Why Ballarat’s Gardens Have Italian Statues (1884)
Why Ballarat’s Gardens Have Italian Statues (1884)
Twelve marble statues travelled from Carrara to Ballarat as a gift from Thomas Stoddart. They were unveiled in the Botanical Gardens in 1884.
The story behind the scene
The gardens were gazetted in 1857 and developed from 1858 on the former police paddock. Wright and Armstrong won the design competition, and curator George Longley oversaw the planting.
Stoddart, a former miner who became a stockbroker, bought the statues in Italy in 1882. His gift brought figures from classical mythology and the seasons into a public garden.
The statues were unveiled on 24 May 1884. They became part of a garden shaped over many years by planting, public gifts and maintenance, on Wadawurrung Country.
What you’re seeing
The Rose Stereograph Company photograph shows the garden’s lawns, arranged beds and buildings. It records the setting in which visitors encountered the collection. It is a general garden view, rather than a close photograph of the twelve statues.
Why this photo matters
Stoddart’s gift put art bought with private wealth into a place anyone could visit. The lawns and paths in the photograph were part of that public setting.
Sources: Victorian Heritage Database: Ballarat Botanical Gardens; City of Ballarat: A monument in time.