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MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL
91-99 MOLLISON STREET MALMSBURY, MACEDON RANGES SHIRE

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Victorian Heritage Register
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL SOHE 2008
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Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The Malmsbury Botanic Gardens are bounded by the Calder Highway, Ellesmere Place and the Coliban River. The general form of the Gardens takes advantage of natural features including the topography and a billabong of the Coliban River flood plain has been transformed into a group of ornamental lakes, one with with two islands. The northern boundary, adjacent to the Calder Highway, of the Gardens is lined with an avenue of Lombardy poplars, mostly replanted planted in 1985. The Gardens contain a fine collection of mature trees including, cedars, oaks, elms, and redwoods. A Monterey pine grove is planted in the south-east corner. An English Hawthorn hedge and picket fence remnants remain along the southern and part of the eastern boundary, and once enclosed all of the Gardens. North of the pinetum is a tennis court overlooked by a simple gable roofed timber pavilion, formerly located at the northern end of the bowling green. A fish hatchery (c.1959, and no longer used) is located within a timber and corrugated iron shed south east of the lake. A war memorial gate was constructed after World War I. The gardens were extensively restored as a Victorian sesquicentenary project.

The land which was prone to flooding was reserved for public use in1855, and the 1857 Urquhart survey shows the area as a "Reserve for a Botanic Garden". The Gardens were first planted and permanently reserved in 1863. The initial design is attributed to Dr E Davy, a local councillor, under the influence of Dr Ferdinand von Mueller. The Malmsbury Town Hall on the edge of the Gardens is a civic building constructed in 1868 and forms a local landmark on the boundary of the Gardens. In the period 1880-1890, recreational facilities, including a bowling green, tennis court and croquet lawn, were added.

How is it significant?
The Malmsbury Botanic Gardensare of historical, aesthetic and scientific (botanical) significance to the State of Victoria.

Why is it significant?
The Malmsbury Botanic Gardens reserved in 1855 are historically significant as a representative example of a nineteenth century regional botanic garden. The Gardens are one of Victoria's earliest botanic gardens and are associated with the post-gold rush history of Victoria, when towns which had grown as a result of the gold discoveries aspired to become major provincial cities with art galleries, botanic gardens, schools of art and design and other cultural institutions befitting their status. One of the most important vistas from the Gardens is to the 1859 bluestone railway viaduct, part of the government infrastructure based on the wealth from gold.

The Botanic Gardens, Malmsbury are aesthetically significant as a focus for the town of Malmsbury, for the internal and external vistas, particularly to the Railway Viaduct. The Gardens are of outstanding landscape value where natural water features have been landscaped to form lakes and islands. The mature conifers with their striking upright and dark green foliage have a dramatic landscape effect in the Gardens and broader landscape.These contrast with the evergreen and deciduous trees, especially elms, willowsand poplars in autumn.The southern edge of the Gardens are bounded by the remains of an English Hawthorn hedge planted in 1877.

The Malmsbury Botanic Gardens have scientific (botanical) significance for their collection of plants, characteristic of late nineteenth century Victorian gardens, as well as some outstanding individual specimens such as Araucaria bidwillii, stand of3 large Seqoiadendron giganteum , Cedrus atlantica f. glauca, Picea smithiana, Sequoia sempervirens. The planting includes several rare plants; Crataegus coccinoides, Arbutus x andrachnoides (now regrowing from a stump) and planted in 1985, Ulmus americana, and a Eucalyptus muelleriana, planted by Hon. Joan Kirner, Minister for Conservation Forest and Lands, and later the Premier of Victoria. Since 1985 additional Arbutus species have been planted to establish an important collection of this genus, including Arbutus menziesii (pl. 1988), A. xalapensis, and A. canariensis.

