F: Ballarat Botanical Gardens Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

The Ballarat Botanical Gardens covers 40 hectares divided into three distinct zones - the central Botanical Gardens which preserves the 'gardenesque' style of the Victorian pleasure garden, and open parkland buffers on either side are known as the North and South Gardens.

The Ballarat Botanical Gardens is one of Australias most significant cool climate gardens, containing a remarkable collection of mature trees and marble statues set among colourful bedding displays. Located on the western shore of Lake Wendouree, approximately 4km from Ballarat CBD, the Gardens is an invaluable heritage and recreational resource.

Prime Ministers Avenue

The Prime Ministers Avenue is a feature of national significance. It is a collection of busts Australian Prime Ministers set in the magnificent Horse Chestnut Avenue of the Gardens. The collection includes a portrait of one of the founding fathers of Federation, Alfred Deakin, who was the first Federal Member for Ballarat and the second Prime Minister.

The Prime Ministers are displayed as bronze portraits mounted on polished granite pedestals. Visit the Ballarat Begonia Festival website for a guide to the Prime Ministers Avenue.

Statues in the Gardens

[Begonia] Wealthy Ballarat citizen, Thomas Stoddart, bought 12 marble statues during a visit to Carrara in Italy and gave them, together with Sicilian marble pedestals, to the citizens of Ballarat. The statues were unveiled by the Governor of Victoria in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens on Empire Day 1884, with thousands of spectators travelling from Melbourne.

In 1888, a second collection of statuary was bought for the Gardens following a bequest from another Ballarat citizen, James Russell Thompson. This consists of five large marble statues which are housed in the Statuary Pavilion, and a large statue of the Scottish hero, William Wallace, which greets visitors at the entrance to the Gardens.

Significant Trees

The Ballarat Botanical Gardens has 52 mature trees listed on the National Trust Significant Trees Register and has many fine specimens of mature conifers, deciduous and native trees.

Habitats

The islands and channels of Lake Wendouree and the North Gardens Wetland provide a range of habitats for native and introduced fish, birds and mammals.

Diversity

The thematic collections of ferns, grasses and indigenous plants complement the display beds of bedding plants, roses, rockery and woodland plants. The Sensory Garden provides interactive experiences. The Conservatory displays floral crops that have been bred by plant collectors and hybridists to a stage that many will not survive in an open environment.