Carlton Gardens, Melbourne

The Carlton Gardens is a World Heritage Site in the suburb of Carlton. It is very close to the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The site has the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne Museum and Imax Cinema, tennis courts and an award winning children's playground. The site is a rectangle shape. From the Exhibition building the gardens gently slope down to the southwest and northeast. The World Heritage listing says the Royal Exhibition Buildings and Carlton Gardens are ""of historical, architectural, aesthetic, social and scientific (botanical) significance to the State of Victoria."
The gardens are one of the best examples of a Victorian era public garden. There are large grass areas with a mix of European and Australian trees. These include deciduous trees such as English oaks, White Poplar, Plane trees, Elms, Conifers, Cedars, Turkey Oaks, Araucarias and evergreens such as Moreton Bay Figs, combined with flower beds of flowers and shrubs. Tree lined paths make formal avenues which lead to the fountains and architecture of the Exhibition buildings. There are two small lakes in the southern section of the park. The northern section contains the Museum, tennis courts, machinery and work area, managers's house, and the children's playground designed as a Victorian maze.
The listing in the Victorian Heritage Register says in part: 
Wildlife includes possums, ducks and ducklings in spring, Tawny Frogmouths, Kookaburras, flying foxes, and other urban environment birds and bats. 
The gardens have three important fountains: the Exhibition Fountain, designed for the 1880 Exhibition by sculptor Joseph Hochgurtel; the French Fountain; and the Westgarth Drinking Fountain.
History.
The Exhibition Building is still used for exhibitions, including for the annual Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. It also used for exams by the University of Melbourne in recent years. The Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, opened in 1996 at Southbank, provides more modern facilities and has become Melbourn'e main space for exhibitions and conventions.