Perdana Botanical Gardens

Perdana Botanical Gardens, formerly Perdana Lake Gardens, Lake Gardens and Public Gardens, is Kuala Lumpur's first large-scale recreational park. Measuring 91.6 hectares, it is located in the heart of the city and established in 1888.[1] The park served as place of refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city during colonial times. It contains large sculpted and manicured gardens and a host of attractions.

Perdana Botanical Gardens
Taman Botani Perdana
湖滨公园
ஏரி பூங்கா
Taman Botani Perdana
TypeUrban park
LocationKuala Lumpur, Federal Territory
Area91.6 hectares (226 acres)
Created1888
Operated byKuala Lumpur City Hall
StatusOpen all year

History
Old view of Lake Gardens with the governor's residence Carcosa on a hill in the background, circa 1910

The colonial-era park was the brainchild of Alfred Venning, the British State Treasurer of Selangor in the late 19th century. In 1888, Venning proposed that a botanical garden be built in the valley of Sungei Bras Bras, and the British Resident Frank Swettenham agreed to the scheme and authorised a small grant from the State funds for the garden. Venning laid out the plan for a park of 173 acres (700,000 m2) which included an "experimental economic garden" and a lake.[2]

Venning cleared the area of scrubs and lalang, and planted ornamental flowering trees and shrubs in the garden. The scheme attracted public support, and a leading figure of the Cantonese community, Towkay Chow Ah Yeok, contributed a hundred chempaka and orange trees to the initial planting programme in 1888. An ornamental lake was created by damming up Sungei Bras Bras, which was then named Sydney Lake after Swettenham's wife (the lake is now known as Perdana Lake). The project took nearly ten years to complete, but the garden was formally opened on 13 May 1889, just a year after work began, by the Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir Cecil Clementi Smith.[2]

A fountain in Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur
Canopy at the Main Square (Laman Perdana) of the garden.

The official residence of the then British government representative Frank Swettenham, now known as Carcosa Seri Negara, was located atop a hill here. Venning also created a social club by the lake, the Lake Club (now known as the Royal Lake Club), in 1890. The club, unlike the Selangor Club, was an exclusively European club, and it would dominate the social scene for Europeans in Kuala Lumpur for over half a century.[3][4]

In 1963, the Malaysian Houses of Parliament was built on the northern fringes of the park.[5]

Naming

The park was initially called Public Gardens but later renamed Lake Gardens. In 1975, it was renamed Taman Tasik Perdana, or the Perdana Lake Gardens, by Tun Abdul Razak. On 28 June 2011, the gardens were renamed again to Perdana Botanical Gardens by Dato' Sri Najib Razak in the first phase of turning the park into a botanical garden.[6]

Location

The garden is located along Jalan Perdana or Venning Road. It is located near the National Museum of Malaysia. The nearest public transportation hub within walking distance is Muzium Negara MRT station. Another option is to take the RapidKL bus B112 from Pasar Seni LRT station. This will drop you at the National Museum which is at the edge of the park. It has a tunnel next to National Museum that you can access directly to the park. The gate will be open from 7am to 8pm daily.

Places of interest

Among the tourist attractions located here are the National Monument, deer park, Hibiscus garden, Orchid Garden, Kuala Lumpur Bird Park and Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park.[1] The Bird Park was opened in 1991, and features more than 200 species of bird. It is billed as the world's largest covered bird park.[7]

References
  1. "Lake Gardens". Visit to Kuala Lumpur. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  2. JM Gullick (1955). "Kuala Lumpur 1880-1895" (PDF). Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 24 (4): 10–11.
  3. Ryan Bishop; John Phillips; Wei Wei Yeo, eds. (1 May 2003). Postcolonial Urbanism: Southeast Asian Cities and Global Processes. Routledge. p. 136. ISBN 978-0415932493.
  4. Jamil Abu Bakar (2002). A Design Guide of Public Parks in Malaysia. Penerbit Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. p. 60. ISBN 9789835202742.
  5. Joe Bindloss, Celeste Brash (2008). Kuala Lumpur, Melaka & Penang. Lonely Planet Publications. p. 82. ISBN 978-1741044850.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  6. DBKL. "Perdana Botanical Garden Kuala Lumpur | The Garden". klbotanicalgarden.gov.my. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  7. Steve Frankham (2008). Footprint Malaysia & Singapore. Footprint Handbooks. ISBN 9781906098117.

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