This year the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney has picked up two prestigious accolades at the 2017 National Trust Heritage Awards. Both wins show how the efforts of like-minded people working together can create an important legacy for future generations.
The Choragic Monument and Lysicrates Award
The National Trust Heritage Award for Built Environment went to the preservation of the Choragic Monument at Flower Bed Lawn in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. This is a favourite with park visitors. This high profile project saw this sandstone copy of the original monument, erected in Athens in 334 BC faithfully restored.
The $450,000 project included research, condition assessment, desalination, re-carving and surface stabilisation. Community instigation and involvement were a major part of this project.
Director, Science and Conservation Dr. Brett Summerell said: “We have won a Built Environment award for the high profile Choragic Monument and Lysicrates Award which has seen the column restored in what was a very complex conservation project.
“The projects instigation stems back to 2014 when two concerned citizens were taking a stroll in the Garden. Patricia and John Azarias observed the Choragic Monument was in need of care and then set out to create the Lysicrates Foundation to raise funds from private donors. It would have been one of those things where if we didn’t have that money for restoration it would have been unlikely to happen.”
“For the first time they worked with the New South Wales Government’s Minister’s Stonework Program (MSP) who matched the funds they raised dollar for dollar. This is the first Private/Public Partnership the MSP has undertaken and it was a great success.”
Florilegium: Sydney’s Painted Garden
The National Trust Heritage award for Events and Publications this year went to historian Colleen Morris and The Florilegium Society for Sydney’s Painted Garden held at the Museum of Sydney in 2016.
Florilegium: Sydney’s Painted Garden was an extensive exhibition of contemporary botanical art curated, exhibited and then donated to RBG to celebrate the 200thBirthday of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney in 2016. It was a co-presented event by the Florilegium Society and Sydney Living Museums that was exhibited at the Museum of Sydney.
Director, Science and Conservation Dr. Brett Summerell said: “The work of historian Colleen Morris is world class. Painted Garden was a complete triumph in terms of the contemporary botanical artworks it collected and then donated to our permanent collection. The other exciting aspect is that we are now working to put on a significant exhibition of a similar nature at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in 2018.”
To view all the finalists and award recipients please visit the 2017 winner page here.