A complex site, now incorporating both built and natural environments, the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens has enjoyed continuous use since opening in 1873.

The influence of Anthelme Thozet, a local botanist and collector, is thought to have prevailed in the selection of the Spencer Street site.

The proximity to a constant water supply, in the adjacent Murray Lagoon, and striking vistas from the western slopes of the Athelstane Range were primary considerations for a successful botanic gardens site.

[1] The development of the first ten acres of the 100-acre site commenced after the curator James Scott Edgar took up residence in a modified dairy shed on the grounds in 1873.

He used bamboo stands to separate the male and female bathing areas, and the original rules and regulations restricted the hours of use at the discretion of the trustees.

The Murray Lagoon in the Botanic Gardens was a popular picnic area for the Rockhampton district in the late nineteenth century.

By this time Richard Simmons had assumed the role of curator of the gardens and set out to bring the land under cultivation.

Simmons's experience as a local nurseryman prior to his appointment as the curator was crucial in maintaining the flow of funds for the gardens.

Catalogues of available plants were distributed on a regular basis and orders were taken from throughout the central Queensland area as well as from far afield as the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

The additional land received in 1905 was removed from the reserve to create Diggers Park and a section of the Botanic Gardens was set aside for the War Memorial for Rockhampton and the surrounding district.

The surrounding grounds were landscaped by Simmons and included a circle of Canary Island Date Palms (Phoenix canariensis) and topiary borders pruned into ANZAC, Navy, Army and RAAF.

George Simmons is responsible for the avenue of Bunya Pines (Araucaria bidwillii) and Bougainvillea at the Ann Street entrance.

The mature nineteenth and early twentieth century planting are indeed spectacular, and the gardens provide a cool leafy oasis in the dry hot tropical climate of Rockhampton.

The slope of the range creates a gently falling gradient from the entrance of the gardens to the banks of the Murray Lagoon.

[1] The formal entrance to the botanic gardens is from Spencer Street through a set of masonry pillars with decorative iron gates.

The informal entrance from Ann Street comprises an avenue of Bunya Pines (Araucaria bidwillii) interspersed with Bougainvillea.

[1] The community services building, a small open truss steel and glass structure on a concrete block base located in the main circular drive is surrounded by established decorative gardens.

[1] The Rockhampton War Memorial, a 64-foot (20 m) Gracemere Grey Granite obelisk on a plinth, is located to the south of the kiosk in the upper gardens.

The Rockhampton Botanic Gardens, gazetted in 1869, are located on a 33-hectare site on the western slopes of the Athelstane range and bordered by the Murray and Yeppen-Yeppen Lagoons.

It demonstrates the principal characteristics of a provincial botanic reserve, with a greater emphasis placed on the creating of an exotic collection of living botany rather than providing herbarium and library facilities.

Significant architectural features include the original curator's cottage and finch aviary (ca1880), the Kiosk (1912), the War Memorial (1924) and the Hugo Lassen Fernery (1938).