Spring has sprung at Anzac Station

The Metro Tunnel’s Anzac Station site is welcoming in spring with a garden-themed display packed with stories, history, and nature’s wonders. 

As construction continues in the station below, the fence surrounding the site has been transformed with a vibrant new large-scale artwork that is almost camouflaged by its garden surroundings. 

The work features iconic parts of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, including the cactus garden, fern gully, the Shine of Remembrance and some uniquely Australian flora and fauna.

Illustrator Annie Davidson said the image drew viewers in using different perspectives, such as the bird’s eye view of the gardens’ picnic and rainforest areas.

“I also wanted to give a sense of the seasons and different times of day through the changes in colour and foliage from left to right, as a well as a sense of movement throughout the scene,” Davidson said. 

For Davidson, the gardens are a place for everyone to gather. She hopes people can gain a sense of peacefulness when they look at her artwork, aptly named Gathering in the Gardens.

Alongside Davidson’s artwork is a collage of photographs and prints simulating a grassy woodland.

Created by photographic artist Dianna Wells, the collage Walking within a grassy woodland includes groups of plant communities such as native grasses, trees and Australian shrubs found prior to settlement and observed on her daily walks.

“My inspiration for this artwork came from reading reports and letters by Ferdinand von Mueller, Botanist and Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria between 1857 and 1873,” Wells said.

“My artwork is a simulated grassy woodland, and the great thing is that the actual plant community was once existing on this site.”

Wells is one of four artists to be offered rare access to the State Botanical Collection of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, as part of a collaboration with the Metro Tunnel Creative Program.

Work on Anzac Station is progressing well with both station entrances now in the final stages of construction. Crews are also realigning, rebuilding, and resurfacing roads, as well as building new public spaces around the station. 

Albert Rd reopened in both directions last month, and drivers are again able to turn right into St Kilda Rd from Park St. •