More than Gold by My Word

More than Gold BALLARAT AND REGION: OUR STORY

Foreword Over the years, many people have asked why I chose to live in the Ballarat region. Actually, my decision was an easy one. This beautiful region offers a great lifestyle, has quality health and education offerings, affordable housing and a range of employment opportunities. It is also well located within easy commuting distance of Melbourne and other regional centres as well as the Surf Coast and the Grampians. What a great place to live, to work and to invest! Our region has long been defined by its rich history based on gold. However, now it offers very much more than gold and has a compelling story to tell. Committee for Ballarat’s More than Gold campaign is designed to showcase the vibrant and progressive culture of Ballarat and the region through the stories of local residents. The aim is to: • develop a sense of pride in current residents • encourage potential residents to consider our region • attract new businesses/industry • highlight the rich culture, employment and diversity of opportunities in Ballarat and surrounds. Over two days in late 2017, our teams were out and about in Ballarat and in regional townships and districts interviewing more than 220 people. Many of these stories are captured in this book. Others will be shared on social media.

What these stories show is a strong, diverse, inclusive and welcoming community. It is a region proud of its rich history, its heritage buildings, its vibrant arts and food and wine scene, and its lakes and gardens, as well as its outstanding range of services and facilities in health, education and recreation. It is also a region that offers a wide range of business and employment opportunities. The stories captured during our campaign will also be used to support our advocacy work to help create a better future for Ballarat and the western region. Following the book launch, ambassadors will be enlisted to be champions of the storytelling process. This will ensure that the messages continue to ripple out and build a sense of pride in our community/region. Celebrating what is special about our region, this campaign is an important part of delivering on one of the three key pillars in Committee for Ballarat’s strategic plan – Community Wellbeing. On behalf of our members, many of whom have worked on this project or are featured in it, I hope its value will be recognised and this book is circulated extensively.

Janet Dore Chair, Committee for Ballarat

CONTENTS

UNIQUE HERITAGE

PAGE FRIENDLY, INCLUSIVE 6 & DIVERSE COMMUNITY

PAGE 12

BEAUTIFUL LOCATION, PROXIMITY & EASE OF ACCESS

PAGE 28

PAGE 54

WONDERFUL FACILITIES

FOOD, CULTURE & LIFESTYLE

PAGE QUALITY 70 HEALTH SERVICES

PAGE 86

FIRST CLASS EDUCATION

PAGE 100

PAGE 116

INNOVATIVE BUSINESSES &Â OPPORTUNITIES

Living here has had a very positive impact on my family and my career. It’s a nice environment; it’s a mixture of a rural and metro lifestyle and you get the best of both. — Zainab Sabri Smythesdale

Moving to the Ballarat region, I had the confidence that I could raise a family here and thought it was going to be good, but it’s just been extraordinary. — Adrian Doyle Buninyong

Our children have just finished their education in Ballarat. It’s a beautiful education city with many private and public schools and universities. We’re very spoilt. The schools are amazing. — Angela Smith Lake Wendouree

Ballarat

UNIQUE HERITAGE The name â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ballaaratâ&#x20AC;? is derived from the Wathaurong aboriginal name for the area. The words "balla" and "arat" mean resting place, a campground or meeting place where groups gathered. The Ballarat region is known for its rich history, culture and beautifully preserved Victorian-era architecture that was built on fortunes made from the 1850s gold rush. Now Ballarat is so much more than gold.

OUR TIMELINE 1830-1854 Home to the Wathaurong People, part of the Kulin Alliance, for at least the last 25,000 years.

1838

There are many indigenous cultures in Australia, made up of people from a rich diversity of tribal groups, each speaking their own language, holding their own cultural beliefs and traditions.

Gold is discovered at several locations in the region, which started the Victorian Gold Rush.

Long before Europeans settled in the Ballarat region, it was home to the Wadawurrung (Wathaurong) people, one of five language groups making up the Kulin Alliance or Nation. The Wadawurrung consisted of separate land-owning units called clans, which had commonalities in language, custom, traditions, marriage ties, totems, burial rites and very strong trading links.

White settlers arrive. Squatter Archibald Yuille names his sheep run on the Yarrowee River “Ballaarat”. The Learmonth brothers explore Buninyong and set up a sheep run. Captain Hepburn establishes a run at Smeaton Hill, now the town of Smeaton.

1851

People arrive from all over the world in an attempt to “strike it rich”. Within a few years the region has become a very exciting and cosmopolitan place, with languages from all over the world heard on the goldfields.

1854

The Eureka Rebellion occurs at the Eureka Stockade when miners clash with colonial forces over the administration of the goldfields. The Eureka Stockade is often regarded as the birthplace of Australian democracy. The Eureka flag is still considered a symbol of Australian independence. Between 1854 and 1857 the Ballarat area produces over 77,000 kg of gold.

1855–1879 1855

Men who held miners’ rights were qualified to vote in the Electoral District of Ballarat. The Ballarat Star newspaper begins its long life. The Ballarat Base Hospital is established.

1856

The Ballarat City Council holds its first meeting.

1858

Approximately 9000 Chinese miners working in Ballarat – almost a quarter of the male population.

1870

The Ballarat School of Mines is founded. The Ballarat School of Mines is the oldest site of technical education in Australia. The Board was concerned with the practical training for all men engaged in the enterprise of mining, so classes began in surveying, mathematics and chemistry. Soon they included metallurgy, assaying and geology.

1875

The Academy of Music (Her Majesty’s Theatre) is opened. The theatre is an important player in the long and rich history of the performing arts in the region.

1880-1899 1882

The New Australasian Mining Disaster occurs at Creswick, killing 22 miners. The site is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and is the subject of a display at Sovereign Hill titled 'Trapped'.

1884

The Ballarat Art Gallery is founded. The gallery building opened in 1890 and was the first regional gallery in Australia.

1886

The Australian Shearers Union is established by William Spence and David Temple at the Fern's Hotel in Ballarat. With its first headquarters in Creswick, this union goes on to become the Australian Workers Union, which today has more than 1.8 million members.

1888

The Mining Exchange in Lydiard Street, Ballarat is opened. It played a critical role in the development of the Stock Exchange of Victoria.

1895

The Ballarat Brewing Company, home of the famous Ballarat Bertie Beer, is formed from the amalgamation of two breweries started in the 1850s. Owning 105 hotels in the area, it is eventually taken over by Carlton and United Breweries in the 1980s.

1900-1949 1901

Alfred Deakin, later to become Australia’s second prime minister, is elected to the new federal parliament for the seat of Ballarat.

1950-1999 1953

The Begonia Festival commences. A major flower festival that attracts more than 30,000 visitors each year.

20002007

Clunes becomes part of the international Booktown festivals and in 2018 attracts 18,000 people to the 11th Conference.

Creswick-born Sir Alexander Peacock, the member for Clunes and Allendale, became Victoria’s first premier after Federation.

1970

This is the start of a tradition where residents of the Ballarat region achieve significant office in politics. John Curtin, Australia's prime minister during the Second World War, was from Creswick, with former Victorian premiers Sir Henry Bolte from Meredith and Steve Bracks from Ballarat.

A book town is a small rural town or village in which bookshops are concentrated. The festival is about celebrating books and the great conversations and big ideas that come from them.

Attracting more than 450,000 visitors annually, it depicts a real-life experience of the goldfields.

2013

1909

Aquin Training College established by the Ballarat East Sisters of Mercy. Later to become Aquinas College and then the Ballarat Campus of the Australian Catholic University.

1915

The St John of God Ballarat Hospital is opened.

1917

The Lucas Girls, women employed by the Lucas Clothing Factory, raise money to help plant nearly 4000 trees in the Avenue of Honour and for the erection of the Arch of Victory. Extending for some 22 km, the Avenue honours 3912 residents of the Ballarat region who served in World War I; 528 of whom were killed in battle or died of wounds or disease.

Sovereign Hill, a nationally acclaimed and multi-award winning tourist attraction, is opened.

1974

Large international industry comes to the region with McCain Foods (Aust) Pty Ltd opening its first Australian factory in Daylesford. Mars Wrigley Confectionery opens a factory in Ballarat in 1979.

1987

Ballarat Wildlife Park is opened. It becomes home to an array of Australian native animals, and plays a major part in the conservation of our native wildlife, especially the Tasmanian Devil.

1994

Local government amalgamations occur. The University of Ballarat is established. Official spelling of Ballarat in the City’s title now has only one "a".

Now

The region is still yielding treasure today in the form of quirky shops, hidden bars and world-class cafes and restaurants – not to mention its lively music and arts scene, and its quality education and health services.

