Robert Macklin with Dr John Gray
The Man Who Planted Canberra: Charles Weston and His Three Million Trees
Charles Weston was one of our most visionary designers of green landscapes and a true founding hero of the nation’s capital. He experimented and planted more than three million trees and shrubs from Australia and around the world to create the horticultural wonder of Canberra.
NLA Publishing, 2025
From humble beginnings, London-born Weston rose through the massive British gardening industry in the second half of the nineteenth century, becoming foreman of the 79 gardeners at the magnificent Drumlanrig Castle in the Scottish borderlands.
Reaching Sydney in 1896, he became Head Gardener at Admiralty House, Kirribilli, and in the wake of Federation in 1901, set his sights on the greatest challenge of all – the new national capital across the ranges on the open Limestone Plains. It was here that, despite the daunting obstacles of government bureaucracy and the Great War, he gave life to his ‘dream city’.
About the Author
Robert Macklin was born in Queensland and educated at University of Queensland and the Australian National University. He has worked as a journalist at the Courier Mail, The Age and The Bulletin, and was associate editor of the Canberra Times until 2003. Robert is the author of 29 books, including Dark Paradise, Hamilton Hume and four works focusing on the SAS and Australia's Special Forces. He lives in Canberra.
