Johnson Park is a small municipal park of almost in area in the suburb of Northcote in the State of Victoria, Australia. The Park is situated approximately from the central business district of Melbourne and is a significant public recreational space for local Northcote residents and the surrounding community.
Location
Johnson Park exists as part of the original Jika Jika parish land sold at a Government land sale in Melbourne on 3 October 1859. The main frontage and entrance to the Park is sited on the south side of Bastings Street, Northcote approximately 60 metres west from the intersection of that street with Victoria Road.
Design
The City of Darebin holds few early plans of Johnson Park. Except for one notable exception, the plans held by Council relate to recent developments at the Park only. As with many early small suburban parks in Melbourne, little information is known about the designer of Johnson Park. Council holds a small plan of the central garden bed dated 5 May 1921. This plan is the earliest and only known record for Johnson Park as well as the nearby Batman and Penders Parks which were developed during the same period. Early documents suggest that William Howitt may have been the designer of Johnson Park but the matter cannot be proved definitively.
Features
Johnson Park offers a range of features including open areas, garden beds, mature exotic and native Australian trees and shrubs, a pergola, a playground and playground equipment, paths, seating, lighting, BBQ and rest facilities. The Park has many mature trees including elm, plane and oak trees as well as many silky oak and eucalyptus trees. The Park also features a formal stand of Canary Island Palms on its northern boundary.
Pre European settlement
The land where Johnson Park stands today belonged to the Wurundjeri-willampatriliny people. These native people formed part of the same language group as those who lived between the Maribyrnong and Werribee Rivers, extending northwards to Mount Macedon and eastwards to Wilson's Promontory.
The land on which Johnson Park is situated is of recent basalt structure typical of the flatter or gently undulating land in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The soils are generally uniform shallow dark grey textured expansive clays over basalt with some rocky outcrops. Grasses, in particular Kangaroo grass, would have dominated this landscape. River Red Gums, Drooping Sheoaks and small clumps of shrubs would also have been scattered through the landscape. The land appeared to the English settlers as good land for grazing. The parcel of land on which Johnson Park is now situated was described as a rocky five acres.
Pressure for more public parks 1906–1913
The local press reported on the pressure for more public parkland in Northcote towards the end of 1906. The South Ward Ratepayers' passed a resolution and forwarded a letter to the then Northcote Council seeking more playgrounds for the children of the town of Northcote. As the pressure for parks increased, the Mayor of Northcote called a public meeting on 7 December 1906 in the Town Hall. There were between 70 and 100 people at the meeting indicating the importance of this issue to the public. Prevalent at this time was the concern for public space. Open space was seen as the "lungs of the city", particularly in working class suburbs.
The community pressure led to the purchase of land for parks and gardens in Northcote. By 1933, the Town Clerk reported that over 18,000 pounds had been spent acquiring areas for parks including Johnson Park and other parks in the municipality including Batman Park, Pender's Park and Merri Park.
Development of the Park 1913–1930
In 1913, five acres of land was bought by Northcote Council on the flat low lying basalt soils between Rucker Hill and the Darebin Creek. Originally known as the East Ward Park, the area was slowly transformed into what was to become Johnson Park.
In April 1927, in a review of the parks in Northcote, the Town Clerk W.G Swift wrote –
"Parks are the lungs of a city; indeed they are more than this, as they provide for the recreation, rest and education of the citizens. But to meet all these requirements they must be well designed and well maintained, so as to charm all visitors, and create a desire to return to admire the beauties of the surroundings. We have Northcote, Merri, Batman, Johnson, Pender's and McDonnell Parks, and also the recently acquired area in the north-west portion of the city."