The Victorian Parliament passes legislation to establish Federation University Australia, incorporating the University of Ballarat as well as the former Gippsland campus of Monash University. The acclaimed television series The Doctor Blake Mysteries is filmed in Ballarat. Set in Ballarat in the 1950s, the series runs for five seasons and showcases Ballarat’s significant Victorian architecture.

2016

The Australian Census indicates that 25% of regional residents have a parent born outside Australia.

2017

Ballarat joins the White Night festival family and becomes one of the first regional cities in the world to host the event. The Western Bulldogs AFL team adopts Mars Stadium Ballarat as its regional hub and plays its first two AFL games for premiership points in regional Victoria.

Ballarat is historic; I just love the old buildings and bluestone, the old pavements and the history behind it. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Anne Francis

Buninyong

Ballarat

Clunes

Ballarat

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve probably had family here for about 150 years, since the gold rush. The gold heritage and the Eureka Stockade make it a pretty unique area. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Tom Dickson

Ballarat

FRIENDLY, INCLUSIVE & DIVERSE

COMMUNITY

In the region, the community spirit is tangible and the sense of belonging is strong. Getting involved is easy with the choice of community groups and service clubs impressive. Whether it be in the older, established precincts, the new suburban areas, or in the nearby historic townships, there is a friendly, inclusive andÂ diverse community that will welcome you. 13

Beaufort

The Mining Exchange

It’s harmonious here. I find that Ballarat people are open and friendly, and inclusive. — Cristine Yates

Meredith

Wilson Ekayapan Ballarat is a very beautiful place; it’s got that old architecture that’s preserved the heritage as well as a vibrant culture. Quite a lot of families move here and settle very well because Ballarat is very open to other cultures. I am originally from Kenya and left to follow an Australian girl who lived in Ballarat. We met in Kenya and two years later I moved here. I found people very welcoming and really patient because I had quite a strong accent when I arrived. People were very inclusive from day one, inviting me to dinners and events; they try to make sure you’re part of this community.

I feel like I contribute back to the community in many ways, one being that I help traumatised youth in Ballarat. I also take part in multicultural events like the Harmony Festival (which brings together the foods, music and traditions from different cultures). I was one of the organisers early on, and I also help with the Begonia Festival. I want to be a part of the growth and development of the Ballarat region. I was also the president of the African community in Ballarat for a number of years, which is about integrating new African migrants into the community. When you’re new and come from a different country and culture, you just feel completely out of place. So helping them find housing or jobs, or even just social support is important.

Kerryn Quemard I have lived just out of Clunes for about 35 years. A sense of community makes Clunes unique. You get to know people and can help anyone who needs a hand. We’ve got lots of volunteer groups, so that’s a really good part of our community. It’s changed a lot here. It’s probably becoming more diverse. We’ve got a lot of older people, farming communities, and people coming from the city. This change has probably occurred over the past 10 years. I think we have that feel of community and people do care for each other.

Lindsay Pritchard I live on the outskirts of Clunes on a bush block of 20 acres. We grow a few vegies and have a few chooks and ducks. The people, the buildings, the history and the heritage make Clunes unique. It’s a really relaxing sort of country town that has a laid-back lifestyle. People are really friendly and helpful. It’s a good little town and a good little community. There are many people in this town who put a lot of work in as volunteers. When we had the floods come through, a lot of people just pitched in without asking, so it’s that real community spirit.

David Clark I live in Waubra and I’m the mayor of the Pyrenees Shire at the moment, and I’ve lived here all my life. Here, there is a lovely diversity of climate; a really good winter and a really nice summer. We’re only two hours from anything; Melbourne, the beach, the river, the desert. The thing I really like so much here is the community. It’s not just your own little community, it’s a really big regional community.

Christine Lethlean We’ve been here for three years and feel like we’ve landed in a little pot of gold. I’m a rural girl from WA originally. I’ve travelled around the country a lot and this is one of the most diverse, eclectic, and welcoming communities I’ve ever lived in. Its very enterprising, ideas are readily taken up and you can put them into action with a huge amount of support. There is a melding of many diverse people from many backgrounds with different intellects, skills and talents all coming together in a pool that makes the community very rich.

Ballarat

Temam Hussen I have been here in Ballarat nearly six years now. I came from Tasmania. My wife went to high school in Ballarat, so she knew a few people. We thought if we moved to Ballarat, which is only one hour away from Melbourne, it would be quite convenient to everything we needed.

you are always thinking how are they going to take it. So far they are really lovely people. They come in, and the way they talk to you, and the way they chat with you is incredible. It is beautiful. I like living in Ballarat because it is close to Melbourne, but it is quieter than Melbourne. The standard of life is better.

I was a relief teacher, but I was always hoping to open my café. This shop came up and I jumped in.

The community has embraced diversity, especially with the refugees. The Ballarat City Council is doing a really good job with refugees. There is a lot of positive activism. I was a refugee when I came to Australia. Today my life is in Australia. The community of Ballarat is aware of the importance of diversity and fights for the support of refugees, which is incredible.

Merkama Café is the first African restaurant in Ballarat. The first week was a scary time. I did not know how the community would respond. The young ones jumped in first. They had lunch and immediately shared the restaurant on Facebook and started telling their parents. After one week parents started coming in. Since then, things have been going really well.

Ballarat is charming because the people are very friendly and it’s a kind of a leap back in time. There is no rush when you live here.

The people are really lovely. When you are black and when you are a different person and when you are offering different food,

Dianne Phillips The history, the lake and the climate make Ballarat unique and beautiful. I live one block from the lake, so I use the area a lot. I’ve been away and come back. Lots of friends that I’ve grown up with have been away and come back, too. I just feel part of the community; that I belong. The local council has done a really good job with the new plantings, the park, the new playground, and the football field; they’re a great asset. I think the council’s on a really good track.

Ebony Hansen This area is friendly. Everybody is always willing to give everybody a hand. We’ve had situations where we haven’t been able to do things and we’ve been able to ring local businesses and they’ve been more than willing to give us a hand and help us out. I think the region around Smythesdale is unique because it is growing. Everyone bands together; it’s very community oriented. I would much prefer living in the country to the city. It’s peaceful, quiet and lovely.

Willy Schaap Creswick is a beautiful town. We’ve got some really interesting local history and I love all the lakes and the bush. I’ve lived here seven years. I’ve really felt at home in this town. I really love it that some of the locals are doing local initiatives, like I love Creswick and Christmas in Creswick. A few of the locals have got together and raised money, and they are going to go around and decorate the whole town. So there is a real community spirit here in Creswick.

Wendy Kirby The people make this area unique. The locals, the stories and just how wonderful they all are. They are loving and endearing and they just make it a wonderful town. Everyone knows everyone. The small country feel is great. Coming from a big town like Melbourne, the kids seem happier and healthier. They enjoy being at home. Buninyong is changing every month, so there are so many improvements all the time. I would say to families move here as soon as you can! I would recommend it to anybody. It’s a great way to live, especially with kids.

Seyhan Ozyhurt I’ve lived in Buninyong for seven years. Before that I was in Geelong. It’s nice and quiet. There are a lot of historical places to visit. There are nice people. I have great friends here and there are a lot of good people to talk to. The area is authentic.

Duane Findlay I’ve lived in Ballarat North for 20 years. Ballarat’s unique because it’s big enough to feel like a city, but still small enough to be able to access really easily. You can get from one side to the other in minutes. There’s a sense of community here. It’s a good place to live. Ballarat is comfortable. We’ve got really good schools, good hospitals, and good people.

Ballarat

Clunes

There are lovely people here at Beaufort; the community is good andÂ gets involved in everything. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Barb Schiltz Creswick

Clunes

Cathy Faull I live in Newington in the centre of Ballarat. It’s unique because it’s clearly separated from Melbourne, so it’s got a distinct identity. It’s small enough and has a lot of diversity. There are many different socioeconomic groups and everyone just blends in. It’s always been like that. It's a really easy place to live. I was happily living in Melbourne and had this thing in my head to come back to Ballarat to study Art. So I came back and did an honours degree in visual arts at the University of Ballarat. I always felt proud that I had a country element to me. I think that made me feel different and unique.

Angus Holcombe I live in Buninyong. It’s growing rapidly. It’s got a lovely mountain, and it’s just a very nice, quiet, liveable, little part of the world. From day one we’ve met a lot of good people here and haven't found anyone who isn’t a great person in Buninyong. We moved here about six years ago from Sydney, so it was a pretty big lifestyle change. We made plenty of friends and met people with young kids, and I've got a good group of blokes that I bike ride with now. It’s also got some nice little shops and restaurants. I came here for work. I commute to Melbourne a bit and commute internationally and domestically from the airport, which is only an hour and a quarter away.

