Amazon Waterlily Pavilion: Keith visits the Adelaide Botanic Gardens in the Adelaide City region of South Australia

The Adelaide Botanic Garden is one of our loveliest places. Being so close to the city it's a convenient place for office workers to find a little lunchtime peace and space.

But, believe it or not in the late 1860s the gardens were packed with people as 30,000 Adelaidians queued up to see one single flower - the Amazon Waterlily. It was big news then and it still is because it's still flowering and it has a new home.

The new purpose-built 4 million-dollar Amazon Waterlily Pavilion is the very latest in world class greenhouse design. Its designers call it a temple to the lily... and it is.

Stephen Forbes, Gardens Director: "This is a glass jewel that's a beacon in the garden. People are immediately attracted to it."

Garden Director, Stephen Forbes can hardly disguise his enthusiasm and it's little wonder... the latest addition to his gardens is built almost entirely of glass - which means minimal metal framing. The glass roof echoes the shape of the giant lily pads below. The climate inside is computer controlled with ventilation, heating, cooling and watering all fully automated.

It's a long way from the old glasshouse it replaced. The original timber framed Victoria House went up in 1868 and, like it's modern day replacement, it was built with one purpose in mind - to he home to the Victoria Amazonica - a giant waterlily from the jungle rivers of deepest darkest Guyana in South America.

It's been fascinating garden visitors since 1868 thanks to the Garden's second Director, Richard Schomburgk.

Garden Director, Stephen Forbes: "Richard Schomburgk and his brother, Sir Robert, did the first botanical, zoological and ethnographic surveys of Guyana, which was then British Guiana. Richard caught yellow fever and he was apparently the first European to survive the black vomit stage of yellow fever. There's a lovely story which is told in this glasshouse about how he was revived with two bottles of champagne and ice!"

Mercifully Schomburgk survived and brought the waterlily back to Adelaide and planted it in a purpose built lily pond.

Garden Director, Stephen Forbes: "So this is original pond - the one Schomburgk first put the lily in 140 years ago in 1868."

The pond has been retained and a brilliant fusion of old and new has successfully created the ideal environment for the lily to put on its annual show. Only flowering once a year - usually between February and March the blooms are short lived. The first evening the flowers are brilliant white and a spectacular 30-cm across. The second evening they re-open before closing the next morning and sinking to set seed.

Continuing the traditional of botanical exploration, Stephen Forbes has re-traced the steps of Richard Schomburgk by leading his own expeditions to the vast rivers of Guyana. None of the hardships experienced by the first intrepid explorers - outboard motors and insect repellent saw to that but the purpose was the same - collect seed of the Amazon waterlily.

Seeds collected on Stephen's 2005 expedition are the ones we see growing in the pond today. Whether flowering or not, the Victoria amazonica continues to fascinate garden visitors just as it's done for the last century and a half... and now with it's new purpose-built 'temple' it'll keep on amazing generations to come.

The Amazon Waterlily Pavilion is smack bang in the middle to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. It's open every day from 10am til 4pm. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

Amazon Waterlily Pavilion
Adelaide Botanic Gardens
Open daily 10am - 4pm

Published 13th April 2008