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Artarmon Village Green (Artarmon Station)

Area: 1,386m²

The Village Green refers to the narrow park alongside Artarmon Station. It was originally part of the land put aside for the building of the North Shore Railway, and is now leased by Council from Railcorp. It was dedicated by Council on 21 September 1968, and a plaque with the following inscription was set into a large rock in the park to mark the event:

The Artarmon Village Green
A tribute to pioneer residents
Set aside by
The Council of the Municipality of Willoughby
And officially opened by
His Worship the Mayor, Ald RH Dougherty
On Saturday 21st September 1968

There is a memorial in the gardens to Charles Henry Wickham (1869-1936) who lived in Burra Rd Artarmon, was a skilled gardener and was described as the ‘guiding genius’ of the gardens at the Village Green when they were first established. The rockery was made by Wickham, and he and other Artarmon citizens worked in the gardens as volunteers during the Depression with the assistance of railway staff. Wickham Park in White Street, Artarmon is named in his honour. At this stage in its history, the station garden consisted of purple lantana covering the railway fence, an English lawn, bulbs, roses (including climbing roses on trellises), a creeper-covered pergola, beds of perennials and trees. Between 1928 and 1934 Wickham collected 1350 pounds in donations for the work of beautifying the grounds.

The lantern in the lawn was erected in 1971 as a tribute to Theo Francis (1907-1970). A plaque on the lamp post reads:

This historic railway lantern
was erected by the Artarmon Community
as a tribute to the late
Theodore Wesley Francis,
businessman and resident of Artarmon,
for his untiring interest and work
in the development and improvement
of the suburb.
May 1971.