Paradise Lost
Did you ever found in Castle Hill? go to Paradise Gardens Cattai?
In the 1970s and ‘80s, numerous amusement parks could be found in and around Sydney. Hawkesbury’s contribution was Paradise Gardens at Cattai which was owned by the famous Bullen family who also operated Bullen’s Animal World at Wallacia and the African Lion Safari in Warragamba.
Opening in 1976, on the riverside site of Bungool and operating until the mid-1980s, Paradise Gardens was best known for its life-size fibreglass dinosaur replicas, its ‘Cave Walk’ display of archaic humans and the ‘Enchanted Forest’ filled with model fairy-tale characters.
The new exhibition Paradise Lost at Hawkesbury Regional Museum will highlight the long-forgotten, once popular Paradise Gardens through historical souvenirs, photographs, film footage, memorabilia and stories.
There will also be an opportunity for visitors to relive their memories of this much-loved amusement park, by recording them at the memory wall, enabling a new generation to enjoy and share recollections of the park. It opens at Hawkesbury Regional Museum on December 3rd.
Opening hours:
Wednesday – Monday 10am- 4pm
Closed Tuesdays.
366 George Street, Windsor
PALM LILY
PLANT OF THE MONTH
Botanical Name: Cordyline stricta
Common Name: Narrow-leaved Palm Lily
Family: Asparagaceae
Cordyline: From Greek cordyle, referring to the stem shape of some species, meaning swelling.
Stricta: From Latin meaning straight or rigid, referring to the long stems.
• Grows well as a pot plant. Can be pruned.
• Frost tender – needs some protection.
• Drought tolerant when established.
• Tolerates low light, grows in sunny and shady positions.
• Food plant for the Miskin’s Swift Butterfly.
• Easily grown from seed and cuttings.
Habitat: Rainforests and damp sclerophyll forests.
Soils: Shallow and deep soils, both moist and dry.
Habit: Slender shrub to 5m.
Leaves: Long, slender, 30-50cm long.
Flowers: Lilac.
Flowering time: Summer.
Fruit: Black berries 1-1.5cm.
Range: Coastal lowlands from Sydney to Queensland.
