By Eleanor Wilson
Staff at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne are hoping a new sign erected on the South Gippsland Highway will make it all the more easy to visit the award-winning horticultural oasis.
The sign, which directs motorists to turn left from the South Gippsland Highway onto Ballarto Road, was installed by VicRoads at the beginning of January.
It replaces a similar sign which was taken out by a truck several years ago, with some visitors struggling to find the entrance to the gardens since.
Royal Botanic Gardens senior project manager Karen Rosenberg called the endeavour “a triumph of tenacity”.
“I took on the project just over a year ago and with Pauline’s help in getting things across the line through VicRoads, we got it done and we’re really happy about that,” she said.
“It might be small compared to redoing an intersection or a main arterial highway, but it’s really important to us in terms of that visibility and helping people find our award winning gardens.”
She said the gardens frequently receive calls from lost visitors trying to find the entrance to the gardens, which is tucked away behind the highway.
“People tell us they were frustrated trying to find us, so to make it a litle bit more welcoming and a bit easier is just great,” Ms Rosenberg said.
Cranbourne MP Pauline Richards, who helped bring the project to fruition, said the gardens were a highlight of the local community.
“It is in some ways the centre of Cranbourne’s life, because when you go to the gardens, the people who visit represent the best of our community,” she said.
“It’s something that’s really well loved by so many people around this community, but its also something that is a great feature for other people, to think about Cranbourne as a place where we have this iconic and extraordinary resource.”
The Royal Botanic Gardens, with locations in Melbourne and Cranbourne, welcomes 2.2 million visitors each year.
In 2022, the gardens were awarded the Major Tourist Attraction prize at the Victorian Tourism Awards in December for the third year in a row, subsequently inducting them into the Victorian Tourism Industry Council’s Hall of Fame.
Earlier in the year, RBGV also saw success at the Australian Tourism Awards, winning gold in the Major Tourist Attraction category.
“To have those awards, that puts the importance of this project into perspective…as small as it may seem to have signs, it’s why it’s so important to all of us to have thee wonderful signs, to be able to have people find our beautiful gardens,” team leader of visitor experience, access and tourism Nicole Ebert said.
