sawn-timber house, and a lumber yard built around 1825. The Church of England bought the land in 1848 and built St John's Church, demolished in 1904. A 30-metre strip was then proclaimed the Executive Gardens, extended to the full square in 1962 and relaid by Harry Oakman for Queen Elizabeth II's 1963 visit.
The Queen Victoria statue is a replica by English sculptor Thomas Brock of the Portsmouth original; local artist Godfrey Rivers arranged its purchase, funded by public subscription and government subsidies, and William Kitchen carved the pedestal. On Empire Day, veterans of the Crimean, Sudan and South African wars gathered here, and the square served as an assembly point for funeral and celebratory processions.
The park occupies a full block between George, Elizabeth and William Streets, with an asphalt area linking George and William Streets in front of the former Land Administration Building. A diagonal path runs from the northern corner to that asphalt area, past a rebuilt lily pond at their junction. The lawn is bounded by Elizabeth Street, the diagonal path and garden beds along William Street.
The Krupp 77mm field gun was captured from the German army in France in 1915 and given by King George V; Lord Kitchener presented it to Queensland on 18 August 1917 as a Trophy of British Valour, at the request of Premier Thomas Joseph Ryan.
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