Joseph Banks Native Plants Reserve

Kareela, Australia, Australia

---

Joseph Banks Native Plants Reserve is one of the few specialised gardens in Sydney devoted entirely to Australian native plants, located in Kareela, New South Wales, in the Sutherland Shire, and established in 1970 as a bicentenary project to commemorate the 200th anniversary of James Cook and Joseph Banks arriving at Botany Bay in April 1770.

The landscaped garden covers 2.2 hectares of wooded Hawkesbury sandstone hillside with water views to the north, featuring over 4 kilometres of sealed paths (though some include steps that make wheelchair access difficult) and showcases more than 600 labelled plants representing over 1,000 Australian native species from around Australia.

The reserve displays a wide range of native plants in planted theme gardens including an acacia garden, scented garden, sun-loving plants, rainforest, silver foliage garden, cycads, fern garden, shade garden, bush tucker (Aboriginal food and medicinal plants), lily garden, and mixed Proteaceae beds, while also preserving an unplanted natural area showing the original remnant Sydney sandstone vegetation.