The Castlemaine Botanical Gardens Playground on Downes Road is a fantastic, beautiful play space for children.
The impressive playground at the
Castlemaine Botanical Gardens won the Kidsafe National Playspace Design Award in 2012, and it's easy to see why.
Multiple play structures are set in the midst of the beautiful gardens. A gold mining theme in the form of a miner's hut cubby house and a wooden log train which travels toward an arched bridge.
A sandy area to the side of the playground has been provided as a 'treehouse area', where natural building materials such as a logs and branches can be used to create structures, artistic designs, and more.
Enormous oak trees provide shade over part of the playground in the monkey bars/flying fox area.
The playground has been designed beautifully. Aesthetically pleasing elements incorporated into the play space, combined with the natural beauty of the surrounding park, create a gorgeous, scenic place to visit, play and relax.
Alongside the playground is a large undercover picnic area which features two free electric barbecues, multiple picnic tables, powerpoints, and rubbish bins.
A toilet block with disabled access is located close to the playground and picnic area.
Drinking taps are located throughout the park, with one alongside the playground beneath the shade of the oak trees.
Castlemaine Botanical Gardens
Text displayed on a sign at the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens:
These gardens are among the earliest of Victoria's provincial botanic gardens.
In 1866, the Castlemaine Borough Council appointed Philip Doran as the first curator of the gardens. Doran was still curator of the gardens when he died in 1913, at the age of 83.
The present Castlemaine Botanical Gardens essentially retain his original design, character and major plantings.
The range of plants here reflects the global curiosity of botanists throughout the 19th century.
Many trees and shrubs came from the collections of Baron Ferdinand von Mueller at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, and from the Sydney and Geelong Botanic Gardens.
Some of the trees planted during that period are indicated on the map. Many are now on the National Trust's Register of Significant Trees. The gardens are registered on the National Estate and the Victorian Heritage Register.
Castlemaine
EducationalToiletsPicnic tablesBBQShadeWalking trackBirdwatchingCyclingClimbing spot for kidsPicnic blanket spotUndercover area
BBQ
