Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens

Australia is a young country. Because history is to some extent considered to be the written chronological record of events, the Aboriginal past to a similar extent is pre-historic. This is not intended as a value judgment, as perhaps a primitive life of hunting and gathering in harmony with nature could be considered preferable by some people.



Anyway, Australia was founded on January 26, 1788, or almost 300 years after Columbus “discovered” America and 12 years after America declared its independence from Great Britain, whose flag, incidentally, was hoisted in Sydney Cove to proclaim British sovereignty over Australia.  It didn't take the Brits long to replace one colony continent with another, did it?


In 1808, Governor Lachlan Macquarie held the first official celebration of the founding, and 130 years later, some others decided to start calling it the Day of Mourning, because it was the start of the end to the Aboriginal way of life.


In any case, from pre-historic times, stronger tribes overtook weaker, often making the defeated tribes into their slaves, only to be conquered later by more physically dominant or, as time went along, technologically superior, tribes. The Europeans proved to be overwhelming to many cultures, bringing with them a future shock both positive and negative.

The city of Sydney has grown into a wonderful example of Western Civilization, with a friendly, clean and independent population that makes visitors feel quite safe. As with any great modern city, interspersed among the high rises are beautiful green spaces in the form of parks. In Sydney, one of the most beautiful parks is the Royal Botanic Gardens located on Mrs. Macquaries Point across the bay from the Sydney Opera House.


Every time we went to the Opera House, we spent a great deal of time strolling around these grounds, where the Macquarie name is frequently stamped. Scotland-born Governor Macquarie had been a world traveler upon joining the army, arriving in North America to fight on what we would consider the wrong side, and spending time in New York, Charleston and Jamaica. He later served in Egypt, and for you conspiracy theorists, he became a Freemason in India. In short, he brought a world view to this far-away outpost.

His wife seemed to be instrumental in the planning of the Royal Botanic Gardens, as it is Mrs. Macquaries Point that includes Mrs. Macquaries Road which takes visitors to Mrs. Macquaries Chair. This bench was carved from sandstone for Mrs. Macquarie by convicts. She would sit to watch ships on the horizon and enjoy nature.


The Royal Botanic Gardens contains hundreds of varieties of flora and fauna from Australia, but for us it was simply a treat to our senses rather than an intellectual exercise in learning about them. When Julie went to the restroom, I happened to look up and notice something strange hanging from the trees. I soon realized they were bats, and occasionally one would take flight. There were other interesting birds (are bats birds?) there too, including some wild cockatoos.