Melbourne Arts Precinct , Victoria, Australia — Oceania

Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden

— Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden —

Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, June 26, 2026

1. Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden Marker

Inscription. The Pioneer Women's Garden was created as a memorial to the pioneer women of Victoria, as part of the celebrations of Melbourne's Centenary in 1934.
Funded by the Women's Centenary Council with public donations, the garden was installed as a sunken "Garden of Remembrance" to the design of Hugh Linaker.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Parks & Recreational Areas • Settlements & Settlers • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1934.

Location. 37° 49.5′ S, 144° 58.572′ E. Marker is in Melbourne, Victoria. It is in Melbourne Arts Precinct. It can be reached from Alexandra Avenue 0.2 kilometers south of Swan Street (Victoria Route 20). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Alexandra Avenue, Melbourne VIC 3004, Australia. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Oceania,

Australasia,

the Pacific Ocean,

South Pacific,

the Pacific Rim,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker:

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Pioneer Women of Victoria (a few steps from this marker); Women who have Cared for Veterans (a few steps from this marker); Bob Rose (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Melbourne Olympic Swimming Pool (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Botanic Gardens Curators or Directors (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Lou Richards (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Gallipoli Oak Tree (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Rod Laver (approx. 0.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Melbourne.

Also see . . .
1. Pioneer Women’s Memorial 1934. City of Melbourne City Collection

Location: St Kilda Road, Kings Domain Hugh Linaker’s memorial garden is set in a circular depression, with a high wall of rough masonry covering the cutting at its southern end. This formal, symmetrical garden is traversed by a watercourse in the shape of a cross, which flows into a grotto carved into the cutting. Built into the grotto is a half-cupola lined with blue tiles, under which stands the small bronze statue of a woman by the sculptor Charles Web Gilbert. The garden was built by the Public Works Department. In 1933, the Victorian government formed an all-male
Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, June 26, 2026

2. Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden Marker looking into the sunken garden
Centenary Celebrations Council in preparation for Melbourne’s centenary the following year. The Women’s Centenary Council was formed in an attempt to give the women of the state an influential role in the celebrations. At its first meeting, this council pledged to erect a suitable memorial to Victoria’s pioneer women, and fundraising initiatives were established with the aim of developing a garden of remembrance in Kings Domain. The council’s initiatives included the sale of a commemorative book and ‘sheets of remembrance’ onto which anyone, for one shilling, could inscribe their own name, or that of an ancestor. This was very successful and thousands of names were gathered and then buried beneath the sundial in the garden. The work was carried out under the auspices of the Unemployment Relief Program during the Depression. In November 1934, Victorian premier Thomas Argyle dedicated the garden, and in June 1935, Lady Huntingfield and the president of Women’s Centenary Council, Mrs I.H. Moss, unveiled two bronze plaques.

(Submitted on August 5, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria.)

2. Hugh Linaker. Wikipedia<blockquote>Hugh

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Linaker (1872–1938) was a gardener and landscape gardener, who worked on various local and state government projects in the State of Victoria, Australia.

Originally hailing from Ballarat, he was appointed as the Curator of Parks and Gardens for Ararat 1901 where he landscaped the Ararat Botanic Gardens, today better known as Alexandra Park. He applied, and was successful in 1912, to become the 'landscape gardener, Hospital for the Insane,' a position he held until 1937.

It is in this role, that Linaker produced multiple designs for the government, and is particularly well known for his landscape planning associated with psychiatric hospitals. (Submitted on August 5, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 6, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 5, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. This page has been viewed 10 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 5, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.