The Man Who Planted Canberra

In 1911, English-born Charles Weston climbs Mount Ainslie to the crest of a landscape that has become the site for the Australian capital. Down on the flats, in the harsh sunlight of an April noon, occasional clumps of sheep feed into the prevailing westerly on the scant leavings of an insatiable swarm of rabbits.

On the denuded, rabbit-infested Limestone plains, Charles Weston embarked on an ambitious re-greening project that would transform the region and the fledgling nation's capital.

London-born Weston rose through the massive British gardening industry in the second half of the 19th century, becoming Foreman of 79 gardeners at the magnificent Drumlanrig Castle on the Scottish borders. With testimonials from the most influential Head Gardener in Britain, he migrated to Australia seeking new challenges free from the British class system and reached Sydney in 1896. In the wake of Federation in 1901, he set his sights on the greatest challenge of all—the new national capital. It was here that he gave life to his 'dream city', and the reforestation of its surrounds.

This highly readable story of the tree planter of Canberra includes familiar characters in Home Affairs Minister King O'Malley and Walter and Marion Griffin, portrayed in a surprising new light, and offers readers new insight into the making of the national capital. This is also a story of three million trees and shrubs from Australia and around the world, planted to create a template garden city, less susceptible to climate change.

This will be a book of interest to the great number of Canberran gardeners, garden enthusiasts, park-goers and bushwalkers, and their interstate visitors. Lavishly illustrated with both historic and modern images that highlight the impact of Weston’s plantings on the Federal Capital.