The Tasmanian Arboretum was founded as an incorporated Association on 16 May 1984, when the concept of a botanical tree park was born through the vision and determination of a small group of citizens. The Arboretum was conceived as a Community Project established on a voluntary involvement basis without paid employees, and it has continued to develop on those lines. In December 1984 an excellent site of 47 hectares at Eugenana, 12 km South of the City of Devonport, on the North West Coast of Tasmania, was acquired for $l45,000 with the assistance of the Tasmanian Government, a bicentennial grant and bank accommodation of $l5,000. Title to the property was vested in the T.A.I. in 1994.
Our site expanded when North Forests gave us an adjoining 11ha and our current size of 66ha was attained in December 2008 when we completed the purchase of the Hallett's Quarry block of 7.9ha.
The site was previously a small farm set in a cleared, sheltered valley with several stands of native trees including some fine dominant eucalypts. The Don River borders the property and crosses through the Eastern section, whilst the site is watered by Melrose Creek which runs 12 months in the year and joins the Don River on site. The adjoining hilly country to the North and West is thickly timbered with native trees and bush.
If you are interested you can download a detailed history document (PDF 7.6MB) here.
This special logo was designed by Tasmanian graphic designer Annie Gatenby and kindly donated to us for our use. The design has utilised the elements of the official Tasmanian Arboretum logo and presented them in a more modern, stylised form. We will be using this logo during the year 2024 to denote events and information relating to the celebration of our 40th anniversary, like this page.
Keep an eye out for it and join us at one, several or all of the events to help commemorate our 40th year! If you post on social media about your experience at one of our special events don't forget to tag us and also use the hashtag #TAI40.