Royal Park, Melbourne

The Royal Park is a 169-hectare (420-acre) urban park located in the suburb of Parkville, four kilometres (2.5 mi) north of the Melbourne CBD, in Victoria, Australia. The park is the largest of Melbourne's inner-city parks. The Melbourne Zoo, established in 1862 as the Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, is located on a 22-hectare (54-acre) site within the park. The park includes many sporting facilities including the Royal Park Golf Course, football and soccer ovals, baseball and cricket pitches, State Netball & Hockey Centre, tennis courts, and cycling and walking paths. On the corner of Gatehouse Street and Royal Parade there is a native garden. There are wide vistas of grassland and lightly timbered areas with eucalypts, casuarina, and acacias. A wetlands area was developed in 2005. The Melbourne City Council has administered the park since 1934 and operations are informed by a master plan. The park was added to the Victorian Heritage Register on 23 October 2014 in recognition of its historic and aesthetic significance. In 1860, the park was the departure site for the Burke and Wills expedition; and during both World War I and World War II, the park was used as a major military camp, training ground, mobilisation, and deployment site. The park is located on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people.

Park data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).