At dawn on Wednesday this week, a group of Canberrans stood at the top of Dairy Farmers Hill to welcome in the new day and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the National Arboretum Canberra to the public.
Ten years? It feels, now, like the arboretum has been there forever. And with all last year's rain, it is thriving.
"It looks like it's on steroids," the arboretum's biggest champion, former chief minister Jon Stanhope said.
About 15,000 people attended the opening day of the arboretum on February 1, 2013. Since then, more than 6 million people have visited the site, former scrubby paddocks burnt out in the 2001 (not 2003) fires that were transformed into a home for more than 44,000 trees, many of them arranged into 94 forests of rare, endangered and symbolic trees from Australia and around the world.
And there are expectations this year could be the magic year when, for the first time, 1 million people visit the arboretum, securing its place as one of Canberra's premier tourist attractions.
"It's beyond my wildest dreams," Mr Stanhope said of the arboretum today.
Among the group standing in the dawn light last Wednesday morning was Mr Stanhope, who came up with the idea for an arboretum in all the soul-searching that took place after the devastating 2003 bushfires, and arboretum chair John Mackay, perennial Canberra mover and shaker who was instrumental in bringing the arboretum to life.
Mr Stanhope was last week quite honest about the fact he brought in Mr Mackay in the early days of the arboretum proposal to "share the misery". He was being hammered from all quarters and he needed someone with like Mackay to bring some positivity to the idea.
The then chief minister and his government coped a lot of heat for the arboretum - it cost too much, would use too much water, it would be susceptible to more fires on the western fringe of the city.
Mr Stanhope said he very deliberately took measures to defeat all the naysayers. An irrigation system pumps water from Lake Burley Griffin. Two dams were built for more water security.
Mr Stanhope said the Margaret Whitlam Pavilion was a piece of infrastructure from which the arboretum could generate revenue as people used it for weddings and other functions.
Mr Stanhope said he also set aside land for a future hotel on the site and the arboretum master plan did still include provision for a five-star hotel.
However, Mr Stanhope is not 100 per cent sure a hotel is needed now, as the arboretum was on more of a sound financial footing.
And there is the whole question of how something like the arboretum, so firmly in the public realm, is able to preserve that sense of access and community ownership with something so commercial as a hotel.
Mr Stanhope said the design of any proposed hotel would also be crucial if it did proceed.
"I would be desperately disappointed if it [a hotel] did generate any negative feeling in the community," he said.
As for fires, Mr Stanhope says you can "never say never". But the western fringe has changed. Most of the pines are gone. The suburbs of Whitlam and Molonglo have been built between the arboretum since the fires of the early 2000s. The city edge has changed.
Mr Stanhope says, like many other Canberrans, he has an almost spiritual connection to the arboretum. It might, he says, be due to it looking over the city he loves. Or just the peace and quiet.
"I have to say, I love it. I go there at least every week for a coffee and to visit the place," he said.
Mr Stanhope says people still stop him in the street to chat and most want to talk about how much they love the arboretum. Somewhat wistfully, he also says that he introduced the Human Rights Act, the first bill of rights in Australia, during his tenure as chief minister. But not one person has stopped him in the street to talk about that.
"I often do sometimes think, 'But the Human Rights Act was a great thing too'," he said, with a chuckle.
The arboretum's executive branch manager Scott Saddler, meanwhile, is excited about its future.
"Over the coming years, the National Arboretum will future-proof its site by expanding the world-class facilities," he said.
"The Forest Sculpture Gallery will include many more outdoor artworks, visitors will be able to enjoy more forests, enhanced facilities, an expanded playground, more outdoor BBQ areas and enjoy a greater range of events. The site's master plan also include a five-star hotel, a 'breakout' adventure recreational zone for schools, a dedicated education centre and more'.
"After three years of significant rainfall, the trees have been able to really establish themselves and have put on tremendous growth, in another 10 years some of these forests will be unrecognisable from what they are today with full canopy growth and the monoculture experience of each forest will become fully realised."
Mr Saddler said the initial projection was that 1 million would visit the arboretum within its first five years of operation.
"However, 10 years on, we have over 6.3 million visitors and we expect this to grow to many more millions over the coming years making the arboretum one of the most popular visiting sites in Australia," he said.
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Events Celebrating 10 Years of the National Arboretum Canberra
- Arboretum Kite Fest, Sunday February 12 from 10am to 3pm. More details here.
- AMPLIFY Tributes at the Arboretum concert on Saturday, February 25 from 5pm. More details here.
- 10 Year Celebration Dinner on Friday, May 5. Tickets can be booked here.
- Arboretum Kite Fest, Sunday February 12 from 10am to 3pm. More details here.
- AMPLIFY Tributes at the Arboretum concert on Saturday, February 25 from 5pm. More details here.
- 10 Year Celebration Dinner on Friday, May 5. Tickets can be booked here.
- Arboretum Kite Fest, Sunday February 12 from 10am to 3pm. More details here.
- AMPLIFY Tributes at the Arboretum concert on Saturday, February 25 from 5pm. More details here.
- 10 Year Celebration Dinner on Friday, May 5. Tickets can be booked here.
