Country

Greenhouses to visit in Australia

The Verrière atlas lists 9 greenhouses in Australia, built between 1877 and 2016.

Australia alone spans a century and a half of greenhouse history: Adelaide's Victorian Palm House, shipped from Germany in pieces, then 1930s conservatories in unexpected styles, a modernist pyramid and geodesic dome in Sydney and Brisbane, and finally The Calyx, opened in 2016. In a mostly mild climate, these buildings are less about keeping out the cold than about recreating very specific tropical or arid habitats.

9Greenhouses
1877Oldest — Palm House
2016Newest — The Calyx
8Cities
See them on the globe →

All 9 greenhouses, oldest to newest

Palm House, Adelaide Botanic Garden, Adelaide
1877

Palm House

🇦🇺 Adelaide Botanic Garden, Adelaide
Prefabricated German Victorian greenhouse from Bremen, the only known surviving example of its kind
AustraliaView entry →
Fitzroy Gardens Conservatory, Melbourne, Victoria
1930

Fitzroy Gardens Conservatory

🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria
A greenhouse built during the Great Depression to bring a touch of color to a city in crisis.
AustraliaView entry →
John Hart Conservatory, City Park, Launceston, Tasmania
1932

John Hart Conservatory

🇦🇺 City Park, Launceston, Tasmania
A small Art Deco greenhouse tucked into Launceston's historic park, alongside its famous Japanese macaques
AustraliaView entry →
Pyramid Glasshouse (Tropical Centre), Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney
1970–1971

Pyramid Glasshouse (Tropical Centre)

🇦🇺 Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney
The vanished glass pyramid that preceded The Calyx at Sydney's botanic gardens
AustraliaView entry →
Tropical Display Dome, Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane, Queensland
1977

Tropical Display Dome

🇦🇺 Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha, Brisbane, Queensland
A geodesic dome planted on the heights of Brisbane to grow a jungle in the middle of the city.
AustraliaView entry →
Butterfly House, Melbourne Zoo, Parkville
1985

Butterfly House

🇦🇺 Melbourne Zoo, Parkville
At Melbourne Zoo, a free-flight butterfly house opened on December 11, 1985.
AustraliaView entry →
Bicentennial Conservatory, Adelaide Botanic Garden
1989

Bicentennial Conservatory

🇦🇺 Adelaide Botanic Garden
The largest single-span glasshouse in the entire Southern Hemisphere.
AustraliaView entry →
Robert Clark Conservatory, Ballarat Botanical Gardens, Ballarat, Victoria
1995

Robert Clark Conservatory

🇦🇺 Ballarat Botanical Gardens, Ballarat, Victoria
The third glasshouse on the site, and the first to let visitors walk among the flowerbeds rather than view them from a distance.
AustraliaView entry →
The Calyx, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, New South Wales
2016

The Calyx

🇦🇺 Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, New South Wales
A 21st-century conservatory designed as a camera trained on the garden rather than a mere glass shelter.
AustraliaView entry →