Media Release Friends of Sherwood Arboretum  (The Local Bulletin April 2022)

Saving a sunken treasure!

One of Brisbane’s three ‘botanic treasures’ has bounced back to life despite the catastrophe of being inundated with flood waters last month.

When the Brisbane River burst its banks and completed reversed the flow of a local creek that normally empties into the river, it was inevitable that much of Sherwood Arboretum would become one giant muddy lake.

In the process, many of the 1100 Australian native specimen trees, including a large section of the historic Kauri Avenue and all of the picnic and playground facilities, were soon awash.

The flood waters didn’t stop at the southern Arboretum entry and seriously impacted on several families and their homes in nearby Jolimont and Lance Streets.

The Arboretum pontoon, once connected to the popular riverside and rainforest boardwalk, joined many other large pieces of infrastructure swept away by the river’s powerful torrent.

Thankfully, even the immature specimen trees, including some rare and endangered trees submerged by the floodwaters, are now showing clear signs of recovery.

The worst botanical damage appears to be the different estuarine mangrove species, which were submerged for several days by the massive flow of fresh water over the riverside boardwalk.

Volunteers from the Mackay Regional Council certainly deserved ‘a big shout out’ for their wonderful help in shovelling thick mud off the boardwalk and later pressure hosing the walkway.

Equally, a team from Brisbane Botanic Gardens collected much of the debris, ranging from plastic chairs to car repair tools, which were scattered throughout the Arboretum’s normally inviting green spaces.

While it will take some time to restore the picnic facilities, given Brisbane City Council’s huge backlog of repairs, there is a great sense of relief that this highly-valued Botanic Garden of trees appears to have escaped lasting harm.

Please call Brisbane Botanic Gardens on 3403 2535 from 8.00 am to 4.00 pm on weekdays if you would like to book for the next free monthly tree walk, starting from the Jolimont Street entry at 9.30 am on Sunday 24 April.

image captions

The historic Kauri Avenue at the flood peak

The floods swept away the riverside pontoon.

It could have been worse – the 1974 flood marker.