National Arboretum celebrates 10 years since official opening

The revered Canberra attraction was created in the wake of the 2003 bushfires, sparking debate in the community and creating a political headache for its first devotee, former ACT chief minister Jon Stanhope.

"I think we're at the point now where the National Arboretum is probably the most visited site in Canberra," he told The Canberra Times this week, ahead of a gala dinner celebrating 10 years since its opening.

"But it was a rocky road."

The arboretum is home to one of the world's largest collections of rare and significant trees, including the Moroccan cypress, the oldest of which has grown for up to 2000 years. With less than 250 of its variety dupreziana left in the Sahara Desert, it's likely there'll one day be more of these ancient trees in Canberra than there are in Africa.

The team of experts who picked what to plant more than a decade ago chose species from more than 100 countries based on their conservation status, suitability for the Canberra climate and, of course, for how pretty they'd be today.

Now equally as iconic as the Telstra Tower, the arboretum's appeal goes beyond what it offers tree-lovers: it is trails for runners, hills for cyclists, a play space for children and one of the best places for coffee in Canberra.

Mr Stanhope, who was chief minister at the time of the 2003 bushfires and who pushed for the burnt pine forest to be replaced with exotic trees, said it took a while to win over the masses.

Even once it had been established, a barren site with tiny trees did little to reassure taxpayers a giant garden would pay off, particularly as households contended with water restrictions bought on by the millennium drought.

"I copped a massive stick," Mr Stanhope said.

"It was a politically very problematic decision."

Mr Stanhope had gone all in on his vision for an arboretum, fighting backlash from the Liberal party who opposed the proposal and anger from a proportion of the public that didn't want it to get up.

It was 2003 and, prior to the release of an inquiry into the Canberra bushfires, the chief minister had committed to implementing every recommendation made by former Commonwealth ombudsman Ron McLeod.

The report recommended high bushfire-risk developments, such as commercial plantations, should not be built in a fire-prone area west and north-west of the city.

Mr Stanhope said he was committed to ensuring not only were lessons learned from the bushfires, but the areas affected - including Tidbinbilla, the Cotter Reserve, Mount Stromlo and what is now the arboretum - be restored to "something that was greater than what was there before the fire".

"We would not let the fire defeat us, we would arise out of it and we would produce a response to the devastation that was greater than the devastation," he recalled.

"Having said that, I am somebody that has loved trees, all my life."

The advice from Parks ACT was the site could be reforested with native species, a direction implemented at Stromlo where plans were hatched for a world-class sporting destination.

"We replaced all of the burnt forest on Mount Stromlo with a eucalypt forest, but I already had in my mind determined that the site would be an arboretum," he said.

Mr Stanhope established a committee "as one does" and was candid in admitting he whispered his dream of a national arboretum in a few ears.

"Surprise, surprise, that was one of the recommendations of the committee," he said.

An international design competition was established. A Melbourne and a Sydney company emerged as joint landscaping and architect designers.

Mr Stanhope said the Liberal party at the time "sniffed the wind" and discerned the arboretum proposal had been received with significant cynicism and opposition from the community.

"We were in a drought, the dams were dropping, we had water restrictions for households and, in that environment, it was a government planning 250 hectares of exotic trees," he said.

The government had also made funding cuts at the time which forced the closure of a number of schools.

Still, the first trees were planted.

Recognising it would take many years for the arboretum to be a place of beauty, Mr Stanhope sought advice from the chief executive of the London Wetland Centre while on a visit to the United Kingdom.

"I said that I was being kicked to death, and one of the issues I was worried about was spending money that people weren't all that happy about me spending," he said.

Mr Stanhope was told the arboretum needed to be self-funding; it was important to make it an attraction.

"And then he said, 'Have you got a cafe there? You need a meeting room, you need a cafe, you need to find a reason for people to go there while the trees grow'," he said.

The architects were once again brought in and plans were drawn up for what now sits below Dairy Hill.

"Of course, they cost a few bob," Mr Stanhope said.

"Because of the microscope the project was under in terms of how much money it was gobbling, I actually went to Julia Gillard, the then-prime minister.

"I had a very good relationship with Julia, thankfully, and I told her I was under a bit of pressure in terms of money.

"She said, I still remember the conversation, 'What do you want'? I said, 'I want $30 million to build these two wonderful buildings at the arboretum'.

"She said, 'Let me think about it, John'.

"Her head of department rang me the next day and said, 'The prime minister says you can have $20 million'."

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Officially opened in February, 2013, the arboretum has since attracted more than 6.3 million visitors. The Margaret Whitlam Pavilion and cafe buildings now host hundreds of visitors each week, including wedding ceremonies and the Australian of the Year awards night.

It will continue expanding over the coming years, including acquiring more artwork, more forests and a greater range of events.

Mr Stanhope said he has never shaken in his belief one day, probably well after his death, the arboretum will become one of the wonders of the world.

"It is a truly wonderful place," he said.

"You'd have to indeed be a very hard-hearted Canberran to not be touched in some way by the National Arboretum. And it's just a baby.

"Imagine it in another 20 years or 50 years and imagine that in 100 years, when the forests are fully-grounded, and the canopy is complete. It'll be unbelievable."

The arboretum will be celebrated at a gala dinner on Friday, May 5.

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