Gordon Reserve

Gordon Reserve

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Posted 2016-01-28 by Vanessa Mfollow
is a small park between Spring Street and Macarthur Street near the government buildings in East Melbourne. It is named after Lindsey Adam Gordon, a colonial poet who only become celebrated after his death.





There are a few Canary Island date palms dotted around, but the most prominent features of the park are the Stanford Fountain and the Gordon of Khartoum Memorial, both well over a century old.

The fountain was in fact designed in the nineteenth century by William Stanford while he was in Pentridge Prison. It features birds, dolphins and a cupid figure in the middle. Around the fountain is a circular path where you will find quite a few seats, while most of the reserve is lawn area.



The Statue of Gordon of Khartoum, at the southern point of the triangular park, depicts another important Gordon: the imperial figure General Charles Gordon. The statue was one of the first of a series of colonial statues erected in Melbourne (including the Burke and Wills statue). It is based on a statue created for Trafalgar Square, but differs in the plaques used at the bottom, which here are scenes from Gordon's life.





Another less obvious feature of the reserve is the underground women's toilets, which were thought to be more discrete than ground level ones. They're located near Spring Street.

#east_melbourne
#free
#history
#city
#outdoor
#parks
%wnmelbourne
203318 - 2023-06-16 05:23:33

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