In December 1947, Fletcher Jones purchased 5 acres from the city council on the eastern outskirts of Warrnambool. The site was a rubbish dump in a former quarry. This is where the Pleasant Hill Fletcher Jones Factory opened the following year. Work started on creating a garden in the next year for the employees to enjoy.
Enjoyed initially by employees and locals, by the 1950s and 60s the gardens had become a mecca for thousands of tourists each year.
Fletcher said "The acres surrounding our Pleasant Hill factory are a source of much pleasing comment, and thousands of traveller photographs. The effect which such an environment has on quality production is inestimable, and expressed in terms of our daily production, cost is infinitesimal."
The gardens are considered a rare and outstanding example of a mid-twentieth century garden created in an industrial setting. Sculptures, waterfalls, a sunken garden and pond, pergolas, urns, flower baskets and other landscape features were complemented by manicured lawns and hedges clipped into squares and balls. The planting was intricate and colourful and maintained to the highest horticultural standards where neatness and control ruled.
Today the gardens are again a significant tourist attraction and restful location for community activities.
