Located on the former site of a gravel pit and rubbish dump, they were formally gazetted on 28 September 1859 and opened in 1861.
In October 2010 City of Port Phillip provided funds for the design of four distinctive new gates, to celebrate the gardens' 150th anniversary.
[1] In 1948 the Alister Clark Memorial Rose Garden was opened; in 1985 it was redesigned in its current style.
At one time the Alister Clark garden contained a large selection of roses bred by him, but only a few remain, crowded out by David Austin ones.
At the same time, St Kilda Rain Man, designed by Corey Thomas and Ken Arnold and installed in 2005 will be repaired.