Earlier this week, National Capital Authority (NCA) Chief Executive Karen Doran and key NCA staff members provided a media tour of the refurbished National Rose Gardens and Federation Centenary Fountains.
Refurbishments include a stormwater upgrade, 3,000 new roses in the National Rose Garden, the side garden design at the Federation Centenary Fountains and the new hard stand plaza that has enabled the Leonardo da Vinci: 500 years of Genius exhibition.
According to the NCA, the original storm water network in the area was around 60 years old and as a result sections of the pipeline had deteriorated, leaving cracks, breaks, and deformations. The storm water network has now been replaced.
“We removed the old storm water system and used existing alignment to put in new infrastructure, which has enabled additional pits and drainage, and will prolong the life of the area,” says NCA Project Manager Mitchell Whyte.
As the stormwater system needed replacing, Mr Whyte said that it presented another opportunity to rejuvenate the area in its entirety, which included the rebuilding of all garden beds and replanting them with new roses.
NCA Senior Project Officer Brad Doherty, says that the old roses were at the end of their life, so the timing of the mutual projects worked well.
Regarding the 3,000 new roses, “In both east and west garden beds they have been carefully selected to best suit the Canberra environment and the colours were selected to match the Heritage Management Plan,” he says.
“The project started in May 2025, and we’ve just completed it, this last month.”
Rose enthusiasts may be interested to know that the roses also have some unique names.
“These include, ‘Dear Father’, ‘Fragrant Cloud’, ‘Queen Elizabeth ‘and ‘Blue Moon’…good old classic roses,” says Mr Doherty.
“But we also have some new ones like ‘Oranges and Lemons’ that have been planted too as a trial across the area.
“All the roses are of the hybrid tea and floribunda varieties.”
Visitors to the area will also notice that the rejuvenated lawns are currently ‘protected’ by bunting, to encourage people to stay on the newly constructed gravel pathways. The bunting will gradually be removed as each section becomes more established.
A final important rejuvenation element is the hard stand plaza, on which the Leonardo da Vinci: 500 Years of Genius exhibition is in its final stage of completion.
According to the NCA, the hard stand plaza ‘… design was created to compliment the look of the red rock at Parliament House, Rond Terrace and Anzac Parade. This project commenced in August 2025.
Daniel McFadyen, or ‘Macca’, Co-Director of Happen Group, the Melbourne – based events and marketing company who are staging this exhibition in Canberra, feels that visitors will appreciate what the site affords.
“I think that people will be most excited and probably surprised with the amount that we were able to fit in a constricted area,” Mr McFadyen says.
“It feels like you’re in a proper exhibition building and not a temporary structure.”
Leonardo da Vinci: 500 years of Genius, will be open to the public from this Saturday 28February. Further details regarding the refurbishment of the National Rose Gardens and Federation Centenary Fountains can be found on the NCA website at nca.gov.au.
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