Goronga a Hill Station Garden

A Garden History.Goronga is a farming property at PakenhamUpper, in the foothills of the DandenongRanges 55 kilometres from Melbourne.Pakenham lies within the territory of the Kulinnation, its traditional owners being the BoonWurrung people. In their language, Gorongatranslates as 'the big camping ground'.1 Theproperty of 24 hectares (60 acres) was establishedas a farm by selectors in the 1870s and in 1889 waspurchased by Melbourne residents William andMatilda Raleigh, who created a...
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A Garden History.Goronga is a farming property at PakenhamUpper, in the foothills of the DandenongRanges 55 kilometres from Melbourne.Pakenham lies within the territory of the Kulinnation, its traditional owners being the BoonWurrung people. In their language, Gorongatranslates as 'the big camping ground'.1 Theproperty of 24 hectares (60 acres) was establishedas a farm by selectors in the 1870s and in 1889 waspurchased by Melbourne residents William andMatilda Raleigh, who created a hill station gardenaround the new house they built adjoining theearlier farmhouse.The most striking features of the garden are the hugetrees, mostly Quercus canariensis (Algerian Oaks),in the two avenues leading uphill from the road to thehouse. The avenues are approximately 200 metreslong, the branches of the trees overarching the drivesfor their full length. The lower temperatures causedby the altitude of Goronga at Pakenham Upper,250 metres above sea-level, compared with thatof Pakenham of 100 metres, the rich volcanic soiland relatively high rainfall of the Dandenongs havecontributed to the enormous size of these trees andothers on the property, the first of which were plantedin 1889 soon after William and Matilda Raleighpurchased Goronga. Situated on a hilltop terrace, thehouse and garden overlook the native forest and openpastures that surround it, with distant views extendingto Western Port Bay.