Banksia aemula (Harbour Georges River Group)
In October 2025, the HGR group undertook a walking tour of the Randwick Environment Park, described under the Randwick Council website – Randwick Environment Park comprises 13 hectares of parkland, bushland and wetland. The bushland and wetland provides valuable habitat for native birds, lizards, frogs and mammals. More than 90 species of indigenous plants have been identified in the park. The Park contains 3.6 hectares of Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub, a critically endangered ecological community, and is also home to the endangered Sunshine Wattle. The park, originally part of the Randwick Army Barracks, opened in 2010, and is cared for using our Randwick Environment Park Plan of Management.
One of the plant highlights of the walk was the Banksia aemula. Reported to be a relatively easy plant to grow in the right spot and on the right soil – sandy and free draining. It does not grow as big as other banksia and is considered more versatile but is harder to source.The full notes to their walk are p4 October 25 HGR Newsletter