Historical information
Michael Looker of the Royal Botanical Gardens Melbourne drew up the planting plans for restoring Ballarat's historic gardens at Hymettus in 1985 for Heritage Victoria. This was done as it was the only known intact Victorian era working-mans exhibition garden in Australia with surviving layout and original documentation and photographs. Restoration of the garden was aided by an Australian Bicentenary grant.
Significance
Plans for the restoration of Hymettus' front flower garden using old photographs of its exhibition gardens first opened to the public in 1917 and drawn up by the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens for Australia's Bi-centenary 1988.