Shane Ferguson I’m the manager of the Mr Tod Café at the Ballarat Base Hospital. Mr Tod has good-quality food and service. We’re working a lot with the healthcare people here. It’s a rewarding job. I’ve lived in Ballarat for six months. I moved from Melbourne for a tree change. I love it here. People are much friendlier. It’s just way more relaxed and more genuine than the bigger cities. Ballarat is friendly. The people are just friendly. They make it unique. It is just great.

Ashley Richardson There’s a good community atmosphere, and everyone comes together. If something goes wrong, everyone is there for you. You don’t have to know someone to talk to them. Everyone chips in and makes things a lot easier. The tennis courts at Rokewood were upgraded last year and it’s fantastic for the netball girls, too. It really brings out more players. It’s fantastic here, a real country atmosphere. You can’t beat it.

Michael de Kort I’ve lived in the region for about four years. Family brought me back and I always wanted a farm. I used to be an executive manager and decided to give all of that up and come to the country. On my farm I produce my own meat and sell it through our butcher’s shop. It's good-quality meat because I have control from start to finish. Clunes is an amazing little country town. We’re very accepting of others. It is one of the amazing things I noticed when I came here.

Siga Asa Leausa I’ve lived here six years now. I came from Wonthaggi. I work on PT, fitness and classes at the F45 in Ballarat. I’m also the new coach for Hepburn. The people make Ballarat unique. It is very diverse. When I first came here, I didn’t think it was going to be anywhere near as diverse as it is. There is a great diversity amongst the community and nice friendly people. Ballarat is fun. I have had a lot of great memories and experiences. You meet some lovely people in this wonderful place.

Pauline Clemens I’ve lived in Clunes since 1993. I just love the concentrated village surrounded by trees. There is a creek that quietly runs on one side. Our house faces where the first gold was discovered in Clunes. It has a gentle, historical feel about it. It’s a pleasant place; that’s the meaning of the word "Clunes". When you retire, you just walk down the street and there is always someone you can sit and talk to. You don’t have to be lonely in Clunes.

Jeff Unmack A variety of factors make Creswick unique. I’ve really loved the people for a long period of time. I enjoy serving many generations of one family. There is just something about the Goldfields region and this place; it has a lot of history to tell. At the pharmacy, we like to really get involved with people. We’ve got great rapport with the doctors beside us, so we do health pretty well. But it’s really all about service, not just sticking labels on things. You go out of your way to help each other, and that has been illustrated many times.

Colin Pickering I like Ballarat as a region, I like the atmosphere and the people are nice. I come here probably 12, 14 times a year. I come back for the market and the people. We get to know people, the residents. It’s worth our while. I think Ballarat is a really lovely place. The traffic’s not an issue, it’s liveable. I don’t even whinge about the weather. You dress for it.

Stewart Easdon I’ve been in Ballarat for nearly 20 years. I went to school and uni here and now I work here. Everyone’s really friendly and easygoing in Ballarat. It’s quite easy to make friends. There’s a fair bit of nightlife now, with more places opening up including coffee shops. It is getting that Melbourne feel. Everything seems to get here over time. I am who I am because I’ve lived here.

Courtnie Apps The people make Creswick unique. We’re a very tight community. We do a lot of community-based events that get everyone together; our Anzac Day Parade, yearly sporting events, football, tennis and bowls. There is something for everyone here. It’s been an eye-opener because it is such a small community, so you have to get used to travelling to Ballarat because Creswick doesn’t have everything. I think it has made me a better person to have had roles in the community.

Ron Komisars I came to Clunes in 1994. The buildings make Clunes unique, and it hasn’t changed for 150 years. It’s quiet – not too many people, no pollution and the people are generally very friendly. Clunes is peaceful.

Gabriela Marquez & Manuel Echeverria The people here in Ballarat are amazing. Because it’s not a city where everyone is in a rush, everyone is very keen on helping you. We have made a lot of good friends in only a few months. It’s a different lifestyle because it’s more relaxed. We get a free magazine in our mailbox every quarter that lists all the activities that you can do here in the month or the season.

LL A

T RA

REG

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BEAUTIFUL

LOCATION PROXIMITY AND EASE OF ACCESS

We are blessed with natural beauty with mountains, lakes, plains and national parks. Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree is often described as the “jewel in the city’s crown”. The four distinct seasons support a rich agricultural hinterland. The region’s central location allows easy access to Melbourne, Tullamarine International and Avalon airports, the ports, as well as other regional centres. The Surf Coast and the Grampians are no more than 90 minutes away. 29

Adele Lorensene & Robert Re Living right in the heart of town in Ballarat Central is convenient. It’s quiet and peaceful as we’re surrounded with trees. We’ve got coffee shops at both ends of our street. We love it. Everything’s here health-wise. There's no smog – it’s fabulous. We’ve got the lake and parks to walk and ride in. It has everything we need. We’ve also got a real sense of community where we are. We work very hard on that with our neighbours.

Erique Coggins Ballarat is beautiful – amazing. I have great neighbours. There are beautiful gardens. It is just lovely. We have been here nearly 12 months now. We used to live in Frankston, but it was industrial and a little bit boring. You couldn’t get to know people as easily as you can in this community. Ballarat is central to everything.

Brett Emmerson I’ve lived in Lexton for two years. It’s just one of those places that felt right. It’s just a nice little country town. I like all the scenery – the hills, the trees. I love the fact that we’ve got markets every weekend. There is so much to do in the area. We all volunteer at the co-op crafts shop. It’s one of the longest running craft shops in Beaufort. It’s a great region, a nice place to be.

Liz Hayward I’ve lived in Buninyong for four years and was in Ballarat for nearly 40 years. Everything’s very accessible, and there's a good choice of schools. Access to rural areas and the natural environment is unique and a good way to reduce stress. I’m a keen bike rider and can go for a 50 km ride very easily on sealed roads. I really appreciate the Woowookarung Regional Park. It’s a great facility with bike riding and walking, where we can enjoy the environment. I often hear from council that the park areas are underutilised, but they’re not. There aren't any official events or lots of infrastructure there, but I would resist putting that in because they’re beautiful as they are.

Susan Shea I’ve lived in Ballarat 20 years. I work at the health centre, in research. Everything in Ballarat is accessible. We have great health care, great education and all the shops we could possibly need. Everything is within walking distance or an easy drive. We’ve got a great community, churches and volunteer organisations. Lots for the kids to do. Lots for elderly women’s groups to do and lots of sports groups. Everything is available on our doorstep. Lots of people are happy to come and visit us, especially with all the tourist and holiday attractions around here. We’re an hour from the beach and we’ve got great mountains. Ballarat is safe and comfortable.

It’s such a liveable place; everything’s here. Even if you want to go to Melbourne, it’s only an hour on the train. It doesn’t matter if you want to go to Bendigo or up to the river, you’re pretty central to everywhere. — Tracie McGahey

Ballarat

Clunes

Near Beaufort

Creswick is a unique town because there are so many little boutique shops, like the French bakery and the dress shops. It’s a really up-and-coming town. It has been a good place for the boys to grow up in. It’s just a very friendly, lovely town. I like the small-town community. It’s beautiful. — Pia Geljon

Lake Wendouree

I came from Singapore and have lived in the area for seven years now. There’s a lot of greenery, so that’s why I’d rather stay here. It’s totally different to what we have in Singapore – that’s a concrete jungle. — Shaun Hue Ballarat

Jacinta Smith

Zainab Sabri

I’ve lived in Ballarat for five years. Before that I was in Bacchus Marsh. I was working here and my son is going to school up here so we just relocated.

I was living in Tasmania and an opportunity came for me to work at Ballarat Health Services.

I love the lake. It is the uniqueness of Ballarat. I like taking my dogs for a run as I bike around the lake. The children are happy; they are in very good schools. Ballarat is growing rapidly. The houses are going up everywhere. We need to grow with Ballarat.

What really attracted me to accept the offer was the very liveable way of life, the good-quality health care that my family needs, plus the good education system. I have two sons; one has graduated from school and one is still at school, and we are very happy. It has impacted me positively. I am not spending lots of time in traffic, and I am more active – I often go for a jog or walk around the lake. Living here has had a very positive impact on my family and my career. It’s a nice environment; it’s a mixture of a rural and metro lifestyle and you get the best of both.

