Sturt Street shared path set to feature four additional palms

As part of the Sturt Street shared path works and a throwback to 1920s Sturt Street, four Mexican Fan Palms will be installed this week at the intersections of Sturt and Camp Streets and Sturt and Albert Streets. 

This week you will see works progress from holes in the ground to four-metre-high palms by the end of the week.  

These works are continuing to deliver on the commitment to improve the Sturt Street Shared Path, which began in February of this year. The project has seen upgrades to Sturt Street to ensure it is more usable and safer for pedestrians and cyclists. More street trees and associated landscaping are included in the project to improve Ballarat’s canopy cover.  

Historically Palms have been planted in Ballarat’s Sturt Street Gardens, in the past there were Flax, Cordylines and varieties of Palms taking centre stage in the gardens near the Titanic Rotunda, at the east end of Sturt Street.  

Today, you can still see a large Canary Island Palm within these gardens which is believed to have been part of the original plantings in the early 1900s.  

The four additional palms being added are Washingtonia robusta (Mexican Fan Palms) these will be planted on either side of the intersections of Sturt and Camp Streets and Sturt and Albert Streets.  

These palms have been chosen for their stability and bottom-heavy root system which will allow for a strong anchor into the ground.  

Installation to place the palms by crane will commence Thursday. This will be overseen by the City of Ballarat tree management team and an external arboricultural contractor.  

This project delivers on the City of Ballarat’s Urban Forest Action Plan and the key targets to establish a comprehensive tree inventory and to increase canopy cover to 40 per cent by 2040.  

The City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said it is exciting to see some new additions to the Sturt Street tree canopy.  

“The fan palms are a great reflection of the historical significance of the central gardens on Sturt Street,” he said.  

“It is a great opportunity to diversify our tree collection across Ballarat, as a healthy urban forest requires a variety of trees.”