Footscray Park

Footscray Park is a heritage-listed 15-hectare park located on the south bank of the Maribyrnong River in Footscray, Victoria.

It is considered one of the largest and most intact Edwardian era parks in Australia, featuring a collection of botanical flora, ornamental ponds, and garden structures. The park was established in 1911 following successful lobbying by local citizens to establish parkland on the site. The park's layout and design were completed by Rodney Alsop, who won the design competition for the park. The majority of the park’s features, including its arbours, bridges, and ponds, were constructed by unemployed Victorians during the Depression.

The entrance to the park on Ballarat Road features stone walls and wrought-iron grates, which incorporate the wording "Footscray Park." A World War I memorial was unveiled in 1922 and stands at the entranceway. The park has two major paths running east–west along the embankment, which are bisected by a north–south path (the T.B. Drew Memorial Walk), which descends the embankment through a wisteria-covered arbour to Thomson Water Garden. The park also has open playing fields on the flat area near the river.

Footscray Park is home to a diverse collection of mature trees, including palms, elms, ash, oaks, cypress, various Australian species as well as several species that are rare in cultivation in Australia. Some of these trees are listed on the park's heritage listing. Footscray Park hosts an annual New Year's Eve fireworks and celebration event on the Maribyrnong River banks since 2012, which is the second-largest New