Renovations for Robert Clark Conservatory to commence

11 October 2023 9:28am

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson with Curator Gardens and Nursery, Donna Thomas at the Robert Clark Conservatory.

The jewel in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens’ crown, the Robert Clark Conservatory, is set to receive a facelift.

The conservatory will be temporarily closed to the public from Monday, October 16 through to early December to undergo a number of renovations including resealing 400 square meters of floor space, replacing all blinds and undertaking roof vent maintenance.

The $75,000 project, funded through the City of Ballarat’s Asset Renewal budget, will be the first major renovation on the 28-year-old facility.

Opened in 1995, the Robert Clark Conservatory was built as part of a significant bequest of Bob Clark in honour of his grandfather Robert Clark – co-founder of The Courier newspaper.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said the essential work would ensure the conservatory remained the centrepiece for events such as the Ballarat Begonia Festival and its iconic season floral displays for decades to come.

“This is one of my favourite buildings in Ballarat and while it is still incredibly beautiful, it is starting to show its age in certain areas and needs a little work,” he said.

“This restoration is again another example of delivering a better Ballarat for the hundreds of thousands of people that flock to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens every year.

“I can’t wait to see the Robert Clark Conservatory in December looking even more beautiful and filled to the brim with a Summer display of Hydrangeas, Fuchsias and Pelargoniums.”

The restoration work on the Robert Clark Conservatory comes at a busy time for the Ballarat Botanical Gardens with significant landscaping taking place around the Fernery.

The design and landscape delivery of the fernery project is being funded by the City of Ballarat ($340,000) together with funding of $150,000 from Growing Victoria’s Botanic Gardens Grant Program, the Friends of Ballarat Botanical Gardens ($200,000) and Ballarat Botanical Gardens Foundation ($50,000).

AQL Landscape Design is delivering the landscaping, which will be completed in time for the 2024 Ballarat Begonia Festival.