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The original fernery was constructed in the 1880, before being closed in 2013 and pulled down last year.<\/p>\n
Ms Gilfillan said the replacement building would play many roles in the Gardens.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a show piece,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s also an educational facility that tells a story. This is part of the story that was missing and now it\u2019s coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The foundations are stage one of the reconstruction project and being undertaken by Resicare Builders with materials coming from Plinius Engineering and Whiteheads Timbers.<\/p>\n
City of Ballarat mayor Cr Ben Taylor said works were a long time coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been talked about for many, many years and it was number one in relation to priorities for the lake precinct,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know it\u2019s had many construction timelines over many years. Really what\u2019s exciting to see is that we\u2019re now at the stage where we\u2019re turning a sod and getting the fernery to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first stage of the works are fully funded by the municipality, with stage two of the project dependent on the City a successful grant application.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WORK to replace a fernery at the Botanic Gardens is underway with foundations being laid for the Gothic style replica of a building that once stood at the site. Located on Wendouree Parade at the northern edge of botanic gardens, Elizabeth Gilfillan, chair of spaces friends group said that seeing work on the replica fernery […]<\/p>\n