A TIMELY TREASURE

An esteemed city landmark, the Treasury Gardens of Melbourne have received a new memorial garden with a foggy finish.

Small and peaceful, the Treasury Gardens nestles between Fitzroy Gardens and Spring Street in Melbourne. A popular venue for community events and quiet solitude in an urban environment, the public greenspace was created in 1867 and covers 5.84 hectares. Part of the city’s network of gardens comprising Fitzroy Gardens, Carlton Gardens, Flagstaff Gardens and Kings Domain, it is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and is noted for its historical, archaeological and social significance.

In 2019, to honour the dedicated professionals of Victoria’s emergency services organisations, a new memorial was proposed for the grounds of Treasury Gardens. Construction began in 2020 and there now exists a permanent spot that allows family, friends, colleagues and the public to recognise and reflect upon the sacrifices made by the individuals that protect their community — the Victorian Emergency Services Memorial.

The memorial was designed by Rush Wright Associates who worked in collaboration with CFA, VicSES, City of Melbourne and PTA Landscapes to complete the Victorian Emergency Services Memorial. Transforming an existing turf area and manmade lake, the memorial design forms a complete landscaped garden.

Utilising stone local to the Victoria region (gneiss rock, harcourt granite, Victorian bluestone and sandstone), an enclosed space of organic and fluid lines forms the divided memorial. Each stone was cut with precision to correspond with exact CAD dimensions, to ensure they were installed to accommodate curved radial seating and the cast bronze memorial plaques embedded in the walls — not an easy feat given 160 rocks were installed, some weighing up to 10 tonne.

The resulting layout makes up six individual zones within the garden, each representing one of the important emergency services organisations: Metroplitan Fire Brigade, Country Fire authority, Ambulance Victoria, Forest Fire Management Victoria, Life Saving Victoria & Marine Search and Rescue, and Victoria State Emergency Service. A terraced layout of soft landscaping utilising native grasses, tree ferns and shrubs was used to dissolve any hard edges in the design.

Layered glass panels with custom bronze frames containing the individual logo and description of each organisation announces their respective zones. These signs are illuminated by RGBW strip lights inserted into the frame to ensure maximum effect. Additionally, a bronze framed glass totem is located at the entrance that outlines the layout and a description of the memorial. Bronze name plaques located in each section detail the fallen individuals associated with their relevant organisation.

Lumination highlights the memorial via light strips rebated into the surrounding concrete pavement, while uplights illuminate the planting and memorial walls. But, it is perhaps the fogging system that gives it the most impact.

A series of eight fog pods sit within the central garden bed, with an additional four pods in the area closest to the memorial. Using a network of pressurised hydraulic and electrical cables, combined with a programmable control panel, the system allows varying coloured lighting schemes to be employed. The lights interact with the mist to create a unique feature that operates on a timed schedule and adds a visually stimulating element to this important landmark.

PROJECT PARTICULARS
Client City of Melbourne
Location Treasury Gardens, Melbourne
Landscape Architect Rush Wright Associates
Landscape Contractor PTA Landscapes
Photography Tim Turner