Harry Oakman

Who was Harry Oakman?

Henry Octave Cyril Vereecke, better known as Harry Oakman, was an Australian horticulturalist and writer. An immigrant from Belgium, Oakman wrote numerous illustrated books on gardening and, as a public landscaper, enjoyed enormous influence over the design of open spaces in Brisbane, Canberra, and Newcastle.

Oakman was born in Lommel, in the province of Limburg, Belgium. His mother died when he was two years old, and his father took him to England during World War I, then to Australia in 1920. After moving to Australia, young Henry changed his name to Harry Oakman. Oakman first worked on farms in rural New South Wales, then at the age of 17 moved to Pennant Hills, in North Sydney, where he worked in flower nurseries. After a few years he began to look after local parks for the Ku-ring-gai Council. On 1938-12-31, Oakman married May Addison Clark, and they lived together happily until her death on 1990-04-11.

From 1940 until 1945 Oakman worked on parks in Newcastle, before being appointed Superintendent of Parks in Brisbane. Over a period of 17 years, Oakman transformed the parklands of Brisbane, built 120 playing fields, and assisted in designing and producing two botanic gardens. He left Brisbane to work for the National Capital Development Commission in Canberra, where he was largely responsible for the landscape of Woden Valley, Belconnen and the area around Lake Burley Griffin. He also assisted in the development of Commonwealth Park.