Repair works for Ballarat’s own Statue of Spring

Specialised repair and maintenance works have commenced on the Ballarat Botanical Garden’s Statue of Spring. 

The statue is carved from Carrara marble, with a pedestal of Sicilian marble and a base of local Victorian granite. 

It is one of twelve marble statues gifted to the gardens by local stockbroker Thomas Stoddart who purchased them whilst travelling in Italy. 

The collection was unveiled in the gardens on 24 May 1884 and is now known as the Stoddart Collection. 

Unfortunately, the Statue of Spring was damaged during recent storms to the area. Specialist art conservationists are undertaking the repairs and maintenance work and have commenced this week. 

Spring is represented as a woman wearing a toga dress, a floral wreath and carrying a posy of flowers. The statue was sculpted by Italian artist, Bertozzi. 

As this is not the first time the iconic statue has had repair works undertaken, the repairs require previous work to be stabilised, such as the steel pins to reconnect parts of the statue together.

Specialised marble fillers, rectification of intricate flowers and general maintenance are occurring on the statue within the gardens this week. 

Other clean up works in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens post storm damage are also occurring. 

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Daniel Moloney said the statues are so important to both the local community and visitors.

“With such a large collection of artwork in our gardens, it does make us quite unique,” he said. 

“The conservators enjoy working in the Botanical Gardens on our collections because there is a lot of public interaction and pride in the collection. 

“The collections really showcase a point in time, and shows our place as a Gold Rush City, proof of the wealth of Ballarat at the time of the gardens opening, so they are vital to look after.”

The statue repairs are part of the City of Ballarat’s annual gardens maintenance budget.