A permanent installation at Mount Annan Botanic Garden is a maze quiz designed to exercise your brain as well as your legs. The maze was launched in 2002 by Graham West, Member for Campbelltown, with a traditional Aboriginal welcome being given by Mount Annan Botanic Garden's Knowledge Holders, Fran Bodkin and Gavin Andrews.
Named the Federation Flannel Flower Maze, the installation takes on the shape of a stylised flannel flower and features a paved track 245 metres in length which presents a series of 10 questions about Federation at key intersections. If all questions are answered correctly, visitors are directed to the cascading fountain in the middle of the maze.
The maze was designed to be a celebration of the Centenary of Federation and to be a stylised form of the NSW Centenary of Federation floral emblem, the flannel flower (Actinotus helianthi) - which is the focus of much ongoing research, propagation and cultivation at Mount Annan Botanic Garden. Several flannel flower strains, including Star Bright and the long-stemmed Parkes Star, are being cultivated at Mount Annan Botanic Garden as well the Annan Star (Rhodanthe anthemoides).
The maze provides visitors with a unique experience while inspiring an appreciation of plants. It is intended to be fun and entertaining, while at the same time being an educational experience for people of all ages.
Mazes
Links: www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au
By: kjfitz
