David Young 'The Moghul gardens of Kashmir'

Three hundred and fifty years after the Moghul rulers headed to the Kashmiri hills each summer to escape the oppressive heat of Delhi and constructed magnificent pleasure gardens, visitors today can get some idea of what it must have been like.

David attended Burnley Horticultural College in Melbourne, after which his first job was at Kings Park in Perth. From there he headed to Canberra and took up a position with the Forest Research Institute in their Seed Centre.  Travel all over Australia followed.  In 1974 he moved to the Canberra Botanic Gardens.  He lived in one of the cottages at the top of the gardens while working during the day in the Seed Store and evaluating plants for registration by the Australian Cultivar Registration Authority. In 1979, David headed to Nepal with the Nepal-Australia Forestry Project.  In his two years in Nepal he was involved in community forestry work and the construction of the National Seed Store. On his return to Canberra he was appointed ‘Garden Adviser’ with the then City Parks organisation.  He managed a telephone answering service, gave countless talks to interested groups and became involved in radio and television. David was a founding member of the Friends of the ANBG, served on Friends' Council and was Friends' Patron for many years.