Botanic Gardens

Victoria


On the western side of the lake, Ballarat's beautiful and serene gardens were first planted in 1858. The 40 hectares include immaculately maintained rose gardens, wide lawns and a colourful conservatory. Visit the cottage of poet Adam Lindsay Gordon or walk along the Prime Ministers' Ave, a collection of bronze busts of all of Australia's prime ministers up until Tony Abbott.

As each bust costs $50,000, Australia's recent high turnover of PMs has cast doubt on any addition to the line-up.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Victoria attractions

1. Ballarat Tramway Museum

0.21 MILES

Here you can take a ride on a vintage tram from the museum's depot along a 1.3km section of tramline around Lake Wendouree. Horse-drawn trams started…

2. Lake Wendouree

0.65 MILES

Lake Wendouree, a large artificial lake used for rowing events at the 1956 Olympics, is a natural focal point for the town. A popular running and cycling…

4. Art Gallery of Ballarat

2.17 MILES

Established in 1884 and moved to its current location in 1890, the Art Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest provincial gallery in Australia. The…

5. Ballaarat Mechanics Institute

2.24 MILES

Read all about it here at Ballarat's Mechanics Institute (c 1859), where you can browse every single edition of the Ballarat Courier newspaper since the…

6. Lost Ones Gallery

2.25 MILES

Putting Ballarat's ornate architecture to good use, this contemporary gallery is set up inside an 1870s Masonic temple with a colonnaded facade. It's a…

7. Pioneer Miners' Monument

2.28 MILES

This city monument commemorates the discovery of gold at Poverty Point in 1851, which marked the beginning of the gold rush in Ballarat.

8. Gold Museum

3.03 MILES

Sitting on an old mine across the road from Sovereign Hill, the family-friendly Gold Museum features multimedia exhibits, nuggets found in the area and…