Description

Royal Park, part of the land of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people, is the largest open space in the City of Melbourne, covering 169 hectares. Listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, it is recognised for its rich and layered historical significance.

The park is distinguished today by its distinctive landscape character, sporting and informal recreational uses, cultural heritage and ecological values. In 2024, the City of Melbourne is preparing a new masterplan for Royal Park, outlining its long-term vision and future management. GML Heritage was commissioned by the City of Melbourne to develop the park's first Conservation Management Plan.

What's On

Join GML Heritage and the City of Melbourne on a guided tour through Royal Park and delve into its rich history and significant heritage values.

Led by landscape heritage specialist Dr Christina Dyson, historian Dr Helen Doyle, and City of Melbourne open space planning specialist Alicia Otto, this tour will traverse key areas of Royal Park, including the Australian Native Garden, the Grassland Circle and wildflower planting test plots.

Participants will gain insights into the park’s evolution, its diverse uses over time, its exciting future, and the deep connections that the people of Melbourne have with this special place.

Brought to you with the generous support of our friends and partners, our Summer Fun(draisers) offer new and special opportunities as well as returning crowd favourites. These intimate, limited capacity talks + tours will take you up close and behind-the-scenes with design experts, all the while making a valued contribution to Open House Melbourne.

In Collaboration With:

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  Dr Christina Dyson—Principal, GML Heritage

  Dr Christina Dyson is a landscape heritage specialist with particular expertise in 20th-century Australian plant gardens. She has extensive experience in Australian garden, designed landscape and cultural landscape heritage, as well as urban and built heritage, across world, national, state and local levels. At GML Heritage, Christina contributes to a diverse range of landscape and built heritage projects, including conservation management plans, heritage assessments, and municipal heritage studies.

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  Dr Helen Doyle—Associate, GML Heritage

  Dr Helen Doyle is an historian with over twenty years’ experience in heritage and conservation. At GML Heritage, Helen specialises in developing thematic frameworks and thematic histories for a range of places. She has expertise in preparing heritage assessments and conservation management plans of places, precincts, and complexes. Helen has experience in Aboriginal cultural heritage and the recognition of Aboriginal cultural values in heritage reviews, interpretation plans and thematic histories.

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  Alicia Otto—Senior Open Space Planner, City of Melbourne

  The City of Melbourne’s Parks and City Greening team manage Royal Park. Alicia Otto is currently a senior open space planner with the City of Melbourne. She has been working on the development of the new Royal Park Master Plan for the last 3 years and has extensive knowledge of the park’s history and its future direction.