G’day. How do you fancy visiting Australia during your lunch break (Vegemite optional)? But leave your passport at home and don’t worry about packing or booking flights. The British Museum’s annual summer garden is this year offering a journey across the whole of Australia – and you can walkabout it in less time than it takes to watch an episode of ‘Neighbours’.
‘Australia Landscape’, set on the West Lawn of the museum’s forecourt, whisks you from the lush vegetation of the country’s eastern coastal habitat, through its arid centre and on to the granite outcrop of its western flanks. This mini replica of Australia’s varied habitats is presented (as it is every year) in partnership with Kew Gardens and includes many plants that have evolved to survive extreme dry spells. The evergreen kangaroo paw, for example, has an underground rhizome which allows the plant to regenerate after drought and fire; the wattle plant needs exposure to fire and smoke to prepare its seeds for germination; the kurrajong tree stores water in its stout stem.
The landscape is also testimony to the ability of the country’s indigenous people to live in harmony with the land by using plants in traditional medicine. The beach she-oak is used to treat digestive problems, for example, while tea tree oil is known for its antibiotic properties. A key figure in this landscape is Sir Joseph Banks, who accompanied Captain Cook on his visits to Botany Bay in 1770. He brought back to Britain many of the specimens that revolutionised European botanical knowledge, including one of the plants on display here: the Banksia integrifolia.
The garden is part of the Australian Season at the museum, which runs until October, and if your lunchtime allows it, don’t miss the ‘Baskets and Belongings’ exhibition inside. It showcases 90 baskets made by Australia’s indigenous people. Although these items were used for practical purposes such as carrying everything from water to babies, each one is exquisitely delicate and elegantly crafted. Some are made from seaweed, others from pandanus fabric, woven cane or vegetable strings; some are dyed and others painted. My favourite is the seaweed basket made in 1851 in Tasmania, where there is a modern revival of this treasured art form. An inspiring and thoughtprovoking glimpse of Down Under – that comes jet-lag free.