Printer Friendly 
Text Only
Robert Clark Conservatory
Located in the heart of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, the Robert Clark Conservatory is open daily from 9.00am to 5.00pm. The Conservatory is home to 'The Garden Shop' where plants, postcards, souvenirs, booklets and coffee can be purchased.
Admission is FREE except during the Ballarat Begonia Festival which is held annually during the March long weekend.
Seasonal displays are presented each year necessitating total re-landscaping of the interior. In March, Ballarat's world famous tuberous begonia collection is displayed to coincide with the Begonia Festival. The Autumn display exhibits a chrysanthemum collection. Winter displays have traditionally featured cyclamen and cineraria, while the spring display showcases schizanthus and spring bulbs. The Christmas/Summer display utilises a range of flowering display crops.
The Robert Clark Conservatory was designed by Peter Elliot and was opened in 1995 by the Honorable, Richard E. McGarvie, Governor of Victoria.
Robert Clark Centre
The Robert Clark Centre, which opened in 1995, was made possible by a $2 million bequest from the grandson of Mr Robert Clark, the co-founder and proprietor of The Courier. It consists of The Conservatory and the Resource Centre. Lake Wendouree and the Ballarat Botanical Gardens are administered from here.The Resource Centre is used for meetings by horticultural and other community groups. The centre is available for seminars, exhibitions and small events. It features a permanent exhibition of historic photographs telling the history of the Gardens from 1857-1890 and the history of Ballarat's Begonia Festival which started in 1952.