Ballarat Public Art Walk (Lake Wendouree)
With more than 120 artworks to its name, Ballarat is home to one of Australia's largest and most significant regional public art collections. This is one of four public art walks highlighting the City of Ballarat's Public Art Collection. This public art walk centres around the beautiful Lake Wendouree.
Location of Artwork
1. Murrup Laarr Deanne Gilson (2019)
Murrup Loorr translates as 'Ancestral Stones' in Wadawurrung. This artwork by Deanne Gilson is located in the North Gardens Indigenous Sculpture Park. The park is a significant project for the City of Ballarat and will feature works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, celebrating the richness and diversity of culture and telling important cultural stories.
Dr Deanne Gilson is a Wadaworrung Traditional Custodian and established artist. She installed the first artwork commissioned by the City of Ballarat for the Sculpture Park in early 2019. Murrup Laarr is a contemporary artwork consisting of a traditionally-built stone hut in the middle of a circle of basalt standing stones, marked with ceramic plates reflecting the stories and symbols of dreaming, memory, ceremony.
Location: North Gardens Reserve, Wendouree Pde, Lake Wendouree
2. Adam Lindsay Cottage
Located in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens near Lake Wendouree, The Adam Lindsay Gordon Craft Cottage features selected local craft work by members of the Crofts Council of Ballarat.
Adam Lindsay Gordon was a British-Australian poet, horseman, police officer and politician. He was the first Australian poet to gain considerable recognition overseas and he lived in this cottage between 1867-1868 when it was located behind Craigs Hotel on Lydiard Street. His only daughter died while he was in Ballarat and only his poetry, with its rolling rhythm, survives him. This famous poet is also acknowledged through on equestrian statue in Sturt Street Gardens, Ballarat.
The cottage was moved to the Botanical Gardens in the '30's and since the early '90's has been the home of the Crafts Council of Ballarat. Craft work includes jewellery, painting, photography, woodwork, cards, textiles (knitting, sewing, crochet and felting) including scarves, hats, gloves, bags and embroidery. Inside the Cottage you will discover on extensive variety of local craft work of the highest quality.
Location: 9 Wendouree Pde, Lake Wendouree
3. Ballarat Botanical Gardens by Various Artists (1857)
One of Australia's most significant cool climate gardens, the Ballarat Botanical Gardens feature a remarkable collection of mature trees and a large number of public artworks.
The Ballarat Botanical Gardens are home to the Prime Minister's Avenue, a collection of bronze portraits that is one of only three collections featuring representations of all of Australia's Prime Ministers. The busts of Barton, Deakin, Watson, Reid, Fisher, Cook, Hughes, Bruce, Scullin, Lyons, Page, Menzies, Fadden and Curtin were created by Wallace Anderson. The bust of Chifley was created during Chifley's election campaign in 1946 by Ken Palmer. The busts of Holt, McEwen, Gorton, McMahon and Whitlam were created by Victor Greenhalgh. The busts of Fraser, Hawke, Keating, Howard, Rudd and Gillard were created by Peter Nicholson. The busts of Abbott and Turnbull were created by Linde Klarfeld.
The Stoddart collection consists of 12 white Italian marble figures donated by Thomas Stoddart in 1884. The statues are all figures from classical mythology: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Hercules, Pomona, Bacchante, Hobe, Flora Farnese, Leda, Mercury and Flora.
Location: Enter via Wendouree Pde or Gillies Street, Lake Wendouree
4. Australian Ex Prisoners War Memorial by Peter Blizzard (2004)
This memorial to Australian Prisoners of War is dedicated to more than 36.000 Australian men and women were held captive as prisoners by the enemy during the Boer War, World War 1, World War 2 and the Korean War. This memorial honours them.
Water springs from beneath the 'Lest We Forget' stone and flows down the wall into the narrow watercourse in front of the first group of names and into the reflective pool, then continues past the second group of names. Finally it disappears under the pathway, returning to its source under the 'Lest We forget' stone to start the journey again.
Water symbolizes the essential nature of man, sacrifice, suffering, spirituality, healing, cleansing, birth and re-birth. In this memorial it forms a continuous cycle, binding all Australian Prisoners of War together for all time.
The memorial is created from natural materials and is designed to be in harmony with the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, and to create a sense of timeless, dignity and respect.
Location: South Gardens Reserve, Wendouree Pde, Lake Wendouree
5. Olympic Precinct
The Olympic Games took place in the southern hemisphere for the first time in 1956 (Games of the XVI Olympiad). They were hosted in Melbourne, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956.
The rowing and canoeing events took place at Ballarat's Lake Wendouree.
The Olympic Precinct was developed to commemorate Ballarat's involvement in the Olympics and to honour the achievements of Ballarat Olympians. The Precinct, on the Lake Wendouree foreshore, includes a focal memorial of a boomerang topped with the 5 Olympic rings, a cauldron fountain, bronze hand and foot imprints of Ballarat's Olympians, and a time capsule. The memorial was constructed by local builders H. Troon.
Location: 9 Wendouree Pde near Hamilton Ave, Lake Wendouree
6. Ballarat Paralympic Sports Avenue (2004)
Five Ballarat athletes who represented their country at the Paralympic Games were honoured as part of a ceremony to officially open the Ballarat Paralympic Sports Avenue.
Robert (Sandy) Blythe, Brad Dubberley, Gregory Smith OAM, Peter Tait and Jodi Willis-Roberts OAM become the first athletes to have plaques in their honour added to the new avenue at Lake Wendouree.
The Ballarat Paralympic Sports Avenue is believed to be the first memorial to honour Paralympians in regional Australia. The avenue design embodies the principles of the Paralympic movement and its motto of "spirit in motion'.
Location: Wendouree Pde near Hamilton Ave, Lake Wendouree
7. Rustic Fountain (1879)
The Rustic Fountain was built to commemorate the first water supply to Ballarat. This organic, volcanic stone structure is similar to ones which were erected in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne.
Ballarat outgrew Lake Wendouree's ability to supply the township with water in 1910, and the fountain was then turned off. The fountain was restored in 2015.
Location: Wendouree Pde near Webster & Ripon Streets, Lake Wendouree
8. Ned Williams Monument by Mr W Morris of Creswick Rd
The Edward King (Ned) Williams monument was originally a drinking fountain that stands in memory of the avid rowing enthusiast and community member. It was erected by his friends in 1901. A Carrara marble structure on a basalt base, the memorial is constructed of eight tiers of marble. The central element is bordered by four pillars of decorative capitals.
Ned Williams was born in Bristol, England, in 1825 and died in Ballarat in 1900. The memorial was established to honour Ned's reputation as a veteran oarsman, and his dedication to supporting younger generations. Ned was directly involved in developing the wetlands to convert it to a lake suitable for rowing.
Restoration work to create a new urn top piece for the memorial was completed in 2020.
Location: View Point, Wendouree Pde, Lake Wendouree
Location
9 Wendouree Parade, VIC 3350 Lake Wendouree 3350 Map
Web Links
→ Lake Wendouree Ballarat Public Art Walk Brochure (PDF)
