The man who planted Canberra: Charles Weston and his three million trees

by Robert Macklin

In 1911, English-born Charles Weston climbs Mount Ainslie to the crest of a landscape that has become the site for the Australian capital. Down on the flats, in the harsh sunlight of an April noon, occasional clumps of sheep feed into the prevailing westerly on the scant leavings of an insatiable swarm of rabbits.

On the denuded, rabbit-infested Limestone plains, Charles Weston embarked on an ambitious re-greening project that would transform the region and the fledgling nation's capital.

London-born Weston rose through the massive British gardening industry in the second half of the 19th century, becoming Foreman of 79 gardeners at the magnificent Drumlanrig Castle on the Scottish borders. With testimonials from the most influential Head Gardener in Britain, he migrated to Australia seeking new challenges free from the British class system and reached Sydney in 1896. In the wake of Federation in 1901, he set his sights on the greatest challenge of all the new national capital. It was here that he gave life to his 'dream city', and the reforestation of its surrounds.

This highly readable story of the tree planter of Canberra includes familiar characters in Home Affairs Minister King O'Malley and Walter and Marion Griffin portrayed in a surprising new light and offers readers new insight into the making of the national capital. This is also a story of three million trees and shrubs from Australia and around the world, planted to create a template garden city, less susceptible to climate change.

This will be a book of interest to the great number of Canberran gardeners, garden-enthusiasts, park-goers and bushwalkers, and their interstate visitors. Lavishly illustrated with both historic and modern images that highlight the impact of Westons planting's on the Federal Capital.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2025

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Man Who Planted Canberra, Charles Weston and His Three Million Trees is a lovely book. I can just imagine tourists browsing in the NLA Bookshop in search of a meaningful souvenir of the national capital, when they chance upon this book, face out on the shelves so that its cover illustration by Trisha Garner can be seen. The man, the dog, the russet autumn leaves and the broad pathway entice the browser to take a closer look, and inside they find maps, gorgeous photos, botanical illustrations, plans and the intriguing story of a man most of us have never heard of: Charles Weston MBE, who made the barren plains of our fledgling capital into a garden city.

Part I covers the unedifying history of the newly federated states and their squabble about where the national capital was to be. Mind you, there’s something to be said for the luxury of such a squabble. A rabble of self-interested states came together to federate into a single nation through conferences, debates and a whole lot of hot air and argy-bargy, a much more civilised way to achieve a union than the violent revolutions and military conflicts that characterised the birth of other nations. Australians achieved it in 1901 through voting. And in the end Sydney and Melbourne put aside their differences (more or less) and a surveyor called Charles Robert Scrivener and his colleague Alf Chesterman set out to investigate the site options in regions claimed by popular historians to be equidistant from Sydney and Melbourne, but in fact had to be in the most populous state i.e. NSW — as long as it wasn’t Sydney.

And if you think Canberra is quite cold enough in Winter, you can be grateful that in 1908 the House of Representatives voted 39 to 33, in favour of Yass-Canberra over Dalgety on the banks of the Snowy River in the Snowy Mountains.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/10/17/t...

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, there is more to Canberra than politics. And the transformation of a relatively barren rabbit-infested plain into Australia’s national capital is surely part of the Canberra story. I have lived in Canberra for over fifty years, long enough to appreciate the work undertaken by Charles Weston between 1911 (when he first climbed to the crest of Mount Ainslie on the Limestone Plains) and 1926 (when he retired). While credit is given to Walter Burley Griffin and the work undertaken by his wife Marion Mahony Griffin for the original design of Canberra, the work undertaken by Charles Weston has not received the same attention. What would Canberra look like without the trees Charles Weston was responsible for planting?

In this book, Mr Macklin provides a biography of both Charles Weston and the establishment of Canberra. The idea for the book came from Mr Macklin’s reading of the late John Grey’s doctorate on the life and work of Charles Weston. Additional research by Mr Macklin focussed on Charles Weston’s personal life, the times in which he lived and his training at Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland. Charles Weston migrated to Australia in 1896.

I kept reading, learning about the challenges and hardships Charles Weston faced. While I am aware of much of the history around the establishment of Canberra, I was unaware of many of the bureaucratic challenges Charles Weston had to face. In addition, because he and his wife Minimia were deeply committed to obtaining a good education for their daughters, Minimia remained in Sydney for some years after Charles Weston moved to Canberra.

Charles Weston retired in 1926, When he died in 1935, his ashes were scattered on the Parliament House gardens. Minimia received the same honour when she died. This is the only time such an honour has been extended.

A fascinating book published not long before the death of Robert Macklin.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Danielle Clode]

"The role of the American architects Marion Mahony Griffin and Walter Burley Griffin in designing our national capital is well known. Less is known about the person largely responsible for Canberra’s urban forest: Charles Weston, a talented London-born gardener who, having succeeded in all of the career options available to commoners, migrated to Australia in 1896, at the age of thirty, in pursuit of broader horizons. In his final book, the late Robert Macklin – journalist, biographer, and war historian – seeks to restore the humble and unassuming Weston to his rightful place in the pantheon of vibrant characters who populate the history of our national capital...
Macklin’s account of Charles Weston’s life builds on the unpublished biographical research of John Gray and places it within the broader social and political circumstances of Canberra’s early years. Against such a vibrant and crowded backdrop, we sometimes lose sight of the modest and unassuming Weston. Macklin’s narrative weaves a compelling account of a generous man whose great legacy was an Australian national capital planted with ‘three million trees’, making it a true ‘garden city’. Combined with the characteristically vibrant book design of NLA Publishing and excellent use of archival images, this is a charming publication for all those interested in Canberra and the history of urban garden planning."
see my full review in Australian Book Review. https://www.australianbookreview.com....

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in urban planning or social history in Canberra/Australia in the first half of the 1900s. The book had wonderful graphics: maps, photos and newspaper cuttings that bring the stories alive. I was amazed by the huge time and patience of people who were involved in the development of Canberra - they had vision and the ability to implement their vision in a manner that is in stark contrast to today. The author also highlighted the huge contributions and intellectual power of the women in Charles Weston’s family - this really drew me in to understand what life must have been like at the time.