Botanic Gardens thrived under WWI Veteran's curatorship

When Pat Andrews was appointed curator of the Townsville Botanical Gardens in 1936, he was following in the footsteps of the two highly accomplished curators that had preceded him.

Percival Pacific (Pat) Andrews, is pictured in the centre of the photo with family members, outside the curator’s cottage in the Townsville Botanical Gardens, North Ward (now known as Queen's Gardens).

Photo: Courtesy of Natalie Embregts.

Mr William Anderson, the first curator at the Botanical Gardens, spent 54 years in the role and was responsible for planning and setting up the gardens in North Ward. He was also instrumental in beautifying Townsville, planting Banyan figs on The Strand at Anzac Park and establishing the garden beds in Flinders Street in the 1920s. Anderson Gardens was later named in his honour.

Upon his retirement in 1930, Mr Anderson was succeeded by Mr George Johnson, who had spent 37 years as curator at Lissner Park, in Charters Towers, before coming to work at the Botanical Gardens in Townsville under Mr Anderson in 1926.

But if Pat Andrews, whose proper name was Percival Pacific Andrews, felt at all daunted by the thought of living up to the reputation of his predecessors, it does not appear to have stopped him from making his own mark on the gardens, where he went on to work for the next 30 years.

Mr Andrews was a decorated veteran of the First World War, having served in Egypt, Gallipoli, France and Belgium. In March 1918, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for gallant conduct and devotion to duty in the field during a period of severe bombing and attack in October 1917.

After the war, Mr Andrews returned to Australia with his English bride Gwendoline, and took up a solider settlement selection at Boulia. Drought during the 1920s forced them off their land, and in 1928 he joined the Townsville City Council as a gardener. He was appointed curator in 1936 after the retirement of George Johnson.

Mr and Mrs Andrews lived on site with their seven children in a five-roomed cottage that had been built in the gardens in 1935.

Curator's cottage, Botanical Gardens, North Ward, 1940.
Photo: Townsville City Libraries.

Only a year after taking over as curator, Mr Andrews introduced roses to the Botanical Gardens on the site of two disused tennis courts adjacent to the curator’s residence. Extensive preparations were made, with 24 garden beds excavated to a depth of 3ft and the soil replaced with black soil, leaf mould and manure. Over 260 plants were put in, covering 20-odd varieties, and trellises were erected to carry the climbing varieties.

View of Castle Hill from the Botanical Gardens, North Ward, no date.
(The rose garden can be seen on the left in this postcard)
Photo: W. J. Laurie, Townsville City Libraries.

In 1940, Mr Andrews came up with the novel idea of adding an apiary to the rapidly expanding park at North Ward. A swarm of bees originally trapped in a fence post in Queen’s Park, adjoining the gardens, had been allowed to develop in a small single-storey hive, which was then added to by a double-decked casing on the bottom. This was then fitted with sliding doors on the ends and sides so that the bees - which were reportedly English and Italian species - could be observed at work through glass walls.

In the late 1940s, Mr Andrews was responsible for the propagation of several hundred Poinciana trees that were destined for an “Avenue of Poincianas” stretching over four miles from Ross River Meatworks to Stuart.

A new overpass at Cluden was recently named in honour of Percival Pacific Andrews, in recognition of his service to Australia as an ANZAC, along with his contribution to the Townsville community as curator of the Botanical Gardens.

The family of Percival Pacific (Pat) Andrews, assembled for the official opening of the rail overpass at Cluden that was named in his honour, 2016.
Photo: Trisha Fielding.

Early Aviator Thrilled Townsville Crowds

In 1913, a 23 year-old English-born aviator, Arthur W. Jones, brought his imported Caudron bi-plane to Townsville for two exhibition flights that thrilled Townsville crowds. The display was one of the many activities organised for the city’s 50^th birthday Jubilee celebrations.  

Arthur W. Jones and his Caudron bi-plane at Cluden, August 1913.
Photo:  CityLibraries Townsville Local History Collection.

The single-engine, French designed aircraft had been shipped to Townsville aboard the SS. Kyarra, and in the lead up to the flights, was on display at the old wool stores in Flinders Street, for a fee of 1 shilling.

Special trains were laid on to transport curious onlookers to Cluden racecourse, where the exhibition took place.  The return fare, including entrance to the racecourse, was 3 shillings, or, if you had your own transport, the entry fee was reduced to 2 shillings.

Mr Jones had already made 150 successful flights in his Caudron, exhibiting at shows all around Australia.

The Townsville Daily Bulletin reported on “a most successful aviation display”, noting that more than 1500 people had travelled by the special excursion trains, and that the road to Cluden, “presented an endless trail of motor cars, vehicles and bicycles.”

“At six minutes past four the propeller was started, and after backfiring twice, the young aeronaut gave the signal to let go.”

“The machine glided forward about 20 yards, and amidst an outburst of cheering rose gracefully on her course towards the south-east at a gentle slope, going behind the grandstand and turning towards the north when past it.”

After only 3 and half minutes of flight, Mr Jones passed over the grandstand to the cheers of thousands of onlookers, where it became apparent that he was having difficulty with the wind.

According to the Bulletin, “The skill of the airman and the response of his machine was displayed in this work which was performed with the gracefulness of a bird.”

After a few more minutes, Jones had landed his plane, to the delight of the crowd.

“When a few feet off the ground Mr Jones glided his plane along and stopped immediately in front of the stand with remarkable ease.”

Piloting the aircraft was certainly not for the faint-hearted, as it had no throttle.  The engine was either on or it was off, and the only way to land the plane was to switch off the engine.

The Bulletin waxed lyrical, noting “It was a splendid afternoon’s entertainment and added still another historical event in the life of Townsville, in that the first successful aeroplane flight of North Queensland had eventuated in that city on its 50^th birthday.”

In January 1914, Jones had a lucky escape during an exhibition in Adelaide, South Australia, when both he and his aircraft fell from the sky. 

According to the local press, Jones had been flying for about 16 minutes, when the engine seemed to stop suddenly, and plummet to earth.  Then a gust of wind struck the plane when it was about 70 feet in the air, causing it to nosedive into the ground, and flip over on impact.

Remarkably, Mr Jones received only minor cuts and bruising and muscle strains in the crash, and when asked what had happened, reportedly said that he had lost his way and run out of petrol.

“She simply dived to the ground,” Mr Jones remarked.

“A cup of petrol would have saved it all.”

Jones repaired his aircraft and was back on the circuit later that year, exhibiting in Cairns in July 1914.

Arthur W. Jones and his Caudron, at Cairns, 1914.
Photo:  State Library of Queensland.