This gorgeous botanic garden in White Hills, Bendigo VIC was established in 1857 and comes complete with a walk-through bird aviary, musical adventure playground, excellent barbecue facilities, an attractive lake and beautiful gardens.
Playground at the Bendigo Botanic Gardens
The children's' play space is fantastic for nature play and features fruit trees, veggie garden, water play, natural creek bed and lots of open grass to play on. There are musical features incorporated into the play space and lots of great equipment on the playground including slides, swings, suspension bridge, hammock, trampoline and more.
Kei Apple Tree
A spectacular Kei Apple tree has been shaped to form an enormous cavern for children to play in and climb, complete with a mail box at the entrance. The Kei Apple gets its common name from its habitat near the Kei River in South Africa and the small edible fruit it produces about the size and shape of a Crabapple. This can be used to make jams and preserves. This particular tree is registered on the National Trust's Register of Significant Trees.
Bird Aviary
The
Bendigo Botanic Gardens Bird Aviary is open from 8am - 4pm weekdays (closed weekends and public holidays). The bird aviary hosts a number of Australian parrots as well as some exotic pheasants. The aviary has a single path which curves through the enclosure, crossing a pretty pond before exiting out the other side. The birds are free to wander and fly around the entire enclosure. You will often find the spectacular pheasants on the walking track itself.
More to explore in the Bendigo Botanic Gardens
Other features of the Bendigo Botanic Gardens include:
- Grape walk
- Picnic pavilion built in early 1900's
- Billabong
- Heritage tree collection
- Cottage garden, which recreates the colourful, fragrant gardens of the 19th century
- Lavender collection
- WW1 Arch of Triumph
History of the Bendigo Botanic Gardens
Now called the Bendigo Botanic Gardens, White Hills, this botanic garden was one of the earliest established in Victoria. It was gazetted in 1857 which was just seven years after gold was first discovered in nearby Golden Square and one year after the original Sandhurst Municipal Council was established. The municipality was prospering from the gold-rush and the botanic gardens were the first of three gardens that were founded, the other two being Rosalind Park and Lake Weeroona.