Part of the riverside site where the gardens are located was originally a botanic reserve. It was established in 1828 to provide food for the early penal colony.
Macadamia Nut - This tree planted by Walter Hill in 1858 is believed to be the worlds first cultivation of the macadamia.
F. Jemmy Morrill and the brolgas sculpture - Queenslander Lindsay Daen created this bronze sculpture. It is on permanent loan from the Queensland Art Gallery. The sculpture is of seaman, James Morrill. In 1846, he was the sole survivor of an outer edge Great Barrier Reef shipwreck. Saved by the Aboriginal people, he lived with them for 17 years before returning to the European settlement in Bowen, North Queensland. He helped to improve indigenous and early settler relations.
This was erected in 1999 floods that devastated parts of the gardens. Between 1870 and 1974, eight major floods swept through the gardens. The worst floods were in 1890, 1893, 1897 and 1974. On 6 February 1893, three naval vessels were washed up onto the gardens riverbank. Another flood two weeks later carried the
ships back into the river again. In the 1974 flood, water rose up to 4.6 metres in the gardens centre. Whole plant collections were destroyed and the gardens were closed for 10 weeks. In 2011 flood water reached the level shown on the metal marker.
