About Friends of Botanic Gardens Cairns

Friends of the Cairns Botanic Gardens

The Friends of the Botanic Gardens Cairns was established in 1989 to :

  • stimulate interest and awareness in the Cairns Botanic Gardens
  • raise funds, generate ideas and initiate projects to enhance the Gardens
  • promote and support horticultural and botanical science
  • help conserve and grow the only Wet Tropics Botanic Garden in Australia

Members are engaged in a range of activities to support the Gardens, renowned for having the best tropical plant exhibitions in Australia.  This includes propagating plants for sale to the general public, organising events, maintaining a small library, raising funds for enhancements, conducting guided walks and bird walks on a weekly basis, organising guest speakers and meetings and volunteering in the Friends' House shop which provides information, advice, maps and souvenirs. 

Talk on World Heritage Sites in Australia

Professor Valentine spent many years as a Director of the Wet Tropics Management Authority including three years as Chair; he was a Director of Terrain for many years from its beginning and was recently appointed a Life Member.

 

The talk is called “The Global Fascination with Australia’s World Heritage Sites”. The presentation will include a brief account of the origins of the World Heritage Convention and associated processes. It will then focus on most of our amazing World Heritage properties from purely natural, to mixed sites to purely cultural. The sites occur across Australia and embrace natural heritage, Indigenous heritage and colonial heritage. The talk covers the very first sites (Kakadu National Park with the Great Barrier Reef and Willandra Lakes) to the most recent listing (Budj Bim Cultural Landscape) and provides an insight into potential future sites.

There will be an opportunity for Q&A.

 

   13th March  The Global Fascination with Australia’s World Heritage Sites.

Friends AGM 13 March

Notice of AGM and call for Nominations
  
The Annual General Meeting of Friends of the Botanic Gardens (FOBG) Cairns will take place on Wednesday 13 March 2024 at the Visitor Centre, Botanic Gardens, Collins Avenue, Edge Hill, commencing at 6.00 pm.
 
Following the confirmation of AGM Minutes 2023, the presentation of the President's Report, the Treasurer’s Report, and the presentation and adoption of the Audited Financial Statement for 2023, all positions on the Management Committee will be declared vacant.
 
Nominations for the following positions (for a one-year term) are now called for:
 
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
Publicity Officer
Events Coordinator
General Committee
 
Individual portfolio responsibilities (Newsletter Editor, Membership Secretary, Guest Speaker Coordinator, etc.) will be allocated to the elected committee members during the first monthly meeting of the newly-elected 2024 Management Committee, which is scheduled for Wednesday 3 April 2024 at 5.30pm in the Visitor Centre Board Room. The FOBG Management Committee meets once a month, with the other proposed meeting dates for the year to be confirmed by the newly elected committee.
 
Only current financial members/life members are eligible to stand for a position on the Committee. An outline of the roles of Committee members can be downloaded by clicking here.

You must be a current financial member/life member to nominate or second a nomination (a Nomination Form can be downloaded by clicking here) and only financial members/life members of the FOBG are entitled to a vote at the Annual General Meeting.
 
If you cannot attend the Annual General Meeting and would like to vote on any issue that may arise, you can vote by proxy (a Proxy Form can be downloaded by clicking here).
 
Nomination forms should be received by the Secretary 
NO LATER than 5.00 pm on Tuesday 27 February 2024, so that the list of candidates can be circulated to members prior to the AGM.
 
They can be lodged over the counter at Friends House or posted to:
FOBG Secretary, PO Box 223 Edge Hill, Cairns, Qld 4870,
or emailed to secretary@botanicfriendscairns.org.au
 
If you have any enquiries regarding the Annual General Meeting, membership renewals, committee nominations or proxy voting, contact Megan Lilly,  Secretary FOBG
 

Flecker Garden

The Flecker Garden is a key botanic space in the Cairns Botanic Gardens precinct. It contains the Conservatory which was constructed with a large donation from the Friends. Friends also regularly purchase orchids and other plants to ensure that the Conservatory always looks spectacular.

The plants in the dry area garden, constructed in 2020, were all purchased from Friends' funds.

Friends' members share their passion for the Flecker Garden by conducting free weekly tours, guiding visitors along paths and winding their way through leafy undergrowth. They highlight the broad range of plants,  trees and palms, exquisite orchids, bromeliads and ferns . . .  and the bizarre beauty of insect-eating pitcher plants.

Location and opening hours

The Gardens are on Collins Ave, Edge Hill and can be accessed by public transport from the city (Sunbus) or by car (ample street parking available), by bicycle or on foot. Entry is free and the Gardens are open from 7.30am to 5.30pm every day of the year.