Kristen Kelly I’ve lived in Ballarat for 10 years. Before that I was in Sydney. My husband’s family and my family live in the Western District and so we decided to come closer to home. We picked Ballarat because my husband travels a lot with his work interstate and so we wanted to be close to the airport and close to family. Ballarat is really good for families. There is a wide range of school options. You can commute to Melbourne; it’s not that much of a drag. It’s a great rural lifestyle. Where we were previously, we were in a transient type of population. The people that we’ve met now are really settled. They do great things like running, so we’ve certainly improved our physical activity. Ballarat is healthy.

Andrea Wilkinson I was born in Ballarat and it’s been a good place for our children to grow up. It’s a good-sized regional town, and you don’t have to go far if you want to explore other places. You’re in the middle of the Grampians and not far from Melbourne, but you’ve really got everything here. My husband works for an international company, and to be able to do that from Ballarat is pretty special. Mount Pleasant is friendly. You go out for a walk each night and most of the same people are out on their front verandahs and you stop and have a chat.

Dot Newton I’ve lived in Lake Gardens for five years. I’m originally from south-west Victoria, near the Twelve Apostles, but retirement and my children and grandchildren brought me here. There’s a lot on offer. We’re not far from wide-open spaces. There still is a green-band corridor that’s just a few kilometres from the CBD. We’ve got everything here – good schools, good hospitals and quick access to Melbourne.

Brett Vallance I live at Mount Clear. I’ve been around Ballarat for about 21 years. I came here for Uni originally and have stayed ever since. I think its location makes Ballarat unique. Coming from a rural location to here, I wasn’t looking to go to Melbourne, but here we are close enough to Melbourne; we are really accessible. Ballarat has provided my family with education and employment opportunities as well as sport and social activities. It’s pretty relaxed here, which is a positive.

Louise Feery I was born in Ballarat and went to school here. Visually, it is a beautiful city. I spend a lot of time at our lake sailing, rowing or canoeing. I love it being the central focal point of Ballarat. My kids went to secondary school here and have done really well. They are now at uni or doing apprenticeships. It’s been a great start for them. I think we’ve got opportunity here. With our heritage, our beautiful buildings and our lovely gardens, we’ve got a fantastic physical environment.

Wayne Roberts Ballarat's still got a rural touch to a provincial city – it’s just been a nice place to live, pretty peaceful and liveable. I think the climate’s changed a bit over the past few years – it’s got warmer. Raising kids here was good. We were in Buninyong, and then we went to Ballarat North, then into town. Both our kids went to good schools and now they have good jobs. One of them is back in Ballarat with our three grandkids.

Raj Singh We live in Ballarat. People are very friendly around here and it’s a bit quieter and not too far from the city. It’s very convenient. It’s very laid back so it’s not that busy, and it sort of gives you a stress-free life. You can afford a house around here, rather than going to Melbourne.

Dean McCarthy The diversity is unique here. You’re close to the city, lakes, rivers, and the sea. Pretty central to everything. Makes for easy living. There’s a lot of good stuff for the kids in the area. Diversity in sports and leisure, things from boating and canoeing to motorbike riding and buggies. All my family is within an hour of here, so I usually stay pretty close. It’s easy to keep in touch.

I have all the advantages of a city and what a city offers, but I also have the advantages of having aÂ quiet rural setting to live in. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Susan Nelson

Ballarat

Creswick

Ballarat Botanical Gardens

Near Creswick

Laura Lee I work at the Base Hospital, and I live between Soldiers Hill and Melbourne. I bought a place up here, which is a good investment, and I still have my place in Melbourne, so I get to play weekends wherever I feel like. The people and community here have been really lovely, I originally came here to work for three weeks and five years later I’m still working and living here. The food and culture are changing, I think people are trying really hard to make it a nice central hub. And because I don’t have to commute each day, I just get a lot more time to do what I like and enjoy life more. Ballarat’s got soul.

Rick Lockett I live overlooking the golf course. I’ve lived here about five or six years. Before that I lived on the lake for about 30 years. I'm Ballarat born and bred. Ballarat’s a great place to live, and I’ve got my kids and my grandkids here. It’s close to Melbourne if you want to go to the city. The lovely part about Ballarat is you can walk down the street and talk to everybody because you know everyone. And I guess any town’s the same as that if you’ve been there all your life, but it is just great. The set-up we’ve got here with the golf course is sensational. It’s a good place to bring up a family.

Chris Ward I’ve lived in Ballarat North for three years now. It’s a terrific place. I love it. We lived in Creswick between ’85 and ’92, and my wife made a lot of good friends out there, but she wanted to get back. Ballarat’s got hills, the lake, the gardens and a lot of attractions. It’s kept its history, so it has a lot of old buildings, museums and art galleries. I think the council does a terrific job in creating events and bringing stuff to Ballarat, which attracts people. There’s always something on. I’m looking towards retirement. I’m slowing down and here is a terrific place to be. It’s got all the services you need as you’re getting older. I have no complaints.

Tina Verhey I live in Wendouree and we like it here. It’s close to all the schools and shopping centres, and it's easy to get in and out to Melbourne. Everything’s within close proximity. Both our kids went to Forest Street Primary School, then down the road to the technical school, then to Ballarat College. It’s just an easy lifestyle. I love the weather. A lot of people complain about it, but I love the diversity of the weather. Wendouree is an easy, happy, community. Everyone here sticks together and enjoys each other’s company.

The city-meets-country lifestyle makes Ballarat unique. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got plenty of friends in Melbourne, but I think our quality of life here is just a bit better. It is not as stressed. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; John Burns The Pyrenees

Beaufort

Sturt Street Gardens

Rowing Course at Lake Wendouree

Chris Dobson I’ve been working in the Smythesdale antique shop for three years and have owned a property in Smythesdale for 30 years. There is good infrastructure in Smythesdale; lots of small businesses which seem to be going reasonably well. It’s just a nice little part of the world. There’s some beautiful old architecture from the gold rush period; post offices, pubs, old jail houses and miners' cottages that have been here for a long time. It’s just got an interesting history and all these buildings exude that history.

Andrew Brown We live in Alfredton, which is quaint. We bought an old house, full of charm. Living in the city was too expensive. Here we were able to buy the place and not pay rent for the rest of our lives. I get outside a lot and go places more. We can just do a lot more than what we used to in Sydney, where we moved from. Affordability and being close to schools was our motivation to move here. It’s much further from work, but that doesn’t worry me. It’s very good for the kids. One’s at the local high school and the other one’s now bought a house in Wendouree.

Carmen Baldwin We’ve lived in Gordon for seven and a half years. The attraction to the Ballarat region was the affordability of the housing. We could buy a house with some land and have fantastic schooling options. It’s not too overcrowded and the traffic hasn’t got to the stage where it’s stressful. The drivers here are relaxed because there are not so many traffic lights and congestion. Living here has made me a more relaxed mum. It frees us up, being a family with two small, active children. We now have the time, energy, and money to come to facilities, like the local pool or go riding around the lake and spend the day together.

Michelle Trigg I’ve lived at Bungaree for 22 years. I’m from Bendigo and married a dairy and potato farmer from Bungaree. I love the natural side of growing your own produce. What I love about living in the area is that it’s got a really great environment for the children to grow up in. They are always outside having fun. I like it being smaller and the community spirit that is there. We’ve got brand-new facilities with the community centre. They’ve just spent $2.5 million on that and it’s fantastic for the community to get together. There’s football, netball, and lawn bowls, so it’s going ahead. It’s refreshing here because it’s quite untouched and quite natural.

It’s quite close to get to uni in Melbourne. I travel back and forth nearly every day, usually by train. — Courtny Norton

Snake Valley

Illabarook

Trent McKinnis I’ve lived in Alfredton for two years. I was from the Mallee, but I’ve been here for about 25 years. I head down to Melbourne weekly, and I also work anywhere basically from Horsham to Melbourne to Geelong. So being right in the middle of that is very helpful. The proximity to Melbourne and the beach is really good as is the heritage and the gold mines. With all of the old buildings and bluestone gutters; there’s definitely an old feel to the city.

Daniel Nestor I’ve lived in Alfredton for two years. The rich history is what makes Ballarat unique. It's a very heritagefocused town and we look after it incredibly well. I’ll never move away. I think the proximity to Melbourne is great. We’re close enough without being right amongst the hustle and bustle. Ballarat’s a happy medium for my family. We certainly like to go to Melbourne, but here we get the best of both worlds.

Hayley Wachter I’ve lived in Dereel for a couple of months. The CFA men’s shed is just across the road from us, and they’ve got a really good playlist that they play, and everyone’s out doing work on the weekends there. Dereel … ah, the serenity. It’s really nice and there are a lot of trees. It’s like a whole forest you can walk through – that’s pretty much my backyard.

