Ballarat Begonia Festival celebrates 70th anniversary with opening of Fernery

The Ballarat Begonia Festival is celebrating its 70th year from today until Sunday 20th March 2022 with markets, live music, children’s activities and the opening of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens Fernery.

The free garden-based event in the heart of Victoria's Goldfields region embraces the city's creative community and showcases its signature collection of rare begonias with an exciting new program taking place across the town centre and garden precincts.

The city's 150-year-old Botanical Gardens will serve as the event's main location with a spectacular floral display of 700 rare begonias at the Robert Clark Conservatory.

Colourful installations will fill the gardens and Ballarat CBD with the event's illuminated swan and floral clock returning.

Alongside vibrant flower displays, festival-goers can also expect farmers' markets, live music, children’s activities, and roving performers.

The new Ballarat Botanical Gardens Fernery building (pictured above) has opened for the first time to residents and visitors as part of the 70th Ballarat Begonia Festival with the community now able to view the structure up close and appreciate the recreation of the original gothic style fernery that existed in the mid-1880s.

With landscaping works yet to be completed, the building will include minimal temporary plantings with a roped-off path through the centre of the structure. This will provide visitors with an accessible path through the fernery.

The City of Ballarat is now working to complete landscape plans for stage two of the fernery precinct following the delivery of the $1.7 million stage one structure works in 2021.

The landscape plans will include a new gateway from Wendouree Parade into the fernery precinct with a forecourt in front of the fernery entrance, internal landscaping and landscaping at the rear of the structure. The designs will also connect the fernery and the rest of the gardens, with footpaths providing access to the North and South Gardens and the Robert Clark Conservatory.

Stage two plans will be presented to Council for its consideration in the coming months. Stage two plans may also consider the potential for an additional structure to complement the stage one structure.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Daniel Moloney said the community will be able to get an up-close look at the impressive gothic style architecture of the fernery for the first time as part of the signature gardens event.

Mayor Moloney enthused “we’re excited to be able to provide our residents and visitors with a look inside the fernery as part of Ballarat’s largest annual event – the Ballarat Begonia Festival.

“The fernery is one of only two examples in this state of a grand Victorian plant house. This is the latest in a long tradition of grand horticultural buildings at this site.

“Once landscaping is complete, the fernery will be testament to Ballarat’s standing as a unique garden destination – creating another exceptional experience for the tens of thousands of visitors and residents who visit the Ballarat Botanical Gardens each year.”

The Ballarat Fernery is one of the oldest of its kind in Australia. It has been open since the 1880s, making it a rich part of Ballarat’s history.

Works on the fernery project began in July 2019 with the demolition of the former fernery building. Construction on the new fernery building commenced in June 2020 and was completed in March last year.

The new fernery is a steel framed replica of the original timber building. It was manufactured off-site and brought in once the foundation work was complete. It is clad in timber to match the original building.

To view the full Ballarat Begonia Festival program go to ballaratbegoniafestival.com/

Images from top: Ballarat Begonia Festival. Courtesy Visit Victoria; Image above new Ballarat Botanical Gardens Fernery. Courtesy: City of Ballarat