The Buninyong Gardens.
On the southern track of Buninyong near a larger water hole now called ‘The Gong’ an area was set aside as a public reserve. This was the area that watered the horses of the Police Camp in the early 1850’s. Earlier still it was probably the camping ground for those taking wagons, stock and provisions into the newly found pasturelands; for Buninyong was an important place on the stock routes to Portland Bay and Central Victoria.
The early council decided that Buninyong should have a botanical garden and moves were made to achieve that end. The enjoyment of the Buninyong Gardens began with the enclosure of the area at a cost of £100 applied for in 1864 from the Government to complete the fencing and improvements. Springs in the area ensured an adequate supply of water and the eventual obtaining of plans, plants and seeds from Dr. von Mueller made for an enchanted place to be visited by generation after generation during the next one hundred and thirty years.
The choice of Dr. Ferdinand Jakob Heinrich von Mueller to supply the plan was a wise one, for Dr von Mueller became synonymous with botanical gardens throughout Victoria. Born in Rostock, Germany, von Mueller migrated to Australia in 1847 and was appointed the Government Botanist for Victoria. He was the Director of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens from 1857 to 1873. In 1869 the King of Wurtemburg made von Mueller a hereditary baron for his services to botany and in 1879 he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George by Queen Victoria. Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller, by his life’s end in 1896, had amassed 350,000 botanical specimens. He had written and published countless numbers of papers and books on Australian plants, some entirely in Latin.
To von Mueller’s discredit, he is said to have introduced paspalum grass and water cress which quickly became weeds, and he is known to have promoted the growing of brambles to provide florists with suitable foliage for making wreaths.
With the opening of the rail link between Ballarat and Buninyong the gardens became the picnic Mecca for people from far and wide. At one time there was a resident gardener and caretaker, a classical fernery was included, and the ponds, paths and garden beds made for an attractive setting.
In December 1901 the Queen Victoria rotunda, erected by the residents of Buninyong, as a token commemorating the death of the Queen, was opened by Mayor Coxall. The words of Proverbs 22.2 “The rich and poor meet together. The Lord is the maker of them all,” has reminded the visitor for the past ninety six years of the fragility, the uncertainty and the future of man. For our forefathers in 1901 chose the Proverb that stressed the importance of moral virtues, as opposed to the vices. The first verse of Proverbs 22 is “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.”
The inner walls of the rotunda has been marked with graffiti by countless numbers over time. First the crude markings of the pen knife and lately the damage by ‘texta’ pens. But graffiti is usually overmarked by graffiti and just as at Pompeii, sometimes the markings themselves become historic. Such were the markings made by some young men in 1916, when, on the inner north east wall the pen knife cut the following words deep into the woodwork.
AIEF, 10th Brigade - A. B. Coxall - D. M. Kennie - sailed for Egypt - May 27th 1916 - 39th Battalion - B Company.
A stark reminder of the young of the district who went to war for King and Country in the 1914 - 1918 conflict. Sadly the markings were destroyed by several well aimed karate kicks in the late 1980’s and today possibly the author’s photograph is the only tangible reminder of the marks left by Coxall and his mate all of those years ago. The A.I.E.F. stood for the Australian Infantry Expeditionary Force.
Older residents might recall or be able to identify who AA, HH, CA, RS, EH and the other initials near the 1916 markings were, among the young blades of the town !
And again, the First World War left us another reminder in the form of the baths constructed of concrete by returned servicemen and used for swimming from around 1919 until the 1950’s. These former baths may have also been a supplementary water supply for the gardens and ponds; now they have been delightfully fashioned into a little garden of retreat by the willing, yet rarely thanked, Gardens Committee. A sign on the old wall tells us a charge of 1d (One penny) was made to enter.
With spring, there emerges in the Buninyong Gardens a new world of blossom and growth. The birds have began to build their nests and the wild fowl and ducks are grazing on the lawns. When one stands in awe under the massive trees chosen all of those years ago, it is hard to realise that today from the little seedlings of von Mueller, great trees have grown, some of the individual specimen’s must weigh more than 10 tonnes, cover perhaps 2,000 square metres, and include something like 16 kilometres or more of branches and twigs.
Once the pleasure ground of the Victorian age - it fell into disrepair and neglect - only to rise again, thanks to the dedicated few, to stand majestic as a haven for you and yours to enjoy. The still waters of the pond, the mysterious island, the rustic bridge and the ghosts of the past which are our heritage - The Buninyong Gardens.
