REPORT 
Melbourne Botanical Garden, 
30th September, 1865. 
Sir, 
I have the honor of submitting to you a General Report on the more recent labors 
performed in the Botanical Garden, and in the Museum connected with this establishment. 
The Yarra flood of October, 1863, had left the lower garden area in a state of such 
extensive devastation, that ever since a large share of labor available in the department 
was absorbed, not merely in the restoration of the ground and its plantations, but also by 
the adoption of such measures as will tend to obviate the recurrence of similar disasters. 
It became thus necessary to raise the Yarra bank along the whole line of the Garden, 
generally to the extent of several feet, and this work could even by this time not have been 
accomplished without a special vote, had not the drought of last summer and autumn laid 
dry the marginal portion of the lagoon and facilitated the removal of many thousand loads 
of soil of the river banks to the lower part of the bridge walk, and to the depressed 
portion of the borders facing the south side of the lake. 
By levelling of the flood debris, and by distributing over it the soil from the adjacent 
excavations, I caused the north-eastern swampy portion of the lake to be transformed into 
a lawn, accessible especially to boat parties as picnic ground. Fern trees, Bamboos, 
Dracaenae, New Zealandian and hardy Australian palms, as well as other plants, imparting 
to the landscape a somewhat tropical feature, have been grouped at the adjoining edge of 
the lake within the spontaneously growing Melaleuca jungle. Also a good sized bower of 
rustic workmanship has been erected on the spot. The scattering of some umbrageous 
trees over this new lawn, and the construction of a frond house of tall American Arbor Vitae, 
will complete the main improvements of this part of the Garden. Having seen a structure 
such as indicated, one of exquisite beauty and refreshing coolness, in the Imperial Garden 
of Rio Janeiro, I have striven to provide the necessary plants of this Thuia. Perhaps 
other coniferous trees with a tendency to lateral growth might be chosen for kindred 
purposes. 
In many parts of the Garden iron bowers, set in basalt blocks, and thus of long 
lasting durability, have been provided : indeed these, together with the long extent of iron 
fences fixed to basaltic foundation stones, and the numerous lines of glazed drain-pipes, 
must be regarded as among the permanent property of the Garden. 
A good many of the walks are now edged with brick or tile gutters ; still, as our 
grounds are mostly lying on declivities, much additional work needs yet to be done for 
carrying readily off the water after heavy rainfalls. 
By the extension of the system of the Yan Yean waterworks to South Yarra during 
the last year, the boon of inexpensive water supply through gravitation came at last within 
our reach. 
Iron pipes, of 3 inches diameter, extend now from the upper eastern part of the 
Garden to the summit of the rise beyond the north-western limits of our ground. From 
hence I was enabled to conduct the water in open channels along the slopes towards the 
Yarra and the City bridge, through nearly the whole length of the Government House 
No. 72— a, 2. 
