October 19, 2001, Newsletter Issue #52: Goldfield Glory

Tip of the Week

Galleries
The Goldfields Art Galleries
While the goldrush has slipped gently into history, you can still capture the optimistic spirit of its pioneers. The Goldfields region abounds in picturesque botanical gardens and impressive regional art galleries born from the optimism of the pioneers.
The Bendigo Art Gallery is outstanding. Local surgeon Neptune-Scott bequeathed his 19th century French Collection which shows Sisley, Harpignes, Courbet, Rosseau and Hortlear to the gallery. Such acts of generosity were not uncommon in these times. Many wealthy mining magnates were collectors of Australian and European Art and they would often bequeath them to the local galleries. Australian artists represented in this region include George Lambert, Rupert Bunny, Ray Crooke, Clifton Pugh and Fred Williams. The Gallery houses the largest Louis Buvelot collection in Australia.
The contents of the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery are equally impressive. A key feature is the Lindsay Gallery where works of art by Lionel Lindsay and other members of the family are on display. The only surviving item from this artistic family´s house in Creswick, is their sitting room which you can also see in the gallery. Paintings of Eugene Von Guerard portraying Ballarat in the 1850s and those of Waiter Withers, E. Phillips Fox and other early Australian School Painters are also on display.
At the Gallery at Castlemaine, you can see Frederick McCubbin´s "Golden Sunlight," which was donated by Dame Nellie Melba. You can also admire the works of Tom Roberts and E. Phillips Fox who underline the importance of the Heidelberg School in the development of Australian art. And that is not to mention the several Margaret Preston´s you will discover here.
Collectively, these three Victorian art galleries hold some of Australia´s key art pieces and other works which portray early regional scenes are valuable historical references and certainly worth noting.
You will discover many outdoor works of art in both Ballarat and Bendigo which also mark the exuding confidence of the goldrush.
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The Goldfields Botanical Gardens
In Ballarat a Scotsman, Thomas Stoddart, donated 12 Italian marble statues. You can see them scattered through the Botanic Gardens. Also located here, is The Flight from Pompeii as is the Robert Burns statue, one of Ballarat´s landmarks. The stately streetscape of Pall Mall in Bendigo, is introduced by the delightful ornamentation of the Alexandra Fountain, named after Alexandra, the Princess of Wales.
When tiny Malmsbury was surveyed in 1863, nine hectares were set aside for Botanical Gardens. The town received thousands of plants and seedlings propagated for distribution to State gardens by the famous botanist - Baron Ferdinand Von Mueller - the man responsible for establishing Melbourne´s grand Botanic Gardens. They contain the best example of only four known specimens of the strawberry tree in cultivation in Victoria.
Nearby, at Kyneton, are the Kyneton Botanical gardens where you can see a Chilean Wine Palm, so rare it has a National Trust classification. These gardens also have a delightful collection of oak trees.
Other gardens that will delight you in the area include the Phillip Gardens, Maryborough (which features a central lake that was once a dam); St Arnaud with the Queen Mary gardens; Ararat, the Alexandra Gardens; and Eaglehawk, the Canterbury Gardens.
But, the most splendid gardens in the region can be seen at Ballarat and Castlemaine.
You will see a statutory pavilion in Ballarat´s botanical gardens, which was built a century ago to house a collection given to the city.
Imposing trees and perfect lawns covering 40 hectares surround Lake Wendouree. Many of the trees you´ll see are over 120 years old and feature on the National Trust´s Register of Significant Trees. The gardens are famous for their begonias and the town hosts an annual begonia festival. Another attraction of this festival is the splendid floral carpet made from over 100,000 fresh flowers.
At the Castlemaine Gardens, you can see one of the oldest known cultivated trees in Victoria - an English oak, planted by His Royal Highness Prince Alfred in 1867.

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