Formerly known as the Roxborough Rose Garden, Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Rose Garden is an ideal place to stop and smell the roses, literally!
The Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Rose Garden occupies over 8000 square meters and contains over 4000 roses from more than 80 different species and is one of the largest rose gardens in Sydney.
What makes well-loved Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Rose Garden even more special is the history of the site. The land on which the Rose Garden sits was originally owned by Scottish immigrants Andrew and Elizabeth who migrated in 1799 who named it after Roxburgh County in Scotland.
The site was sold multiple times over the years and used for different things including orchards, a storage area for a hardware company and finally as the Roxborough Park housing estate before acquired by Council.
In 1966 Council was approached by the NSW Association of Nurserymen and Garden Societies who requested a rose garden be planted within the Hills with the site on Roxborough Park Road chosen.
The original concept design for the garden was prepared by the Senior Landscape Designer of the Royal Botanic Gardens included terraces created by natural rock retaining walls, a fight of steps bisecting the terraces and a circular rotunda in the middle of the garden.
The Roxborough Park Rose Garden opened in 1972 and celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2022. In 2023 the rose garden was renamed Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Rose Garden in dedication to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The rose garden also contains roses marking historical events such as the Australian Bi-Centennial Rose, The Hills Shire Council Rose, the Olympic Gold Rose and the Little Sunset Rose which was planted to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Hills Soroptimists. The construction of the fountain and pool still present today was carried out by the Castle Hill Rotary Club in the early 1970s reflecting the importance of the rose garden to the community then and now.
The rose garden is in full bloom in the Spring though there are some roses that bloom during the colder months. However, despite the season it is a wonderful place to walk through and to enjoy the beauty and fragrance off the various roses. It is also a great place to sit and read a book either on one of the park benches in the garden or on the grass area under the trees.
If you have not visited the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Rose Garden it is well worth a visit and given its location to Waves Aquatic Centre why not pop in and grab a coffee before or after your walk through the rose gardens.
For more information on the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Rose Garden or to volunteer with looking after the roses go to www.thehills.gov.nsw.au