Anita Schreiber I’ve lived in Brown Hill for four months, and I’ve been in Ballarat for just over four years. I moved from the UK to Ballarat because of family connections. Ballarat’s heritage and location is unique. It’s close to the sea, Melbourne, and the Grampians. It’s a really nice central location. I do a lot more things outdoors here – go to the beach, the bush and the hills. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to go somewhere really nice. Plus it has a very interesting heritage compared to other regional towns.

Darren McGuiness Creswick has a really good atmosphere that gives you a sense of community and wider family. The proximity to Ballarat gives you the small-town feel next to a reasonably big city. You get the best of both worlds. It’s got the good amenities that a modern big town has. Creswick is trendy.

Hannah Cozens The community atmosphere makes Creswick unique as do the events that it holds including the market, the cafes, and all the people. We moved here in January because my partner and I needed a house that was between Kyneton and Ballarat. It’s a happy medium between the two. The community atmosphere is great and the people are generally very friendly. Creswick is quaint. It’s a sweet town, close to all amenities, and it is just a nice place to be.

Daniel Findlay I’ve lived in Cardigan for about three months. I was in Wendouree before then. I’ve lived in Ballarat all of my life. There’s plenty here to do, plenty of growth and opportunity, so I don’t need to go to the bigger cities. It's a small town with large infrastructure and all of the facilities we need to make the area unique, but in a small-town environment and culture. Around here there are plenty of sporting activities such as mountain biking and local fishing in Lake Burrumbeet and Lake Wendouree.

Tom Cochrane I’ve lived in Mount Clear for five years. It’s close to my work and to the Canadian Forest mountain bike tracks. I’m able to work in my industry, live in a regional city, and come home every night to my family, which is unique in the mining industry.

The Pyrenees

I’ve lived in Creswick just about my whole life. We are away from the hustle and bustle and you’re not that far from anywhere – Ballarat, Maryborough or Bendigo. If you don’t drive, there is a good bus service. It’s peaceful here. — Francis Slade

Western Freeway to Melbourne

Chris Brown

John Wood

I live in Bonshaw. I like Ballarat because it’s not big enough to be a big city, and it is close enough to everything I want to be close to – the beach and Melbourne.

I live in Nerrina. I’ve been there five weeks, but I’ve been in Ballarat all my life.

I’m from the bush, basically. This is the big smoke for me, Ballarat. It’s liveable, I love the temperature. There were work opportunities here and education opportunities.

Ballarat has good facilities. Schooling is good, and Ballarat is close to the beach, and close to Melbourne. It’s a great place. Ballarat gets behind their own, definitely. It’s a great place to live with friendly people and just a good community.

Monica Dickson I’ve lived in Magpie for nearly 26 years. I came to Ballarat for work and met my future husband here. We decided that Ballarat was a great place to raise a family, and we’ve had seven children. We’ve made lots of great friends living in Ballarat. The gold history, all the magnificent buildings and the way it’s laid out, the beautiful statues, the lovely trees and all of the beautiful gardens make Ballarat a really beautiful city. Ballarat is a great spot for mountain biking. I tell my husband I live in mountain-bike heaven with lots of beautiful forests and nearby trails. Even the actual city itself has lots of amazing bike paths.

Owen Ralli I’ve lived in Ballarat East for 12 months. I came from Mildura. My partner finished uni as a nurse and was offered a position here at the hospital. We came here for opportunities, really. Ballarat’s a lot bigger than Mildura. The town’s been good and the job’s been awesome. I’ve become friends with a lot of good blokes, mainly through work. Everywhere you go, everyone’s pretty easygoing and helpful. It’s big enough and close enough to the city, which is one thing I like about it. You can duck down to the footy or the rugby on a Saturday afternoon. You don’t have to plan it out. From here it's an hour and a half to Etihad or the MCG. I’ve got family in Melbourne, too, which is good as I get to see them.

April Cox I’ve lived in Invermay Park for about a year and a half, but we’re planning to move to Clunes shortly. The dream is to have lots of chickens and goats. I just want to adopt all these animals but also work. My partner works in Maryborough, so it’s a nice little home away for us. I grew up in Footscray, and when I was about 12 we moved here, and I’ve just stayed here ever since. I like it because it’s a nice step down from Melbourne, and not in a bad way. Growing up in Melbourne, as a kid, it was really hectic and noisy. Ballarat has got its own little je ne sais quoi. It’s not rural or regional as such, but it’s a nice little halfway point. It’s unique here.

Glenda Hipwell I grew up in Kingston, a little town outside of Creswick. I’ve been away at different times in my life, but now I’m living back in Creswick permanently. It’s a lovely little town, very community minded. A lot of families have been here for many years, but there are also a lot of new families coming into the district. We are surrounded by forest, which is beautiful. We have some lovely lakes and a lovely selection of shops. It’s a lovely climate. Winter can be very cold, but it’s part of the changing of the seasons. It’s quite therapeutic living here; a very peaceful sort of life. My father and his father were born here. My grandchildren are now fourth and fifth generation. It’s wonderful to have that sense of belonging.

WO N D E R FU L

FACILITIES

Whether it be in the sporting field, health, education or arts and culture, the region provides excellent facilities. The Ballarat Regional Integrated Cancer Centre, The Art Gallery of Ballarat, the new aquatic centre in Prince of Wales Park, Mars Stadium (which hosts AFL football), and the 143-yearold Her Majesty’s Theatre are just a few. The new Ballarat Sports and Events Centre and the redeveloped Civic Hall and Station precincts will be outstanding additions to the region’s facilities.

Shaarang Tenneti I’m from Lake Gardens. I’ve only just come back home after being away at uni for a year. The schools are pretty good. I went to school at Clarendon. I moved here from England. Mum’s a doctor, so she had to move to a rural area. People here are a lot more friendly. It’s just a lot more calm and relaxed. There are lots of facilities around, so it’s nice. I think Ballarat was designed for becoming a big city. Now we’ve got nice big roads and no traffic; it's just easy to get around.

Renate & Bill Peacock We work in schools in Melbourne, and about five years ago we purchased a property in Redan because it’s only an hour and twenty minutes from Melbourne, and we just love Ballarat. We come every fortnight and most school holidays. In Redan we’re opposite the wetlands. We love going for walks along the Yarrowee walking trail. We love the history, markets, the botanical gardens, all the facilities and the beautiful colonial architecture. One of the things that really attracted us were the facilities – medical facilities, government services and retail services. Everything is available here and housing is affordable. In terms of medical facilities, we’re probably better serviced in Ballarat with bulk-billing and longer opening hours.

Shelley Dalrymple I’ve lived in Ballarat East for seven years. We moved from the Wimmera. We thought we’d move here while my husband was at university. There’s a confidence that you know your kids are getting a good education because you’ve got options, and more options for leisure. We love it. I much prefer the cooler climate. I like the size because you can be anonymous. It’s got lots happening, and the proximity to Melbourne, the beach and the Grampians. It’s quite a convenient spot. I love the fact that it’s got its heritage and it embraces that. It’s been a good move, I love it here.

Paul Williams We live here in Creswick. Our business, Le Peche Gourmand, is unique, classical and traditional. We really stick to doing classic French patisserie-style food. For six years we’ve had this business. I’ve got a great work-life balance because I’ve got a young family. We do enjoy living here. Creswick is the next mountain bike hub. I’m a keen mountain biker and they’re about to start a project next year, with just shy of $3 million to spend on mountain bike trails, so it’s going to be a massive boom in this town in the coming years with people coming from all over Australia.

Ballarat is growing ... it is just getting better Shayne Reese I grew up in Mount Helen but we’re currently in Buninyong. I really like the fact that you can go down the street and run into people that you know. I moved to Melbourne for nine years, but then came back in 2011 to start my family and my business. My business is Shayne Reese Swimming. It’s a learn-toswim business in Delacombe. I’ve swum my entire life both professionally and competitively. I wanted to bring that back to Ballarat. I’ve had amazing support here for the business from local businesses, the community and my family. I moved to Melbourne in 2002 to continue my swimming career and see how far l could go. I made the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympic teams. At those games, I swam in the relay events for Australia, and I was able to bring home both a gold and bronze from Beijing. When I left Ballarat, there weren’t many sporting facilities here, but now they’ve grown and developed. The aquatic centre has extended its facilities and we do have a lot of pools now. We’ve got the soccer fields that have been upgraded as well as the football ovals.

