	{"id":120676,"date":"2026-03-22T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=120676"},"modified":"2026-03-18T22:14:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T11:14:50","slug":"restoration-for-historic-baths-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/restoration-for-historic-baths-site\/","title":{"rendered":"Restoration for historic baths site"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A HERITAGE asset of Buninyong life from the late 19th century is receiving a much-needed revamp.<\/p>\n<p>Restoration work on the walls of the town&#8217;s former swimming baths was set to begin last week.<\/p>\n<p>New foundations are to be added to support the concrete walls.<\/p>\n<p>Located in Buninyong&#8217;s botanic gardens, the walls had shown varying degrees of leaning. Works will include replacement of several wall panels, repairing and sealing cracks and gravel laid for improved drainage.<\/p>\n<p>It is expected the project will be completed by the end of June.<\/p>\n<p>Ballarat mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves said the works were vital.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Dating back more than 160 years, the Buninyong baths hold extraordinary heritage value within the much-loved Buninyong Botanic Gardens,&#8221; she said. &#8220;These works aim to safeguard the former baths&#8217; significant heritage while preserving their historic character.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, the baths represented a significant part of Buninyong&#8217;s recreational and social history.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/260311-Bathssiteimag_14642.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A garden is set to be reinstated within the walls of Buninyong&#8217;s former swimming baths.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Opened as a swimming pool in 1872, the baths were used until the 1930s when it was closed due to high E. coli levels. It was transformed in the 1990s into a garden.<\/p>\n<p>Originally scheduled for an early 2026 completion, closer inspection after vegetation removal showed a need for slight modification to the project&#8217;s approach. Additional Heritage Victoria approvals were required and then secured.<\/p>\n<p>The garden will be reinstated after the wall conservation works are completed.<\/p>\n<p>Bridget Wetherall, City of Ballarat director for infrastructure and environment, said the works were essential to ensure the historic feature continued to flourish.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This project was identified as a priority in 2020, when garden maintenance works revealed there were structural issues with the walls that needed to be rectified,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When the project is finished the community will once again be able to access the garden within the walls.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A HERITAGE asset of Buninyong life from the late 19th century is receiving a much-needed revamp. Restoration work on the walls of the town&#8217;s former swimming baths was set to begin last week. New foundations are to be added to support the concrete walls. Located in Buninyong&#8217;s botanic gardens, the walls had shown varying degrees [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/restoration-for-historic-baths-site\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":120679,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-120676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Restoration for historic baths site - Ballarat Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Restoring the historic Buninyong Baths. 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