Elizabeth Langslow describes Mount Macedon as a place of great natural beauty and mysterious allure. It’s the reason she felt compelled to explore the mountain’s past and how it came to have one of the most significant collections of 19th century gardens in Australia.
The Woodend filmmaker has captured a piece of its history in a documentary, detailing magnificent towering trees, deforestation, a plant-hunting movement and great botanical exploration.
“The main purpose of the film was to learn more about how this rich and exotic botanical environment began,” she said.
“It’s always held such mystery and being a child in the gardens here growing up was magical.
“You can look at the planted environment as living artefacts that tell stories about culture, connection to country, migration, and destruction.
“This collection of stories is just part of what we hope to one day to make a bigger picture of this complex time in Australian history.”
Her film, Botanical Visions: A Horticultural History of Mount Macedon in the 19th Century, has been a true community collaboration.
Local horticulturists, gardeners, arborists, historians and landowners share their knowledge in a series of interviews, interwoven with archival imagery and present-day footage.
INSPIRING LANDSCAPE
Mount Macedon is a landscape that has intrigued and inspired great creatives including renowned Australian artist Frederick McCubbin and celebrated botanical artist Ellis Rowan.
Rowan resided at her family estate Derriweit Heights, which her parents, Charles and Marian Ryan, established in the 1870s, featuring a 26-acre garden.
The prolific artist and ‘flower hunter’ is one of those to feature in the film, as told by the property’s current owner Annie Mulkearns.
She describes the 19th century as “a time of grand botanical exploration”.
A great influencer of Mount Macedon at that time was Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller. He was the first director of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens and the first government botanist for Victoria.
He became interested in the rich volcanic soil on Mount Macedon, and, its new inspired gardeners there were eager to trial rare and interesting plants.
“Mueller was interested in Mount Macedon as a place to experiment with plants,” Langslow said.
“There was a plant-hunting movement taking place and people were bringing seed and plants back from different parts of the world.”
The Victorian Government acquired a property named ‘Rosenheim’ in 1886 to serve as a summer retreat for successive Governors of Victoria. Many other gardens of interest emerged and many prominent people spent their summers there, seeking cooler climates.
The film captures the story of a 19th century Scottish-inspired Ard Choille rediscovered by Zoe Cottew’s family in the 1980s.
Cottew recounts restoring the garden and uncovering its fascinating history.
COLLABORATIVE PROJECT
Langslow has said accessing historical images, maps and documents was vital in creating the film, and it was Gisborne and Mount Macedon District Historical Society members who helped her delve into the archives.
She said the GMMDHS archive was heavily featured throughout the film with many of the stories, details and visual references sourced directly from material held there.
“The people involved were passionate about telling stories of the botanical environment up there in all its complexity,” she said.
“Mount Macedon has remained mysterious this whole time but this was our community attempt to build out a better picture of that time.”
While the film delves into the past, it also invites viewers to consider Mount Macedon’s future.
It documents part of Keith Beard’s journey to create one of the mountain’s newest gardens from a bare paddock with landscape designer Anna Thompson.
The film also explores the care of the mountain’s towering giants, with local arborist Pat Kenyon climbing a towering sequoia.
Prominent local horticulturist and nursery-man, Stephen Ryan, tells of an exciting time of change in Mount Macedon’s history.
He also considers how these properties can be managed long-term and invites the idea of continuous reinvigoration.
SCREENINGS
The film Botanical Visions: A Horticultural History of Mount Macedon in the 19th Century will be screening at the Woodend Library on Saturday, April 18, from 10am to 11.30am. Entry is free, however, bookings are required via: eventbrite.com.au
A special screening will also be held at the Royal Melbourne Botanic Gardens later this month.
The Australian Garden History Society will host a ticketed film event at the Mueller Hall, in the National Herbarium building, on April 28.
*Botanical Visions was directed and produced by Elizabeth Langslow, filmed by Leandro Palacio, made in partnership with The Gisborne and Mount Macedon District Historical Society, and supported by The Public Records Office of Victoria. It was filmed on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, Taungurung and Dja Dja Wurrung Peoples. Elders from the Wurundjeri Cooperation were consulted in the making of this film.
