Ballarat Botanical Gardens
| Ballarat Botanical Gardens | |
|---|---|
 | |
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| Type | Botanical |
| Location | Ballarat, Victoria |
| Coordinates | 37°32′48″S 143°49′20″E / 37.54667°S 143.82222°E |
| Opened | 1857 |
| Owned by | City of Ballarat |
The Ballarat Botanical Gardens Reserve, located on the western shore of picturesque Lake Wendouree, in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, covers an area of 40 hectares which is divided into 3 distinct zones. The central Botanical Gardens reserve in the 'gardenesque' style of the Victorian pleasure garden. On either side there are open parkland buffers known as the North and South Gardens. The Gardens celebrated its sesquicentenary (150 years old) in 2007.[1]
Features
The gardens feature a large modern conservatory, returned Ex-POW war memorial, and the heritage statuary pavilion. The Stoddart Statue collection of twelve white marble figures were returned to their original 1884 pedestals in March 2010.
A collection of bronze busts of all Australian Prime Ministers named Prime Ministers Avenue is set within the magnificent Horse Chestnut Avenue. One of the founding fathers of Federation was Alfred Deakin who was the first Federal Member for Ballarat and the second Prime Minister.