Welcome

Hi, I’m Warwick Mayne-Wilson, a registered landscape architect for 20 years, living in Sydney.

I was born and educated in Perth, WA, then moved to Canberra in 1959 when I joined the Department of Foreign Affairs. During my 27 years in the diplomatic service I had six overseas postings, the last as Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka in 1980-82. While overseas I married and had two daughters.

A few years after my return to Canberra I resigned to undertake a degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of New South Wales (1986-89). Later, I undertook a Masters Degree in Heritage Conservation at the University of Sydney, specializing in cultural landscapes and curtilages.

For the last 17 years I’ve been researching and assessing the heritage value of historic landscapes, especially town parks, for heritage studies, conservation management plans or heritage impact assessments. For some of these landscapes my firm, Mayne-Wilson & Associates, also prepares landscape master plans.

Since the early 1990s I have held various positions including Chairman of the National Trust’s Parks and Gardens Conservation Committee and as a Trustee of Centennial Park. I’ve also been a member of the Australian Garden History Society and Australia ICOMOS.

Our Reports have won four awards from the National Trust and Australian Institute of Landscape Architects, the most recent being for a comprehensive study of the origin and development of Tamarama, a beachside suburb of Sydney.

Most recently I’ve done extensive research into the origin and evolution of town parks in New South Wales, and compiled this into a book called Park Mania – A Guide to Selected Town Parks of New South Wales. I chose this title because of the extraordinary number of parks – over 150 - created in this State between 1882 and 1888. I’m considering publishing it as an eBook, and look forward to sharing it with you.