William Ricketts Sanctuary

The William Ricketts Sanctuary Visitor Centre functions as a commercial, educational and administrative facility for the William Ricketts Sanctuary.

The sanctuary is located on the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road and is one of Victoria’s most popular tourist destinations, especially for international visitors.

The buildings irregular form is moulded from site influences such as slope, vegetation and established walking tracks. The roof slope follows the fall of the ground and captures mountain landscape views from inside and outside the centre.

Raw concrete, timber and stone allow the centre harmonise with its National Park context.

The design and approval process was complex and strongly influenced by a number of factors including the heritage listing of the sculptures, the historical significance of the existing building, the siting of sculptures located within the vicinity that could not be moved and the site topography and vegetation.

The process involved many stakeholders including:

• Parks Victoria

• Heritage Victoria

• The Shire of Dandenong Ranges

• The William Ricketts Alliance

• The Dandenong Ranges Garden Trust