THE Botanic Garden Mossman master plan was launched last week with a digital ‘fly through’ video turning heads at a special presentation in Mossman.

The interactive video, created by landscape architecture company LA3, stole the show and gives people a tangible look at the magnitude of what the project will offer the region.

Douglas Shire Mayor Julia Leu and Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch officially opened the Garden at the proposed site by unveiling a plaque and a symbolic planting of the first tree.

Gardens Chairman John Sullivan said launching the master plan was the culmination of hard work from a large group of community members.

“It’s absolutely incredible to have got to this stage,” Sullivan said.

“It represents the end of one phase, which has taken a lot of hard work to get to, but it's just the start of the hard work really.

“We have the tools now to sell the idea to people and that is the most amazing thing. Before we had a block of land, and that’s great, but there was no vision and no understanding of what it could be.

“Now people can see the fly through and it will blow them away.”

The Gardens will represent the stories of traditional landowners, the Yalanji people, as well as early settlers and historical flora and fauna. The backdrop of the Mossman Gorge mountain ranges adds to the mystique of the site, set to be one of the most impressive botanical parks in Australia.

“It’s about designing something that represents who the people of Douglas are as a community,” Sullivan said.

“We want to tell these stories in a passive way that people can get and understand, rather than having set ways of showing it.

“The special thing about gardens is they never end, so even when this is completed there will be other displays to work on, and other ideas to explore.

“It doesn’t have to be all built at once. It’s a stage thing, and it’s about having an organisation that’s a not-for-profit generating money that can be put back into the community.”