There has been a lot of development in the way of sport and sporting facilities over the past few years. My sister and l did the swimming program here as children, and then we joined a swimming club, which was a social and fun thing, not a competition. I did that all through high school, and then I got to a point where I obviously kept going and was able to make national championships and national finals while still swimming and living in Ballarat. The next step was to be able to make the Australian swim team. Ballarat has produced lots of sporting people, especially in football. Tony Lockett, Drew Petrie and Brad Sewell are all from Ballarat. The javelin thrower Kathryn Mitchell also went to school here and Jared Tallent, the walker, is also from Ballarat. With the facilities improving here, we are definitely giving the kids opportunities. Ballarat is growing a lot, not just the population, but within itself, the buildings the facilities and its education. It is just getting better.

Sue Howie I’ve lived in Miners Rest for seven years, I’ve lived all around Ballarat and was born and bred in Buninyong. I think schooling, hospitals, and recreation are absolutely tops here in Ballarat. And I think it’s a wonderful place to bring children up. It’s a great environment. There’s really no place like Ballarat. The sporting facilities here are awesome, and I think a lot of people are moving from Melbourne to live here because of our facilities. Ballarat is diverse. We have a lot of culture with our museums and galleries, Sovereign Hill, the arts, cafes, restaurants and eating areas. So we are becoming culturally more in line with Melbourne.

James Dunstan I live in Musk, over near Daylesford. I’ve moved to the country and I like the country life now. I’ve been there eight years. Before that I was in suburban Melbourne. I’ve done the tree change. We’ve come here today for the pool. They’ve got an outdoor pool in Daylesford, and there’s been talk of an indoor pool, but in reality, pools are expensive. So, I don’t mind driving to Ballarat to get to an indoor pool. Daylesford is fantastic. It’s a lovely community.

Dean Wells I’m a committee member with the local Eureka Cycling Club, which is for veteran riders. I do a lot of riding with café groups as well, and a lot of riding in the bush. We’ve got a lot of country roads, so in a couple of minutes we’re outside of town and the roads are relatively quiet so it makes it safe for all road users. The Ballarat City Council has invested a lot of money into the trails and infrastructure for cycling, so it’s a great place for riding. It’s just a lovely country lifestyle, and Ballarat is very close to Melbourne if you need to go there. It’s beautiful here. I love the trees, how quiet and how peaceful and calm it is.

Michaela Fiegert I’ve lived in Alfredton for 10 years. Before that I was in Tatura in northern Victoria. We were looking for a large town and then narrowed it down to the facilities here along with the motel that was for sale. For us it was a good financial move, buying and then selling the business, and we feel it offers a lot more to our three sons. Ballarat has a lot of sporting opportunities that smaller country towns didn’t have, and our kids are very sporty. We wanted to give them good opportunities. We’ve been happy with the schools. Ballarat is a beautiful city with beautiful architecture. I just love the old buildings and the art gallery.

Ballarat’s a sensational place.

Lake Wendouree

I’d advise anybody who’s thinking of selling up in Melbourne and coming to Ballarat to do so. It’s got everything you want – schools, health, education, restaurants. It’s got the lot. — Allen McKinnon

Aria Day

Mars Stadium

Creswick

Peter Eddy Having been a long-term resident, a number of things about Ballarat appeal to me. We’ve got a mix of heritage buildings, as well as the Sovereign Hill tradition, plus the sports and the art gallery.

We have well-maintained outdoor ovals for football and cricket, as well as a lot of good bowls clubs, and then the Mars Stadium opened in 2017 and brought the first AFL game to Ballarat.

Then there is a really dynamic environment around the community that lends itself to young families or older people – there’s plenty to do. Then there is still the luxury of being able to travel an hour to the airport and Melbourne, and an hour and a half to the Grampians or the coast.

The reason people (young or adults) should play sport is to learn team values, leadership and role modelling – that is my contribution in a personal sense. The values that come through sport are equally applicable across all forms of life. The other highlight is that the new Ballarat Sports and Events Centre will position us, for the next 30 years, to have a quality environment for indoor sports.

My career and my business is sport. We’re so lucky that we have great facilities here, and they’re improving all the time. We’re on the verge of a whole new era, with a major new sports and events precinct being built in Ballarat. This will bring an enormous amount of sports tourism and add an economic benefit to the city through the events they will stage.

Each year the Ballarat City Council runs a series of youth leadership awards to recognise people. The quality, calibre and diversity of people participating in the arts or theatre, or undertaking community service activities (like caring for the homeless) shows that the community is still very strong. 63

The amenities, infrastructure and coaches really helped with my footy, and the opportunity to go to college was fantastic from an educational point of view Brett Goodes I went to Clarendon College and played a lot of football here with the VFL, and now I’m the Ballarat engagement manager for the Western Bulldogs Football Club. Boarding at Clarendon College was a great experience for me, being a country boy growing up in Dimboola. The amenities, infrastructure and coaches really helped with my footy, and the opportunity to go to college was fantastic from an educational point of view. I went to Adelaide to play in the SANFL – followed the footy dream – then came back after 12 months, worked in Ballarat as a labourer for a couple of years, then went back to university and studied conservation land management.

We’ve also seen great results from our Sons of the West and Daughters of the West programs, which are based in Ballarat. We’re running youth leadership in the high schools, taking year 9 and 10 students through that leadership pathway, working on a number of community-based programs and seeing other great programs grow from that as well. I’ve noticed a lot of changes within Ballarat. The food culture, cafés, nightlife, Springfest, free live bands near the lake, food and wine festivals. It’s great to see the horse trainers and that industry really picking up around Ballarat, too. We have good coffee here in Ballarat now – as long as we’ve got good coffee we’re going to get people from Melbourne!

The head of boarding approached me to work at St Pat’s College with the Indigenous programs they were running. I did that for 12 months, then went back to Melbourne, and then, about seven or eight years later, I ended up back in Ballarat.

The Mars Stadium redevelopment is fantastic for the people of Ballarat and surrounding regions, and now the kids have opportunities to come to Ballarat and watch the game.

I played a number of years at the Bulldogs, and at the time the club was looking at having a presence in Ballarat. It was by chance that I’d finished up at that time and the role was a good fit for the club and myself.

The schools in Ballarat provide great opportunities for young kids to study at a fantastic school and also have access to some of the state’s best footballing programs, coaches and facilities. Our Next Gen Academy helps kids come to Ballarat to be a part of those programs.

One of the first programs we brought here was the Bulldogs Read program for kids at primary school level struggling with their reading and writing. I’ve been part of that program from day one and have seen the kids progress from the start of the program to where they’ve been able to get to at the end.

Ballarat’s a really football-strong community, so we hope bringing AFL here and having access to our players, our staff, and our programs will help drive that.

Kerry Armstrong Creswick itself has a lot of heritage and a great community out here in support of local businesses. There is a lot of growth in medical facilities and retail growth, and we’ve seen some incredible growth in the population. I’ve been part of this community now for almost 15 years and despite this growth, it hasn't lost that community feel. Creswick is really an untouched resource, and I don’t think people are aware of the community and the beautiful aspects it has, particularly the tennis facilities and the ongoing investment in retail. It’s a wonderful community on so many levels, particularly catering for the children with education and medical facilities, which also cover the ageing population.

Sue Lowther I live in Snake Valley. It has a snaky, windy creek bed. You’ve got the best of the city within a country atmosphere and such a diverse range of entertainment. Whatever your taste, it’s catered for within half an hour of central Ballarat. We’ve seen quite a number of changes over the 40 years we’ve been here. What has impacted on us most is the development of the schools and the generation of more work opportunities in the area, as well as more diversity. There are a lot of outdoor activities you can partake in, as well as going to the theatre and art gallery. Ballarat has it all! I can go and see a show that is equal to anything you can see in Melbourne or Sydney. We’ve got world-class stuff here in the country.

Howard Phillips I’ve lived in Buninyong for five years. I was in Ballarat 10 years before that. The country lifestyle and sense of community is unique. We came up here for the kids to go to the local schools and just have a more country lifestyle, rather than living in Melbourne. I generally live a more relaxed lifestyle on the weekend, but I commute to Melbourne. The pool is good now; we've got a 50-metre pool. We’ve got pretty good facilities in Ballarat, there’s no doubt about that.

Peter Stevens I’ve lived in Lake Wendouree for six years. I moved from a property at Mount Rowan. It’s more accessible. It’s pretty much the best place in the world to live; nothing else like it. All the facilities and playgrounds, a lot of older buildings being pulled down, new ones going up. It’s a changing demographic all the time. I’ve been in Ballarat for 80 years. I’ve been in business all my life, so you get to know a lot of people and get involved in things going on.

Jason Birch I live in Sulky; which is between Ballarat and Creswick. Ballarat is so close to everything – schools, supermarkets, sport, the lake. It’s a good spot. I ride bikes all around Ballarat. It’s got everything. Everything’s 10 to 15 minutes away within the town. And if you want to go to Melbourne, it’s an hour by car, Geelong is an hour and a half away, and the Grampians is two hours away. Accessibility within the town and everything around central Victoria is fantastic.