Friends' House - staffed by volunteers - is in the Flecker Garden and is open from Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 3.30pm. It sells souvenirs and provides advice and information to visitors. 

 

 

 

Friends House and Shop

The Friends operate from Friends' House, a heritage-listed building in the Flecker Garden, behind the cafe. Friends' members are rostered on from 9:30am to 3:30pm to provide advice and information to visitors.  They also operate a small shop selling locally made souvenirs. 

Friends' House is the meeting place for guided walks and also for the weekly trolley plant sales.

If Friends' House is closed, the Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre - the glass building located between the Flecker Garden and the Tanks Arts Centre - also provides information. 

We currently have vacancies in the shop roster so please call us: 07 4032 3900; email: secretary@botanicfriendscairns.org.au; or drop in if you can do a 3-hour shift.  It's most rewarding chatting to visitors who frequently tell us these are the best Gardens they have ever visited.

Guided walks in the Gardens

Bill conducting a guided walk

Friends' volunteers conduct free guided walks, Monday to Friday, most weeks of the year. These walks commence at 10:00 am from Friends’ House, near the Gardens Café, and are designed to meet the needs of casual visitors to the Gardens. The last walk for 2023 was Fri 1 December and walks resume on Monday 26 February 2024.

Walks last for about 60 to 90 minutes and showcase a number of different areas of the Gardens including the Conservatory, the Aboriginal Plant Use section and any plants that are putting on a particularly good display at the time. 

A guided bird tour is conducted weekly on Tuesdays at 7.30am. 

Paid walks: Friends also conduct private, specialised walks for larger groups - for example bus tours - who wish to have walks tailored to their own particular needs.

Guides consult with the tour leaders to best meet the requirements of the group. Factors considered include the start time, desired time frame of the walk and any special needs or interests of group members. Sufficient guides are provided to maintain a ratio of one guide to six or seven visitors. A charge of $10 per head applies, with a minimum cost of $80.

Please email: info@botanicfriendscairns.org.au to organise a paid walk.

Plant Sales

Volunteers propagate plants which are on sale to the public:

  • Weekly trolley sales are held on Wednesdays from 9am to 11am near Friends' House in the Flecker Gardens.
  • Three bigger plant sales are held every year: on the Sunday before Easter (24 March 2024); at Carnival on Collins - Fathers' Day - each September (1 Sept 2024); and the Christmas sale on the first Sunday in December (1 Dec 2024).

Please note: The Easter sale will be held at Saltwater Creek and NOT the teak lawn of the Flecker Gardens. Park in Greenslopes St opposite Little St/Cominos House and follow the signs. 

  • All plant sales are from 8.00am to 12 midday and the Carnival on Collins and Christmas sales will be held on the Teak Lawn, Flecker Gardens.

 


Friends of Botanic Gardens Cairns Reviews

JM

Joanne Montgomery

This is one of my favorite places in the world. This botanical garden has so many tropical species of palm trees, and bamboo. Plus so much more. If you ever get to Cairns visit the beautiful Botanical Gardens.

CV

Callum Van de Weyer

A selection of well sign posted and informative areas covering a very large space. Lots to see with some lovely walks through different parts and a good range of gardens.

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Friends of Botanic Gardens Cairns

Location and opening hours Cairns Botanic Gardens can be found on Collins Ave, Edge Hill and can be accessed by public transport from the city (Sunbus) or by car (ample street parking available), by bicycle or on foot. Entry is free and the Gardens are open from 7.30am to 5.30pm every day of the year. The Visitor Centre is open from 8:30am to 4.00pm week days and 8:30am to 1:00pm weekends. It is closed from midday Christmas Eve, all day Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and until midday Anzac Day.


Direct Contact Info

Hours: Friends House: 9.30am to 3.30pm weekdays

Address:
Collins Avenue
Edge Hill
Cairns
Queensland 4870
Australia


Enquiry Form


Download Files

Download and fill in this form. Then either pay the membership fee via bank transfer, scan and forward to: info@botanicfriendscairns.org.au; or drop into Friends House between 9.30am and 3.30pm and pay the fee in person; or post to PO Box 223, EDGE HILL,...

+ More

How the Friends work with Cairns Regional Council
The Friends are incorporated with Queensland's Office of Fair Trading
A summary of Friends' activities presented at the 2023 AGM on 1 March
Since the establishment of the Friends of the Botanic Gardens in 1989, several hundred thousand dollars has been raised to enhance the Cairns Botanic Gardens through projects, purchases and donations.