Volunteers go to work on Goulburn's Belmore Park glasshouse

As volunteers polished windows and rearranged plants this week, curious visitors popped in to find out what all the fuss was about.

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A community group, led by Heather West, is working with Goulburn TAFE campus to transform the glasshouse into a colourful educational and tourism attraction. Existing plants will be propagated and interchanged with a wide variety of flowers and other species.

"In the 1970s when I moved to Goulburn, the glasshouse was a showpiece and the displays were always changing," Mrs West said.

"Being in a cold climate, as a gardener, I was always interested in the plants that were suitable for the area."

Mrs West, Goulburn's 2022 Australia Day Citizen of the Year, has driven the project. After discovering the council did not have the resources or budget to help, she enlisted assistance from local TAFE horticulture and landscape construction teacher, Tim Dally.

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Mr Dally jumped on board. The former council apprentice worked with Ernie Holloway and the late John Dixon on Belmore Park and remembered the huge interest the glasshouse created.

"It's potentially a drawcard for Goulburn," he said.

"A man saw what we were doing and spoke to us for 20 minutes. Another lady came up to us with her granddaughter. We get people stopping here and then going to restaurants and cafes."

The project ticked every box for Goulburn and Moss Vale TAFE horticulture and landscaping students.

Up to 50 students will propagate, grow and arrange quarterly displays of a vast array of plants.

The first, planned for winter, is titled Live on the Bright Side and combines "flowing ribbons falling from ceiling pots." They will cascade into a colourful central display of flowers, all designed to lift spirits in an otherwise "dreary" growing season.

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A native plant exhibition is next in line, followed by a Christmas display.

The larger existing glasshouse plants will be rearranged to enhance exhibitions. Any plants not being used will be stored at TAFE.

"We hope to get primary school students involved in the future and to make this a real community based thing," Mr Dally said.

"Ideally, TAFE would hand it back once established but would still stay involved."

Volunteers from each Goulburn garden club are helping. Someone else has offered to donate fuschias.

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The glasshouse was built in 2000, replacing a 1959 structure. Mr Dally said since the mid 2000s, the plants had hardly changed but now opportunity knocked to transform it into a source of civic pride pride, education and community engagement.

Mrs West couldn't be happier.

"A lot of elderly people are also interested and people just love to see these displays. It's a win-win for everyone," she said.

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