Ballarat's Botanical Gardens has suffered severe damage from wild winds that tore through the city overnight.
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The gardens have been closed indefinitely as a result of the storm, that saw winds reach 100km/h and cause carnage throughout Ballarat.
A number of large tree limbs have fallen across the lawns, while several large trees have also fallen from the Botanical Gardens onto Wendouree Parade, damaging fences in the process.
The large trees also brought down power lines, with crews on site all morning to repair the damage.
The trees in the gardens are so well known to everyone and are a significant part of Ballarat, so it is really unfortunate there has been that level of damage.
- Evan King, City of Ballarat
City of Ballarat chief executive Evan King told The Courier on Friday afternoon crews were continuing to assess the damage.
He said eight trees had fallen or had another tree fall on them in the gardens.
"For those that have fallen the damage it is clear, but we need to assess the level of damage and whether we can save those that are damaged," Mr King said.
"The trees in the gardens are so well known to everyone and are a significant part of Ballarat, so it is really unfortunate there has been that level of damage."
Mr King said the parks and garden crew were passionate about the gardens, so were feeling 'flat' after seeing the extent of the damage on Friday morning.
"There are a number of trees in there that are registered on the National Trust of Australia's significant tree list," he said.
"We are not sure at this stage whether any of those have been impacted so we are doing the assessment at the moment."
Mr King said the gardens would remain closed until deemed safe for visitors.
"With the reopening of Victoria at 6pm tonight, we were looking forward to a significant influx of tourists into the city over the weekend," he said.
"We will try to get it open as soon as possible but it has got to be safe for people to come in. For some trees, damage may not be visible until we do a proper inspection."
Friends of Ballarat Botanical Gardens president Terry O'Brien said the storm damage was a big interruption to people's enjoyment of the gardens, when it was at its best.
"It is not just a matter of cleaning up the trees, it is the impact the machinery will have on all the paths and so on. It just takes a long time to recover," he said.
When these trees do go, a lot of history goes.
- Terry O'Brien, Friends of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens president
Mr O'Brien said he understood some of the trees that had fallen were significant.
"I believe one is Populus Deltoides near the fernery, which is the tallest tree in the garden and the other is the Bunya, Araucaria Bidwillii.
"The Bunya was in a bit of strife as a tree, it was splitting and quite a lot of effort was gone into preserving that tree. There has been investment and time and money and care and now it is all gone.
"The Populus Deltoides will make a big whole in that area up near the fernery, especially as that area is being developed.
"It is hugely disappointing when those sort of things happen. We have to reflect on the fact these sort of things have happened before and gardens do recover."
Mr O'Brien said he understood another big birch tree and some cedar trees along Wendouree Parade had fallen in the storms.
"When these trees do go, a lot of history goes. They have been there for a long time," he said.
"You can plant another tree but we have to wait another 20, 30, 40 years to get to the grandeur that some of those trees we have lost have created."
Friends of Ballarat Botanical Gardens Foundation chair Elizabeth Gilfillan said it was devastating to hear trees that had been in the gardens for many lifetimes were damaged.
"With wet ground, heavy wind and new leaves, it is exceptional circumstances.
"It is sad but we have to be positive. It will make room for change.
"Gardeners are always positive. This is what makes us strong."
IN OTHER NEWS
Gravity Tree Worx owner Matt Collis said he was busy on Friday chasing up callouts to fallen and broken trees, particularly around Lake Wendouree.
He said he was seeing all types of trees affected by the storm, including pine, eucalyptus and deciduous trees.
Mr Collis said deciduous trees were affected more now than during the storms in June because they were in leaf, which meant more weight in branches.
"We saw barely any deciduous trees fail during the winter but there are a lot more now," he said.
"It has been really wet this winter. A combination of really wet ground and strong winds is always going to do it.
"There is some preventative tree maintenance that can be done to manage it. You can spot indicators on a tree that has a potential failure point in it."
Mr Collis encouraged residents to check for long, heavy, overextended branches, cracks in branches and cracking sounds in trees.
"Quite often parts of trees fail and don't make it to the ground, but hang in lower parts of the trees," he said.
"It is worth it for homeowners to get in the backyard and have a look at everything.
"They could quite possibly have a broken section of the tree that is still up there and could come down in another weather event."
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