Victoria

Event Calendar

• AGHS Victorian Branch: AGM 2026 followed by a lecture by Sandra Schwarz

  11 August @ 6:00 pm AEST

  The AGM 2026 will be followed by a lecture “The History of Restorative Gardens – how people ...

• 2026 Annual National Conference in Orange, NSW

  25 September - 28 September at Orange Civic Theatre

  Fruits of Orange, Exploring Central Western NSW The registration brochure for the 46th annual confer...

Working Bees

Working bees are one way we support custodians of private historic gardens and demonstrate that we value their contribution and the assets they maintain.

Forthcoming working bees:

• Sunday 26 July - Beaufort
• Sunday 29 November - Surrey Hills

Please reply to Fran Faul by the Thursday before the date so the owners know catering numbers.  Also please indicate if you require transport or, if you have your own transport and are willing to drive others and require directions to the properties.

Please wear appropriate clothing and bring any garden tools you like to work with. Lunch and morning tea will be supplied.

Email Fran Faul (franfaul@gmail.com) for all enquires and details.

Oral History Update

The Branch conducts oral histories from time to time. These are added to the AGHS National Oral History Collection and lodged with the State Library of Victoria as historical records. We thank the people who gave up their time and recollections to provide a wealth of knowledge for garden historians and interested parties.

If you know of any prominent Victorians in the garden history world, including non-members, whom you think should have their history recorded, please contact the branch.

Historic Gardens in Victoria

Victoria contains many significant historic gardens and cultural landscape and recording them is an important part of our commitment.

The following garden histories are available under “Shop” on the website for free download or purchase:

• Harbury
• Goronga
• Umina
• Longacres
• Titanga
• Belmont
• Bishopscourt
• Buda
• Burnley Gardens
• Claremont
• Murndal
• Turkeith and Mooleric
• Wombat Park

Articles and snippets of information about historic gardens in Victoria:

• A new Edna Walling garden?

Advocacy Update – AGHS Vic Branch July 2026

DEECA, Victoria, Electric Line Clearance Regulations
Following the review of the responses to DEECA’s survey earlier in 2026, the new Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2026 came into effect on 24 June 2026. These set out the rules for managing trees and other vegetation near powerlines and will allow for trials of reduced minimum clearance distances around powerlines in areas of low bushfire risk. The final consultation summary has been released.

It is hoped that these trials will be successful, and we will see the reduction of the current 1m clearance around powerlines requirement reduced to 0.5 m in the future thereby improving the aesthetics, shade capability, biodiversity habitat, etc. of many suburban street trees.

HV McKay Memorial Gardens, Sunshine
Stage 1 of the Melbourne Airport Rail project (MAR), between West Footscray and Albion stations is under way. This comprises the untangling the rail lines in the vicinity of Sunshine Station to improve connectivity and allowing for new rail lines to Melbourne Airport, and upgrading the Sunshine station, (to be called the Sunshine Superhub), and Tottenham and Albion Stations.

So far, the Friends have been advised that the Gardens will be unaffected, except for limited works at the northern end of the east boundary, adjacent to the Bendigo rail line to allow for the decommissioning of the aviation fuel line which runs adjacent to the boundary and which will then accommodate the new airport rail lines. Brimbank City Council have designated the eastern boundary section of the Gardens owned by Victrak as an Exclusion Zone, with much needed replanting required over the last few years being paused. While it is still unclear why the Exclusion Zone was required, the Strategic Management Committee (of which a branch representative is a member) has been advised that the decommissioning will be completed at the end of 2026, and the replanting can then go ahead.

Warrawee, Riversdale Rd, Camberwell
In May, the branch had an enquiry regarding the property known as ‘Warrawee’ which was the subject of a permit application to Boroondara council to extend the existing house. (It is covered by a Heritage Overlay in the Boroondara planning scheme.) The house and garden, containing significant trees, dates from 1885. The branch was asked if we knew of any documentation that confirmed that the garden had been designed by William Guilfoyle, as it had been attributed to Guilfoyle in the Open Gardens Scheme booklet for 2004. While the possible establishment of the garden was within the appropriate time frame, the branch was unable to do so. The application did note that existing trees would not be removed and the owners were supportive of the garden. The permit was granted and while no formal objection was made on behalf of the branch, a letter was sent to the Boroondara council making them aware that there remains a possibility that the claim is true, despite its weak association at present.

House and Garden, 160 McLeod St, Bairnsdale
Following an urgent request by a distressed member of the public, who had contacted other heritage groups, and possibly also required legal assistance, the Branch provided a carefully worded letter of support to the applicant and copied it to Heritage Council, Victoria and the Planning Department of East Gippsland shire for an Interim Heritage Protection order and a stay on further re-development action for house and land at this site. The property is an example of domestic country-town homestead garden.

Draft Master Plan, Royal Park, Parkville
The Final Master Plan was due in June 2026, according to the original timeline, but has not yet been made available online. This plan will update the 1997 Master Plan. A summary is available of the community consultation held in 2024-25.

Wombat Park, Daylesford
The assessment by Heritage Victoria of the branch’s 2019 nomination of Wombat Park to the Victorian Heritage Register has been further delayed. Currently the branch has been advised that HV has a backlog of over 250 nominations and as Wombat Park already has local government protection with a Heritage Overlay they do not believe it has high priority.

The Gong Reservoir, Buninyong Botanic Gardens, Buningyong
The Friends have advised that there has been no further progress on the rebuilding of the dam wall of The Gong and thereby removing strategic existing vegetation, as Ballarat City Council has been unable to appoint a contractor. Nor has the Council applied to Heritage Victoria for a heritage permit. It has, however, completed the restoration of the old swimming pool concrete walls, (with a VH permit), also part of the Gardens, and will be shortly undertaking planting of the area to an in-house design.

Projects

Relationship development with Trust for Nature, TFN (Memorandum of Understanding signed June 2023)

The foundation event for this relationship was held at the Heathmont property ‘Uambi’ in July 2024. An AGHS representative spoke about the cultural history of the landscape followed by a TFN representative leading the group through the bushland reserve, highlighting ecological challenges, specimens and plant group relationships. Research is underway to support the publication of a history of this cultural landscape in 2026.

A similar style event was held in October 2025 with TFN, at Harbury in Pakenham Upper. This property has a close relationship to nearby Goronga, for which AGHS has published both a written history and pictorial essay. The research effort for this property has produced a booklet "Diana Craig and Harbury Reserve" which was published in November 2025. This publication, setting out the background of the creator of Harbury (Craig) and the cultural landscape, is available in digital format (free to members) or in hard copy for purchase ($20 for members, $30 for non-members).

Further cultural landscape histories are planned as the relationship between the two organisations develops. The plan is for both AGHS and TFN to mount these publications on their respective websites, in accordance with the mutual benefit provisions of the MOU.