St Kilda in Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia — Oceania
Blessington Street Gardens
Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, September 29, 2026
1. Blessington Street Gardens Marker
Established 28th September 1859
Later called
Blessington Street Gardens
re-named 21st October 1984
by
Cr. John Callanan
Chairman, Friends of the
St. Kilda Botanical Gardens
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical date for this entry is September 28, 1859.
Location. 37° 52.17′ S, 144° 58.997′ E. Marker is in St Kilda, Victoria, in Port Phillip. It is at the intersection of Blessington Street and Foster Street, on the left when traveling west on Blessington Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 11 Herbert Street, St Kilda VIC 3182, Australia. Touch for directions.
Regionally, it is in Oceania, in Australasia, in the Pacific Ocean, in South Pacific, on the Pacific Rim, in the Western World, and in 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: St Kilda Botanical Gardens (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Captain Albert Jacka (approx.
this page online
Also see . . . St. Kilda Botanical Gardens. Victorian Heritage Database
The St Kilda Botanical Gardens of 6.4 hectares were permanently reserved in August 1860. The original formal or geometric design for the Gardens was prepared by Tilman Gloystein c1860 and despite many alterations, particularly between 1940-45, it retains elements of the original layout and early features. The principal source of plants for the establishment of the gardens was the Royal Botanic Gardens under the directorship of Ferdinand von Mueller. Mueller appears to have assisted in the supervision of planting and attended the opening ceremony. The Gardens? first curator was well known nurseryman, George Brunning. The Gardens contain striking landscape features which remain intact from the Victorian, Edwardian(Submitted on November 5, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria.)and Inter-war periods, in particular the Blessington Street gates (1918) and St Kilda City Gardens gates (c1950), the Levi Pavilion, a hexagonal timber pavilion built as a gift from the Levi family (1928), the central north-south axial avenues between Blessington and Dickens Streets (c1860), including the unusual alternating palm avenue, and the central crescent shrubberies and bedding displays. Striking axial vistas are achieved through the central axis which survives unaltered from the period of the Gardens? original layout (1860). The Gardens also contain the Alister Clark Memorial Rose Garden (1950, redeveloped 1985).Photographed by Dean Barton-Ancliffe, September 29, 20262. Blessington Street Gardens Marker at the Northern Gate
Credits. This page was last revised on November 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 5, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. This page has been viewed 5 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 5, 2026, by Dean Barton-Ancliffe of Rowville, Victoria. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