The Art Gallery of Ballarat

Georgia Amoore I have lived in Ballarat my whole life in Miners Rest. I think what makes Ballarat and the region unique is its rich history and culture. Everywhere in the street you can see evidence of the gold rush. Even our basketball team is named after the gold rush. Over the years I have become a lot more appreciative of how far Ballarat has come from being a bunch of migrants searching for gold to now being a city. Growing up in Ballarat is fun. My friends come out to our farm. There is a lot of land to do a lot of things on, or we go out for dinner. There are a lot of nice restaurants around town. I like the fact that living here isn't too loud, but it’s not too quiet, either. You can do a lot of things on weekends, as there are lots of places to go, but you don’t have to travel too far. The convenience of being able to access things is important to me.

Ballarat basketball has training sessions in the mornings and afternoons. We have great local facilities. Our training is from 7.00 am to 8.00 am, and school doesn’t start until 8.45 am, so it gives us plenty of time to get ready and go to school. That’s the big difference between here and Melbourne – you have plenty of time to get to things. Living here in Ballarat, we still get chosen for national teams. It has taken me to India to represent Australia. It can take you anywhere. Ballarat is close to enough to Melbourne to allow you to do this. If I had one word to describe Ballarat, it would be "friendly". Everyone is always nice in the streets, up for a chat. It’s not a place where you get really scared or anything like that.

FOOD, CULTURE &

LIFESTYLE

There’s something for everyone in Ballarat and the region. Whether it be beautiful natural attractions, farm-fresh produce, galleries, theatres, great sporting options, festivals and events, its ever-growing restaurant and boutique-brewing scene that continues to attract national attention, the lifestyle is great. Affordable housing, accessible community services and short and consistent commute times across Ballarat and region help make this part of the world a great place to live. 71

Ballarat is a very good place for farming, for its weather, local support and access to Melbourne Rachel Peterken I own Inglenook Dairy, a milk-manufacturing business just outside Ballarat in Dunnstown. I have lived in the region all my life. Born and bred!

quickly and easily. We just sit in a really nice, quiet spot – we can enjoy the best of everything and not feel so busy.

I love Ballarat. It is such a friendly regional town. You always know somebody walking down the street.

Farming is one of those things that is very weather dependent. As a rule, Ballarat is a very good place for farming, for its weather, local support and access to Melbourne. The climate is not so extreme as other parts of Australia. It is milder between summer and winter. It still does get cold, but we need that as well.

Ballarat has everything. We’ve got great aged-care facilities, great hospitals and the transport to Melbourne is fabulous. Everything is here. All my family and friends are here. It is just a really great place to bring up little kids. We’ve got some great agricultural industries here. We’ve got really beautiful red volcanic soil out where we live, so there are lots of farms, including dairy, wheat, sheep, beef, pigs and market gardeners. There’s pretty much everything around here, including wine! There is lots of business support for anyone in the agricultural industry. There is the Victorian Farmers’ Federation, Dairy Australia, Commerce Ballarat. There is support for any industry if you are prepared to source it.

Ballarat has the most amazing schools. There are so many options to choose from, depending on your child’s individual needs. My children have both blossomed. We’re very lucky with the local schools we’ve got in the region. There are a lot of extracurricular activities for the kids to do as well. There’s absolutely everything that your child would want to do. We’re just as good as any big city in that respect. If there is one word I would use to describe Ballarat it would be "fabulous". It has everything, but it is still quiet and friendly. We’ve got really great facilities. It is just my home.

I think we are very lucky to be here. We have everything that we need here as well as the proximity to Melbourne. It is just incredible for the likes of our business. A lot of our business goes on in Melbourne, so it is very important for us to be able to access that

Samuel Beverley I came here this year from Townsville. I live in Alfredton. The hype and vibe of the place makes Alfredton unique. It’s got open space, green space and quite a decent socioeconomic status. It’s easy to get to places. It seems to be well thought out and reasonably planned. I play footy here, and it is a great little social centre. I have a really good work-life balance here. It’s pretty cultured as well. It’s a really pleasant place to live. Ballarat has got pretty much everything that I would look for in a city. It is well laid out and has a good mix of industry and economy. To me, it is a cultural place. It’s got a really good mix; the arts, the performing arts centre, and events on throughout the year. It’s got its own culture.

Anita Auchettl I’ve lived in Ballarat since 1971. There were about 70,000 people when we moved here, now there are over 100,000. It has extended its boundaries – more facilities had to be developed to keep up with the population growth. It was a very insular little town, and now we’re more a cosmopolitan town with a lot more restaurants and interesting things to do in the evenings with my friends. Ballarat is historical. We have fantastic buildings and streetscapes. I think we value our history as well as our future.

Marilyn Delfin I’ve been in this area seven months. I’m originally from Sydney, but we lived in Melton West. Food has always been my expertise. I used to run the David Jones coffee shop in the food hall in Sydney, then I thought maybe I’ll find something else that I would like with my expertise. We found this, and I fell in love with The Old Bluestone Café in Buninyong. The area and the community make it unique here. I am enjoying it, and still have a lot to learn.

Bradley Neunhoffer I’ve been living in Buninyong for 12 years. The people and the community make it unique. The Crown Hotel has been here since 1874 and has good food, good people and good service. We have new people coming in all the time. We’re pretty well known around the place. I would use the word "heritage" to describe the area. There is a lot of history in this place.

Max Diamond I’ve lived in Buninyong for about 10 years. I’ve been in Ballarat all my life. I think the variety of things that go on make the area unique. Attractions like the cycling at Christmas is great. The hospitality around the place is great as well. It is just such a free lifestyle here. It is just great to be living in the area.

Peter Freund I have lived in Mount Pleasant since 1989. Having grown up in cities, I would never have envisaged living in a regional community. But the scale of this place meant that it was a very easy and relaxed place to bring up a family, but large enough to have a range of education, medical and leisure services. Also there was a strong arts community here, so there were opportunities for employment. When I first came here, it was a very conservative community, and part of that was quite oppressive in some ways, but part of it was that if people felt comfortable and familiar with certain things in the community, then there was solid support. For instance, the local theatre and arts activities would get regular support and a lot of participation because they were known, and they were local institutions. People felt proud of them – it was part of what living in Ballarat was all about. Provided things sat within a comfort zone, the community was prepared to support it. So that has been frustrating at times

over the years that there hasn’t been a readiness to embrace more contemporary forms or initiatives or names who aren’t necessarily familiar. That’s been the biggest change in the local arts scene over the past 10 years. There’s much more of an audience for activity that is new. In the '90s, I was involved in setting up various events like Heritage Week and the Heritage Festival, as well as an event called History Alive, which was a community-based project. Since then, Heritage Weekend has become very successful. I guess there’s more capacity for private initiatives that are not pushed by council or the state government to survive and flourish; and therefore that creates more diversity. Now there is a much stronger, more resilient, private art scene, and a much better integration of the arts into the commercial area.

One word I’d say is "progressive" because you’re getting a lot of generations that are ex-Ballarat coming back from overseas or Melbourne and bringing ideas. — Damian Birks Ballarat

Sovereign Hill

The culture’s a bit different here, but it’s good, a good environment. It’s becoming like a mini-Melbourne. It’s a good lifestyle. — Noel Annakis The Hop Temple

Bill West I’ve lived in Ballarat East, near the wildlife park for about six months. I grew up in Redan and went to school here. I went to uni in Melbourne and came back to Ballarat and found a job in a nearby manufacturing company. I think it’s got a lot better here in the past five years. The culture in Ballarat – café culture – that has come along in leaps and bounds. People that have been away and have started spending more time in Ballarat have come back and said it’s really different and that it’s a lot more enjoyable. I think the Ballarat City Council does a really good job with its events. Through the myBallarat magazine, there’s a lot of communication on what’s going on. Ballarat is nearly an accessible suburb of Melbourne. It’s liveable here.

James Gerrard I’ve lived in Ballarat only a couple of years, coming from Geelong. Geelong was getting a bit busy for me. We were just looking to make a change. I like the streetscapes, the pace of life, the positioning geographically. I enjoy it because it is five minutes to anywhere. I don’t mind the commute to Melbourne every now and then. I’ve been amazed at how there is something on almost every weekend – the Begonia Festival, Springfest, the ice-skating rink, art shows. I think it caters for everyone. Ballarat is comfortable. It is just accommodating to me. It just seems like it is working for us.

