In 2012 Avoca was one of five Victorian towns with populations under 1500 that were selected by Regional Arts Victoria (RAV) to take part in Small Town Transformations. The projects focused on artistic legacy, creating artworks and arts spaces that would have a lasting impact on place.
It was felt the town’s Chinese heritage had been forgotten. A garden was seen as a way to celebrate Avoca’s Chinese heritage. The Avoca Chinese Garden was created over 18 months and officially opened on 11 October 2014.
Lyndal Jones, Artistic Director for The Avoca Project (2008-2019), was the artistic director for the Chinese Garden. The Avoca Project was the lead partner. Lindy Lee became the lead artist She was assisted by Mel Ogden landscape artist, Martin Wynn plantsman, and a committee of local residents.
Lyndal Jones explained the garden was inspired by the final symbol in the I Ching, the ancient Chinese divination book. “[The symbol] is called ‘Before Completion’ because it’s all about cycles,” … “So you think you’ve finished but in fact you’re just starting.”
The I Ching (Book of Changes), is an ancient Chinese divination text which provided guidance for decision-making. Bundles of yarrow stalks (stalks of the herbaceous perennial Achillea millefolium) are thrown to produce sets of six random numbers ranging from 6 to 9. Each of the 64 possible sets corresponds to a hexagram, the meaning of which can be looked up in the I Ching. The hexagram (卦 guà) is a figure composed of six stacked broken or unbroken horizontal lines (爻 yáo).
The final symbol (hexagram) in the I Ching is hexagram 64, 未濟 (wèi jì), which can be translated as “before completion” or “not yet finished”. Its inner (lower) trigram is ☵ (坎 kǎn) gorge = (水) water, and its outer (upper) trigram is ☲ (離 lí) radiance = (火) fire.
A pavilion by a Chinese-Australian artist, Lindy Lee, combines traditional design with elements of the Australian shed, including burnt wooden columns and a lick of silver flames running across the roof. Lee also made a scholar rock, often collected and displayed in Chinese gardens.
Chinese plants have been mixed with Australian flora. The pond is filled by storm water from the main street, which is caught and cleaned in a large underground tank. Stones have been donated by farmers in the area, and slate from a nearby quarry.
The site of the 1/4 acre garden is on a former saleyard near the town’s original Chinese burial site. A 30 year lease over the land commenced in September 2013
More than ten years after its opening the garden has achieved its purpose of a sustainable town garden as a place for relaxation, contemplation and reflection.
Walking through the garden of Fire and Water: Notes by Mel Ogden
This is a garden planted with a number of symbolic Chinese plants within an Australian landscape, enfolding them from inside the garden and in the ‘borrowed’ garden beyond.
Many of these plants have already migrated and are happily settled in Australian gardens.
This story of successful plant ‘migration’ is a continuous one. The Pomegranate, for instance, migrated thousands of years ago to China from Iran and is now identified with various regions there. Others like the flowering quince (‘Japonica’)and the ‘Mt Fuji’ cherries we have planted are, now more closely identified with Japan although their origin was China. And the Chinese lotus is now a widely identified symbol across Asia, including India.
Our selection has been made on the basis of soil type (strongly alkaline), climate (heavy winter frosts and long hot dry summers) and avoidance of possums (which led us to avoid any of the many fruit trees including pears, peaches, locquats and apricots) As part of the garden sits on a flood plain, this lower area is planted mainly with River Red Gums and grasses which happily survive inundation. Additionally, the symbolic Chinese plants have been selected to provide colour across the seasons.
Note: Only one plant selected for the garden comes from neither China nor Australia. The Dietes grandiflora, that line the banks of the high path, is native to South Africa. It is used here because it is so drought tolerant. Another South African tree, the peppercorn (now strongly identified as part of the Australian landscape) has been ‘borrowed’ from next door to provide a backdrop to the garden.
Australian plants
- Eucalyptus Camaldulensis (River Red Gum)
- Xanthorrhoea australis (grass tree)
- Xanthorrhoea minor
With many other Australian grasses and ground covers
Some of these have been selected for their ability to ‘clean’ water and are planted in and around the pond. These include:
- Anigozanthos flavidus green (tall green Kangaroo Paw)
- Carex appressa (tall sedge)
- Carex fasicularis (Tassel Sedge)
- Baumea articulate (jointed twig rush)
- Dianella caerulea (blue flax lily)
- Eleocharis sphacelata (Tall Spike Rush)
- Erimophila debilis (winter apple)
- Gahnia sieberiana (red-fruit saw edge)
- Juncus holoshoenus (joint leaf rush)
- Poa labillardierii (common tussock grass)
Winter colour
- Nandina domestica (Sacred Bamboo) berries in late winter
- Chaenomeles double red (Flowering quince)
Spring colour
- Wisteria sinesis (Wisteria) Flowers mid-late Spring origin: China
- Prunus serrulata ‘Mt Fuji’ (flowering cherry) origin: Japan Korea, China
- Paeonia a symbol of spring, it represents nobility and value, female beauty and reproduction. origin: China
Summer colour
- Punica granatum (pomegranate) represents fertility, called ‘100 sons fruit’. origin: Iran (but also identified with China) Suggested by Melbourne Botanic Gardens
- Nelumbo nucifera (Lotus) represents ultimate purity and perfection because it rises ‘untainted and beautiful from the mud’. Medicinal properties origin: China
- (day lily) represents filial devotion to one’s mother and wealth origin: China
Autumn colour
- Ginko Bilboa (maidenhair tree) the nuts represent hope for silver, wealth Medicinal origin: China
- Pomelo abundance, prosperity, represents family unity. Gift from Mr Russell Jack and the Golden Dragon Museum, Bendigo origin; China
- Prunus serrulata ‘Mt Fuji’ (flowering cherry) origin: Japan Korea, China
Bamboo – the pith represents long life, and the shoots, wealth and a new start Origin; China
See also:
- Harkins-Cross, R. (2014, October 2). Artists Lyndal Jones and Lindy Lee help build the garden of fire and water in Avoca. The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/artists-lyndal-jones-and-lindy-lee-help-build-the-garden-of-fire-and-water-in-avoca-20141003-10pd1y.html
- Jones, L. (n.d.). Garden of fire and water. The Avoca Project. https://www.theavocaproject.com/garden-of-fire-and-water
- Ogden, M. (n.d.). Garden of fire and water – Mel Ogden. Mel Ogden – Land Art Australia. https://melogden.com/projects/garden-of-fire-and-water/
- About the Avoca Chinese garden small town transformation. (2013, October 7). Avoca Chinese Garden. https://avocachinesegarden.wordpress.com/about/
- Jones, L., Lee, L., Ogden, M., & Wynne, M. (2024, October 31). Avoca Chinese garden small town transformations. RMIT University. https://doi.org/10.25439/rmt.27349002
