Mayor’s Message - Friday 22 March 2024

The Ballarat Botanical Gardens is such an important open space in Ballarat, and community members and visitors flock to the area for picnics, walks and simply to just be in a beautiful location.  

We saw this for ourselves over the Labour Day long weekend with the fabulous Ballarat Begonia Festival, which had more than 40,000 people attend to the gardens over the three days.  

We are now developing a new master plan for the gardens and the North and South reserves to guide how we continue to shape the precinct into the future.  

This will replace the master plan created in 1995.  

This is the chance for the community to take a big picture look at the gardens, what’s working, not working and what do we want the area to look like in 20 years.  

The Ballarat Botanical Gardens is renowned as one of Australia’s most attractive cool climate gardens.  

Today, the 40 hectares of leafy gardens and avenues located opposite Lake Wendouree feature a fine collection of exotic conifers, deciduous and native trees and historic bedding displays.  

The gardens are a popular and an invaluable heritage and recreational location for residents and visitors, featuring a remarkable plant house and a world-renowned collection of tuberous Begonias.

There will be an in-person information session on Sunday, 7 April at the Botanical Gardens Conservatory from 10am – 2pm.  

The survey closes at 5pm on Sunday, 21 April and can be completed at mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au. Hard copies of the survey are also available at City of Ballarat sites, including the Ballarat Botanical Gardens’ Robert Clark Conservatory, Customer Service and Ballarat Libraries.

- Mayor Cr Des Hudson