The Sturt Street Gardens is a central reservation

Central reservation

On divided roads, such as divided highways or freeways/motorways, the central reservation , median, parkway , median strip or central nature strip is the area which separates opposing lanes of traffic...

 running along one of the main thoroughfares of Ballarat (Victoria, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

) — Sturt Street — after which it is named. The formal gardens span 13 city blocks from Grenville Street in the east to Pleasant Street in the west, are 20 metres wide and cover an area of 2.87 hectares running east–west.

The historic gardens are the main gardens of Ballarat's Central Business District

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 and significant for their heritage features including significant statues, bandstands, memorials and trees. Three of the reserve's monuments are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register

Victorian Heritage Register

The Victorian Heritage Register lists places of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 1995 which establishes Heritage Victoria as the permit authority...

 and the entire gardens are listed as a heritage precinct by the City of Ballarat

City of Ballarat

The City of Ballarat is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia around Ballarat. It is located in the western part of the state. It has an area of 740 square kilometres. In 2001 it had a population of 81,000...

. The gardens are important to the culture of Ballarat.

Several blocks along the gardens have individual names based on their history and features such as Queen Victoria Square and Alexandra Square.

History

Sturt Street, the main boulevarde of Ballaarat, was created by the first survey of the town in 1851 by WS Urquart. In the 1860s a dual carriageway with central median strip was created.

Titanic Memorial Bandstand

The SS Titanic Memorial Bandstand is an excellent and unusual example of creative bandstand design of the Edwardian period, a picturesque composition with dominant roofs of oriental character, it is an exotic and important element of the streetscape of Sturt Street.

Constructed in 1915, it is one of the few remaining examples of what was once a building type found commonly in the parks and gardens of many municipalities. It serves as a tangible reminder of a highly popular form of entertainment, prominent on the community agenda for many years. The construction of the bandstand and its survival until now also reflects the place of music in Ballarat's cultural identity and the continuing prominence of music in the community.

It is a memorial to the sinking of the RMS Titanic, a disaster still recalled today, and principally to her heroic musicians who played as they went down with their ship.

The bandstand and its construction is indicative of Ballarat's self image and patriotic fervour.

Queen Alexandra Bandstand

The Alexander Bandstand is a typical and well resolved example of creative bandstand design; it polygonal form surmounted by a 'Moorish' onion dome is representative of bandstands of this period. The bandstand has particularly fine wrought iron detailing incorporating musical motifs and is an important and exotic element of the streetscape of Sturt Street.

Built in 1908 during the heyday of the band movement, it is now one of the few remaining examples of bandstands in Victoria. It serves as a tangible reminder of a highly popular form of entertainment, prominent on the community agenda for many years. The construction of the bandstand and its survival until now also reflects the prominence of music in Ballarat's cultural and civic identity.

Statues

The City of Ballarat has a walk of the statues within the Sturt Street Gardens.

The main statues in order from West to East are:

• Peterson Fountain 1923
• Mother Earth 1952 Sculptor: George H. Allen
• Peter Lalor 1893 Sculptor: Nelson McLean
• Sir Albert Coates 2000 Sculptor: Louis Laumen
• King George V Monument 1938 Sculptor: Victor Greenhalgh
• Ruth 1899 Sculptor: Charles F. Summers
• Hebe 1899 Sculptor: B. Raggi
• Thomas Moore 1889 Sculptor: George Grant
• Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain 1902
• Queen Victoria 1900 Sculptor Sir Edgar Bertram MacKennal
• Robert Burns 1867 Sculptor: John Udny
• Point to Sky 2002 Sculptor: Akio Makigawa
• Perseus 1943

Memorials and monuments

• Gordon Memorial 1969, Sculptor: Raymond B. Ewers
• Cenotaph 1949, Architect: John P. Shimmin
• Eternal Flame 1995, Sculptor: Peter Blizzard
• Korean, Borneo, Malayan, Vietnam War Memorial 2000
• William Dunstan Victoria Cross Memorial 2000
• King George V Monument 1938, Sculptor: Victor Greenhalgh
• Phoenix Foundry
  Phoenix Foundry
  The Phoenix Foundry was a company that built steam locomotives and other industrial machinery in the city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Over 30 years they built 352 locomotives for the Victorian Railways, of 38 different designs.-History:...
  
   Plaque
• Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain 1902
• Boer War Memorial 1906, Sculptor: James White
  James White (sculptor)
  James White was an Australian sculptor, winner of the Wynne Prize in 1902.White was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, the son of Robert White, journeyman shipwright, and his wife Janet, née Dunn. White was apprenticed to a plasterer and studied modelling at South Kensington...
  
  
• Burke & Wills Fountain 1867
• SS Titanic Memorial Bandstand 1915, Architect: G.W. Clegg
• Pioneer Miners Monument 1951
• James Galloway Monument 1880