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    • History

      MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL - History

      Malmsbury 

      The town of Malmsbury was established as a crossing place on the Coliban River. It was shaped by the Mount Alexander Road (now known as the Calder Highway) as a stopping place on the road to the gold diggings in the 1850s..  It took eight days to walk from Melbourne to the Mount Alexander diggings. Malmsbury’s abundant water and river flats provided a favoured camping area. In 1851 Malmsbury consisted of three tents and a timber hotel, which with a vast canvas addition, provided accommodation for two hundred people. The town grew with the business provided by travellers. Malmsbury was a stopping place for the Cobb and Co coaches which carried passengers to Bendigo and other centres, including three trips daily from Malmsbury to Daylesford. The town was surveyed by W S. Urquhart, District Surveyor in 1855.  By 1856, 27 residents were registered voters, mostly in service industries such as baking, storekeeping, innkeeping, carting, and  blacksmithing, associated with providing for gold diggers on their way to Mount Alexander. When gold was discovered in the area in 1858, Malmsbury expanded further The township was proclaimed a municipality by Sir Henry Barkly on 14 October 1861. Between 1859 and 1862 the railway viaduct over the Coliban River was constructed which now forms the southern boundary to the Gardens.  In 1865, twenty-six mining companies were operating in the Malmsbury-Lauriston area.  (C. Fitzsimons. Historical Resume Botanic gardens, Malmsbury. Draft. 1985 for the Provincial Botanic [Gardens] Rejuvenation Committee). By 1865, there was a brewery and a steam flour mill.  Later, the town depended on  farming and stone quarrying. The town had 830 residents in 1861 and 1357 in 1871, remaining at that level for the rest of the century.  It declined in the 1890s, when six of the ten local hotels were closed and the mill plant and buildings were sold. (Shire of Kyneton Conservation (Heritage) Study. 1990)

       Botanic Gardens

       A botanic garden is a garden containing a scientifically ordered and maintained collection of plants, usually documented and labelled and open to the public for the purposes of recreation, education and research. (IUCN Botanic Gardens Conservation strategy (1989).

      The establishment of botanic gardens in Britain was a nineteenth century phenomenon and a response to the abundance of plant material introduced from all around the world. The majority were founded by private amateur botanical and horticultural societies. Their aim was to promote the study of botany and the practice of horticulture as a recreational pursuit. In Australia, botanic gardens were established in each state capital and in regional centres. In Victoria, there were twenty three regional botanic gardens in the nineteenth century. Regional botanic gardens were mainly initiated through public pressure groups requesting local and state governments for land reserved for botanic gardens. They tended to provide for recreation and leisure and to maintain a botanical collection but did not cater for scientific research.  

      The Botanic Gardens, Malmsbury were planted and permanently gazetted in 1863 as one of Victoria’s provincial botanic gardens, supported by Dr Ferdinand Von Mueller, who supplied plants. The land had been initially reserved in 1855. The initial design is attributed to Dr Edward Davy, a local councillor, under the influence of von Mueller.  Dr Davy (1806-1885) was an English medical practitioner, scientist and inventor, who was significantly involved in the development of electric telegraphy.  He migrated to Australia in 1838 and continued to experiment in various scientific fields. He retired in 1854 to farm at Malmsbury, and practised there as a physician for the rest of his life. He was active in local affairs as councillor, mayor, justice of the peace and health officer and was on the committees for the Malmsbury Common School and the Botanic Gardens. (Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1788-1850, vol. 1, 1966) The site was temporarily reserved in August 1963 and a planting programme begun with Dr Davy authorised in February 1864 to obtain plants from the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. The later introduction of curving paths and sweeping lawns has been attributed to William Guilfoyle. In the period 1880-1890, recreational facilities including a bowling green, tennis court and croquet lawn were added. The Victorian Municipal Directory of 1886 notes the bowling green and croquet lawn as components of the gardens.

      A corner of the Botanic Gardens was set aside for the construction of a Mechanics Institute in Malmsbury. In 1867, it was resolved to build a Town Hall and Assembly Rooms, and the grant of land to the Mechanics Institute was rescinded to provide a site for the new hall. A grand ball was held in 1868 to mark the opening of the Town Hall. After the excision of the land west of the Coliban River for water supply purposes in 1866,  and land for the Town Hall excised in 1868,  the Gardens reached their current extent. (National Trust Classifications Report)

      The Botanic Gardens, Malmsbury were neglected for most of the twentieth century but in the 1970s and 1980s much restorative work took place. In 1983 the Gardens became a joint responsibility of the Kyneton Council and the Provincial Botanic Gardens Rejuvenation Committee. In 1984 funding for works to the Malmsbury Gardens was granted to mark Victoria’s sesquicentenary. Trees and plants were identified and labelled, tree surgery undertaken, replanting done, billabong dredged and landscaped and a full-time gardener employed for 12 months. This was intended as a model for the rejuvenation of other provincial botanic gardens.In 1985 an Ulnus americana was planted to commemorate the sesquicentenary and a Eucalyptus muelleriana was planted by the then Minister for Conservation, Joan Kirner in the same year.  In 1987-88 a planting of  an Arbutus collection was made, including Arbutus menziesii, Arbutus xalapensis, Arbutus canariensis, Arbutus unedo. (John Hawker pers.comm.)

