FETHERSTON Gardens, part of the former CIT School of Horticulture, will receive a $500,000 upgrade to make it suitable for community use.

The Weston garden, named after the first and longest-serving head of the Horticulture College, Tony Fetherston, has been overlooked by the Government for years and its well-established arboretum, woodlands garden and enclosed “secret garden” have been maintained by local volunteers removing weeds and maintaining the garden beds.

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the ACT Government had been working with the Weston Creek Community Council and the Friends of the Fetherston Gardens to revitalise the gardens for community use.

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Fetherston Gardens photos by Silas Brown.

“To assist with the upgrade of Fetherston Gardens and to make it a safe site for community access, the ACT Government will invest $500,000 in the 2012-13 Budget. This funding will allow for the refurbishment of existing park structures including pergolas, the wisteria walk, existing walking paths and ponds.”

Work will also be undertaken to re-route existing paths and upgrade the irrigation system.

The Chief Minister said this funding is in addition to the $50,000 previously allocated toward the development of a concept plan to identify opportunities for the future development of Fetherston Gardens as funding opportunities become available.

“I have been lucky enough to have visited Fetherston Gardens, it is a magical place and should be shared with the community. This funding will help to restore the Fetherston Gardens as a community space where people can gather with family and friends,” she said.

The disused gardens haven’t been touched since the campus closed in 2002. The former classroom buildings became part of the Canberra Islamic School in 2010.

Since the land was acquired by the Weston Creek Community Council for public use in November 2010, a small and determined group of volunteers have been meeting on the last Sunday of every month to help nurse the gardens back to a presentable state.

“It was a bit like Miss Havisham’s garden in ‘Great Expectations’,” he says. “We’ve been climbing trees to get the ivy off, clearing paths and weeds,” Tim Dalton, chair of the Fetherston Gardens Working Group told “CityNews” last year.

“There’s a lot to do but a place like this will be so valuable to the community. It’s going to be a great district park.”