It is in honour of Allan Cunningham who was an explorer and botanist. He worked for sir Joseph Banks in London and travelled with Phillip Parker King on four journeys to survey the Australian coastline. He was also a Superintendent of the Botanic Garden for a short time "resigning when, as a newspaper put it he 'would no longer consent to be a mere cultivator of cabbages and turnips'.
He died in 1839 and was buried in the Devonshire Street Cemetery but his remains were moved in 1901 to the memorial obelisk above. His tombstone is mounted on the wall of the National Herbarium of NSW.
The plants in the garden beds around the obelisk pond are examples of plants collected by Allan Cunningham from the Illawarra between 1818 and 1822.
This monument is difficult to photograph because it is always in shade.
Good shot. So hard to photograph this one in the shadows.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jim. It is very hard as I don't think it gets much direct sunlight at all.
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