Fast Facts
Description
The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah, est. 1988, is situated on a basalt-capped peak 1000 metres above sea level in the World Heritage-listed Greater Blue Mountains. It is the highest botanic garden in Australia and became the home of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Exhibition Centre in 2010.
The landscaped gardens with spectacular views across mountain wilderness are arranged geographically to display cool-climate plants from around the world, especially those of the southern hemisphere. There is managed access to the adjoining Conservation Area of wet and dry sclerophyll including heath, rainforest and some closed forest. In 2009, the Botanic Garden expanded to include ‘the Jungle’, a tract of pristine Blue Mountains rainforest with a graded accessible walk.
The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah has free entry.
How to contact us
The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden
Bells Line of Road
via Bilpin NSW 2758
Phone: 02-4567 3000
Fax: 02-4567 2037
(International code + 61 2 4567 3000)
Location map
The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden is at Mount Tomah, about two hours' drive 105 km west of Sydney in the northern Blue Mountains.
 Map of the Garden
 Click on map to enlarge
Facts
Size of Garden: 252 hectares (Landscaped gardens: 28 ha, Temperate rainforest: 33 ha; Conservation area: 186 ha; Sunrise property: 5 ha)
Annual visitation: 75,044 (Visitor demographics: NSW 97%, Interstate 3%, International 0%. Figures at 30 June for 2010-2011 financial year. The introduction of free entry to the Mount Tomah estate has had a significant impact on visitation. Forecast estimates for growth from the 2011-12 Treasury budget allocation were: 2011-2012: 85,000, 2012-2013: 89,250)
Number of plant species: 6,000+
Number of plant specimens: 48,600Plant species in the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah: download alphabetical list (at April 2012)
Plant species in the three Botanic Gardens: download alphabetical list (at April 2012)
Number of trees: 6,123 (includes 67,000 estimated number of trees in the Conservation Area and Jungle)
Oldest trees: Oldest tree in landscaped garden: Eucalyptus fastigata approx. 400 years; oldest planted tree: Sequoia sempervirens 75 years; trees over 200 years old in the Conservation Area: Blue Mountains Ash (Eucalyptus oreades), Golden Sassafras (Doryphora sassafras), Coachwood (Ceratopetalum apetalum), Black Ash (Eucalyptus sieberi), Sydney Peppermint (Eucalyptus piperita), Sydney Red Gum (Angophora costata)
Garden artworks collections (sculpture): 13
Height above sea level: 1000 metres
Average temperature range: summer 25°C, winter 7°C
Average annual rainfall: 1500 millimetres
Birds in the Garden: 125 species of birds have been recorded
European history
The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah was established in 1972 and opened to the public on 1 November 1987 as a project of the 1988 Bicentenary of British settlement of Australia.
The 28 ha of landscaped gardens was formerly a cut-flower farm, donated by the owners Alfred and Effie Brunet in 1972 to become an annex of the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney.
Prior to the establishment of the Botanic Garden, George Caley collected plant specimens at Mount Tomah for Sir Joseph Banks in 1804. In 1823 the King’s Botanist Alan Cunningham, who in 1837 became Colonial Botanist and Superintendent of the Sydney Botanic Garden, collected plants at Mount Tomah while on an expedition to Mudgee and Cudgegong. In 1872 the type specimen of Dendrobium fairfaxii was collected by Robert Fitzgerald from the part of the Botanic Garden now known ‘the Jungle’ at Mount Tomah.
Also see History of the Garden.
Traditional owners & occupants
The land of Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah has Aboriginal communities whose ancestors - the Darug - were the original occupants and who are recognised as the traditional owners. Tomah is said to be a Darug word for 'Tree Fern', a signature plant of the area.
State heritage listing
The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah has one State Heritage listed building.
Special features
Go to The Garden.
Visitor information
Go to Visitor Information for information on planning your visit:
- Hours & Admissions
- How to get here
- Visitor facilities & disability access
- Visitor code
- Tourist links
Venue hire
Many areas within the Garden, including the Restaurant, are available for weddings, birthdays and corporate events. For information on charges and requirements go to Visitor Information and Venue Hire.
Research
For further information on research go to Conservation & research.
The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust
Mission
To inspire the appreciation and conservation of plants.
Objectives
The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Act 1980 defines the Trust’s objectives as to:
- maintain and improve Trust lands, the National Herbarium of NSW and the collections of living and preserved plant life owned by the Trust
- to increase and disseminate knowledge about the plant life of Australia and beyond, and of NSW in particular
- encourage the public use and enjoyment of Trust lands by promoting and increasing the educational, historical, cultural and recreational value of these lands.
