‘Seawinds Gardens’ covers an enormous 84 acres of the summit region of Arthurs Seat. Originally privately owned, the gardens still exhibit the exotic plants, trees, rock retaining walls, terracing, tree lined avenues, and infrastructure set in place by Sir Thomas and Lady Travers c 1950’s, and, the very first owner, Mr Chapman, who was a gardener employed at the ‘Heronswood’ homestead situate just above the beach where Matthew Flinders first landed on the 27th April 1902. Mr Chapman’s home was a little shack located at the Northern Lookout from which he walked to and from work every day. Some of the oldest trees in the park were planted by Mr Chapman, over 100 years ago . . .

Hmmm, just imagine waking up to that view every morning !!!

Prior to European occupation, this area was a main campsite and lookout of the local Aborigines, who knew it as ‘Mirram Mirram’.

Strolling around the pathways that meander around the gardens expect stunning views, lookouts, expansive lawn areas, mature trees, and in the Ricketts Pond precinct, even during the depths of Summer, the lawns that surround the pond are green, as an air of peacefulness descends. It is a little unnerving to think that the southern lookout of the gardens, the Bay Lookout, is poised on the edge of ‘Selwyn’s Fault’ – a fault of the Earth’s crust that approximately 1 million years ago sank into the sea. Since then, wind and tides built a large sand bar across this area, which now separates Port Phillip Bay from Bass Strait, however, it was only some 10,000 years ago that the Yarra River Plain was inundated by the sea to create the bay that we know today.

‘Seawinds Gardens’ are a show of colour in the Autumn, as the leaves of the exotics transform to all manner of reds, yellows, browns – whereas winter can display the mystical mood of mist and fog.

In the endeavour of conserving this beautiful environment, bicycles, motorbikes, fires, removal of any vegetation, camping, and pets are not permitted in ‘Seawinds Gardens’.