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The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens (RTBG) has marked its 200th birthday with Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, opening a new viewing platform in the garden's lily pad section to mark the bicentenary.

200 years after the Gardens were established, Prince Edward has today become the first Royal to officially visit them, delivering a speech in which he stated “there is one thing I should just warn you, is that the unveiling of a plaque is not necessarily the most exciting thing that has happened in your lives.”

RTBG Chairwoman Beth Mathison said the Prince enjoyed his visit, telling the ABC “he thought that this was quite a magnificent setting. He's very amusing, he's really engaging so he enjoyed his day and spoke to so many people.

"The term royal was added to the gardens, I think it was in 1967, but the Queen herself did not actually come to the gardens, so yes it is our first royal visit."

Mathison said the gardens had come a long way in their 200-year history, adding “they were a farm that was set up by an ex-convict and then a few years later that was taken over by Governor Sorell and then a few years after that in 1818 it became a gardens open to the public.”

John Hangan and his wife established fruit trees, cereal crops and vegetable plots to grow food for the settlement on the River Derwent.

The gardens also has significant Indigenous heritage with archaeological excavations uncovering extensive shell middens and stone artefacts dating back thousands of years.

Today, the RTBG is a 14-hectare major tourist attraction, drawing more than 460,000 visitors a year. It also hosts weddings, concerts and a popular teddy bear picnic.

The RTBG is home to 19th century trees, two convict-built walls and the world's only Sub-Antarctic plant house, with flora from Macquarie Island - a 128 square kilometre² environment between Tasmania and Antarctica.

It also features a heated wall constructed in 1829 to help foster the growing period of fruit trees and protect plants from frost.

A limited edition commemorative book, The Gardens: Celebrating Tasmania’s Botanical Treasure 1818 – 2018, is available to mark the bicentenary.

Click here for more information.

Top image: Prince Edward unveiling a plaque marking the RTBG's new viewing platform.

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