The Trust is required to give particular emphasis to encouraging and advancing the study of systematic botany and plant conservation.
Statute
The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust is a statutory body in the State Government of NSW established by the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Act 1980. It is responsible for the management and stewardship of the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney and the Domain; the Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan; and the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah. The Trust also manages the National Herbarium of NSW, the NSW Seedbank and the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Exhibition Centre at each of the three sites, respectively.
Organisational Structure
View Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust Organisation chart.
The Trust Board reports directly to the New South Wales Minister for the Environment and has responsibility for all Trust assets and programs.
There are seven Trustees. The Chairperson is Greg Martin. Other Trustees are John Egan, Professor Lesley Hughes, Tim Jackson, Sibylle Krieger, Tom Pinzone and Vanessa Priest.
The Trust Executive responsible for management of the organisation are
- The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust Executive Director: Professor David Mabberley
- Trust Science and Public Programs Director: Dr Brett Summerell
- Trust Development and Planning Director: Janice Pullen
- The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney & Domain Director: Mark Savio
- The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah Branch Director: Rob Smith
- The Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan Branch Director: Caz McCallum
Click here for more information on the Trust, Trustees & Trust Committees.
Annual budget
The annual recurrent budget for 2011-12 is $42.6 million, of which $22.3 million, or approximately 52 per cent, is provided by the NSW State Government. In addition, $14.6 million capital funding is budgeted to be received from Treasury in the 2011-12 financial year.
The Trust also generates revenue through grants, donations, contributions, sales of goods and services and other revenue. In 2011-12 the total earned revenue budget is $18.6 million.
The main sources of non-Government revenue are: parking at Sydney (20%), lease revenue (27%), hire of facilities (15%), retail sales (7%), grants and contributions (19%). Within grants and contributions are grants from State and Federal Government, donations and sponsorships. The Friends of the Botanic Gardens contributed approx. $400,000 in 2010-11 and the Royal Botanic Gardens Foundation contributed $400,000. Of the total grants received, approx. $1 million was for Science including Community Education.
The Office of Environment and Heritage provides corporate shared services to the Trust. This includes information technology support, transactional processing for accounts payable, payroll, recruitment and human resource advice. This support was valued at $1.4million when these services were transferred to OEH (then the Department of Environment and Conservation) in 2003-04.
Volunteers
- 627 volunteers contributed to Trust programs in the year 2010–11. Volunteers assist in
- Orientation and on-site interpretation including daily free guided walks for the general public
- Herbarium specimen mounting
- Plant pathology lab and field routine work
- Library routine work
- Bush regeneration in natural areas
- Fauna monitoring (Grey-headed Flying-foxes)
- Friends fundraising events and activities including Growing Friends daily plant sales
In 2010-11 volunteers contributed over 40,200 hours of their time to support Trust programs. The financial contribution of volunteer hours to the organisation is almost $1 million. Click here for more information on volunteers.
Trust Administration
Both the Royal Botanic Garden and the Domain are managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust.
The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust is a statutory body of the New South Wales Government established under the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Act 1980, variously amended. Staff of the Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust are employed by the NSW Office of Environment & Heritage, Department of Premier and Cabinet. For further information go to Organisation & Businesses and Our people.
Staff numbers
The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust
- Executive Director & support 7.50
- Director, Foundation 1.00
- Business Services (including administrative support, retail and rangers at the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney) 25.01
- Development & Planning (including fundraising, finance, marketing, project officers) 8.51
- Executive & Support Units total 42.02
Science & Public Programs
- Director & support 3.50
- Scientific research programs and collections management (based at the National Herbarium of NSW, the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney) 41.50
- Horticultural Research (based at The Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan) 3.60
- Design & Editorial Services 6.00
- Community Education unit (majority based at The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney) 12.01
- Science & Public Programs Branch total 66.61
The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney
- Director & support (including wildlife management, collections admin., project officers) 5.54
- Horticulture 63.78
- Infrastructure & Maintenance 10.65
- Venue Management 8.40
- Branch total 88.37
The Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan
- Director & support 3.00
- Horticulture 32.26
- Admin. & Technical Support 8.00
- Visitor Services, Retail, Events & Marketing 7.43
- Community Education 1.00
- Branch total 51.69
The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah
- Director & support 2.00
- Horticulture 25.41
- Visitor Services (including Rangers) 7.07
- Retail 1.96
- Community Education 1.22
- Branch total 37.66
Total FTE* staff across the organisation = 286.35
*All staffing figures are Full Time Equivalent (FTE). In 2010-11 there were 25 Honorary Research Associates and 30 supervised students working with the Science and Public Programs branch. |