      Plaque Citation

      MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL - Plaque Citation

      First planted in 1863, this is one of Victoria's earliest botanic gardens. It is notable for its vistas, especially to the 1859 viaduct, its water features and its collection of plants. The town hall, a local landmark, was built in 1868.

      Permit Exemptions

      MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL - Permit Exemptions

      General Exemptions:

      General exemptions apply to all places and objects included in the Victorian Heritage Register (VHR). General exemptions have been designed to allow everyday activities, maintenance and changes to your property, which don’t harm its cultural heritage significance, to proceed without the need to obtain approvals under the Heritage Act 2017.

      Places of worship: In some circumstances, you can alter a place of worship to accommodate religious practices without a permit, but you must notify the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria before you start the works or activities at least 20 business days before the works or activities are to commence.

      Subdivision/consolidation: Permit exemptions exist for some subdivisions and consolidations. If the subdivision or consolidation is in accordance with a planning permit granted under Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the application for the planning permit was referred to the Executive Director of Heritage Victoria as a determining referral authority, a permit is not required.

      Specific exemptions may also apply to your registered place or object. If applicable, these are listed below. Specific exemptions are tailored to the conservation and management needs of an individual registered place or object and set out works and activities that are exempt from the requirements of a permit. Specific exemptions prevail if they conflict with general exemptions.

      Find out more about heritage permit exemptions here.

      Specific Exemptions:

      General Conditions: 1. All exempted alterations are to be planned and carried out in a manner which prevents damage to the fabric of the registered place or object.

      General Conditions: 2. Should it become apparent during further inspection or the carrying out of alterations that original or previously hidden or inaccessible details of the place or object are revealed which relate to the significance of the place or object, then the exemption covering such alteration shall cease and the Executive Director shall be notified as soon as possible. General Conditions: 3. If there is a conservation policy and plan approved by the Executive Director, all works shall be in accordance with it. General Conditions: 4. Nothing in this declaration prevents the Executive Director from amending or rescinding all or any of the permit exemptions. General Conditions: 5. Nothing in this declaration exempts owners or their agents from the responsibility to seek relevant planning or building permits from the responsible authority where applicable.

      Building Exterior:
      * Minor repairs and maintenance which replace like with like.
      * Painting of previously painted surfaces (but not signs), walls, posts, and roofing in the same colour.
      * Treatments to stabilise and protect timber, masonry and metal structures.

      Building Interior:
      * Painting of previously painted walls and ceilings provided that preparation or painting does not remove evidence of the original paint or other decorative scheme.

       

       

      * Removal of paint from originally unpainted masonry.
      * Refurbishment of toilets including removal, installation or replacement of fixtures and piping

      Landscape:
      * The process of gardening, mowing, hedge clipping, bedding displays, removal of dead plants, disease and weed control, emergency and safety works, and landscaping in accordance with the original concept.
      * The replanting of plant species to conserve the landscape character, conifer, elm, oak, poplar, arbutus and shrub plantings.
      * Management of trees in accordance with Australian Standard; Pruning of amenity trees AS 4373.
      * Vegetation protection and management of the possum population.
      * Removal of plants listed as noxious weeds in the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994.
      * Repairs, conservation and maintenance to hard landscape elements, asphalt and gravel paths and roadways, drinking fountain fences and gates.
      * Installation, removal or replacement of garden watering and drainage systems beyond the canopy edge of listed trees.
      * Plant labels and interpretative signs.
      * Works to the playground to meet Australian safety standards.

      Permit Exemption Policy

      MALMSBURY BOTANIC GARDENS AND TOWN HALL - Permit Exemption Policy

      The purpose of the exemptions is to allow works that do not affect the cultural heritage significance of the Gardens, and allow for works that assist with the conservation and development of the Botanic Gardens.
      The works should be generally be in accordance with the Malmsbury Botanic Gardens Conservation Analysis and Policies (Part one) and Management Plan (Part two), Francine Gilfedder, 1988.

Public contributions

Note: Developments may span multiple time periods
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