Mary Baxter What I like in Ballarat is that feeling of the 1800s and all the buildings and heritage that they have. There is a bit of everything – modern restaurants and at the same time old buildings and a little bit of the old times of how people lived then. I think it is better than the city because the city is very busy and around these country towns it is like another way of living. People are more laid back and you don’t worry as much. Here, it is calmer and better for kids. The area is a surprise because a lot of people would be amazed at the things that you can find and the little treasures that they have around these little country towns.

Joseph Perse The Bread and Circus Provedore is a café/restaurant we opened up two years ago. This building used to be the old Library and we restored it. A lot of other buildings have now started doing the same thing. Clunes has quite a different mix of people. You’ve got different backgrounds, a lot of people moving – retirees from Melbourne, relocating or building houses, realising that the lifestyle here is more relaxed. You don’t have the stress of the traffic, the day-to-day grind and pollution. You can live a healthier lifestyle. Clunes has something for everyone.

I think the Ballarat arts scene, musically and artistically, is thriving Kat Pengelly I was born in Ballarat and I'm really proud of that. I never aspired to move to Melbourne. I did live overseas briefly, but for me Ballarat has everything that I am looking for without the hectic traffic and city lifestyle. You can get whatever you need within a 10-minute drive. The facilities, restaurants and art scene are just getting bigger and better. Growing up in this town, I’ve watched the art scene ebb and flow; but I’m really excited to say that I actually can’t keep up with what’s happening in Ballarat these days with our arts and cultural events. There are too many on offer for me to attend all of them. The scope and calibre of the events is really world class and high quality. The Ballarat International Foto Biennale brings so many people to town, it was great to see groups walking around with their yellow tote bags associated with the exhibition. Getting the work of international photographer, David LaChapelle, into the Art Gallery of Ballarat was a coup and really great to see. In 2017, my fashion concept show, Fashion for Funerals, was presented in association with the Art Gallery of Ballarat’s major exhibition, Romancing the Skull. Fashion for Funerals was created in response to my mother’s death, the aim being to create a cultural shift in the way that we grieve. Major partners, as well as the gallery, were the Ballarat Arts Foundation and Federation University Australia. From the successful collaboration with the university, I was offered an artist-in-residency position with the Arts Academy, which is an opportunity to develop my fashion label Koshka – Art Fuelled Fashion, whilst inspiring and encouraging the next generation of artists.

I think the Ballarat arts scene, musically and artistically, is thriving. There are a number of people working within those fields who are all so very generous with their time and support. I have mentors myself, and I enjoy mentoring when I can. Ballarat people are open hearted with their skills, knowledge and support of each other, practising their art and getting it out there. I try to get to as many events as I can. I love theatre, live music and visual art exhibitions. White Night is another fantastic example of a phenomenal success, which shows the community wanting to participate in art. The event is really exciting and well attended. It was thick with people all through Lydiard Street and throughout part of Sturt Street. We also have the Biennale of Australian Art (BOAA) launching in September 2018, which will show case 150 of Australia’s most innovative living artists. People need to keep their eye on what is happening. The Central Highlands ArtsAtlas highlights local artists, opportunities and events, and from here you can access ARTeFACT, a monthly newsletter on the arts in our region. There is also Best of Ballarat, a monthly pocket-sized publication covering art, music, events, shopping and eating out. Deborah Klein, who is the arts officer with the City of Ballarat, works really hard on presenting exciting events. She runs the Backspace Gallery that has regular and diverse exhibitions of exceptional quality. Ballarat is gold, but it’s gold in terms of alchemy. We have the power to transform.

Kat is wearing an outfit called Danse Macabre created for her Fashion for Funeral show.

White Night in Ballarat

Jake Charnock I’ve been living in Creswick for three years since moving from Alice Springs. I’ve lived in a lot of small towns, and living in Creswick is fantastic because you get that small-town feel, but you have access to Ballarat and Melbourne. So you’ve got a good range of whatever you want to do. I like that all the shops here are quite local and run by locals, so you do end up getting to know the people around here. It doesn’t matter what end of town you’re on, you’ll see people you know.

Katherine Cape I’ve lived in Golden Point, behind Sovereign Hill, for about five years. Previously, I was living in East Ballarat for a couple of years after we moved from Melbourne. I love Melbourne, but I didn’t like the busyness of it. Working here creates a connection. And then what I’d been looking for really came into play. I love the landscape. Ballarat is beautiful, and you don’t feel hemmed in. You’re within minutes to the beautiful countryside, and it is a very community-oriented place, so it’s very easy to get to know people. Ballarat has boomed in the time we’ve been here in terms of cultural life and dining, and there are also more things you can do on a weekend – rockabilly festivals, cabaret festivals, music in the summer, Summer Sounds in the botanical gardens and backyard tasters.

I love seeing more people coming up and enjoying Ballarat and being surprised how good it is Julia Zass I moved to Black Hill eight and a half years ago for work. That was the first reason and now my husband and I love it here. It’s everything from the people to the food and wine culture. It’s fantastic. It’s the arts that are becoming more and more alive and the number of festivals we have here, too. It’s awesome. I am a breakfast radio announcer at Power FM, which is one of the local radio stations here. I go to work at 5.30 am I do a breakfast show from 6.00 am to 10.00 am, and then after that I go and get a strong coffee before I go and schedule music because I’m also the music director at Power FM. Initially, a lot of people in radio tend to travel around until you hit the big time, but I wanted to stay in Ballarat because I met my husband here. We stay here because we love it so much. My partner is a part owner of a pub here called the Lakeview Hotel, and we want to spend our lives here. It’s easy to get around and the cost of living and housing – everything, in fact – is why we chose to live here. We’ve got a good community feel; you can walk down the street and see the mayor and you know people but it’s not that much of a small town that you feel like you

know every single person here. There is community, community support, and accessibility to so many different things as well. Transport, and as I said the festivals. They all give a really good community vibe. I’ve made loads of friends here, which is good. My whole life is pretty much here. I used to think I could never live outside of Melbourne. Now, I’ve got friends that, at a drop of a hat, I can say, “Do you want to go to Mitchell Harris tonight for a drink?” and they’ll say, 'Yeah, meet you there in half an hour'.” It just has a lot of things happening. I’ve got Melbourne friends even saying now, “I’ve heard you’ve got that really cool chef-hatted restaurant, I want to come up and try it.” It’s good that the message is finally getting out, they are hearing it, and they want to come up. It is tourism and that’s amazing – I love seeing more people coming up and enjoying it and being surprised how good it is. I’ll take friends to a wine bar – Mitchell Harris and they’ll say, “This is really cool.” I think at the moment we are heading in the right direction. We are seeing more and more things being done in unexpected places.

QUALITY HEALTH

SERVICES

Healthcare services are outstanding with two major acute-care hospitals, a number of smaller regional hospitals, a world-class cancer centre and comprehensive allied and community health services. 87

Jan Koolmees I’m a volunteer with the welcome team. We help people go to where they need to go. It’s at the main entrance to Ballarat Health Services. I moved here in 1999 from Sydney. We liked the area. We were into antiques, there were universities for my children and we enjoyed it when we came for holidays. It’s a friendly place, they’ve got good attractions, and I feel safe. You’ve got a private hospital – St John's and you’ve got the public hospital here with various doctors and consultants. I feel settled here; it’s just a nice place. I’ve got great neighbours in a great neighbourhood. The facilities are here. My children enjoyed their education. It’s a quieter place, but there is always something going on.

Michele Billings I’ve lived in Ballarat East for six years. Before that we lived right in Ballarat. We moved here about 25 years ago from Melbourne. There is everything here that you could possibly want – great hospitals, very good schools, and every sporting facility. We have wonderful medical facilities – the hospital, the QE, physio – and everything is so close. You can park fairly close to wherever you want to go. The people here are very friendly. It’s a good place for young people to grow up. It’s a beautiful place to live. Autumn and spring in Ballarat are beautiful. The lake is wonderful – it is something that is used every day by so many people in so many ways.

Justine Ng I came to Ballarat for work. I’m a doctor in general medicine, but we do a mix of different rotations. I’ve enjoyed my year here immensely. This is the first health service I’ve worked at. I’ve only been a student at other health services, but from what I’ve seen it’s just as innovative as any other health service that I’ve studied at. It’s been very impressive and very welcoming. There's probably one feature that stands out compared to other health services. Our team culture is much stronger than other health services I’ve seen. The welcoming nature of the community and how everyone is just so friendly makes Ballarat unique. You will just bump into anyone on the street and they are happy to strike up a meaningful conversation with you. That makes it very welcoming.

Catherine Kennedy I’ve lived in Ballarat for about 15 years. Before here I was in the USA. I have family in Stawell and family in Melbourne. We didn’t want to live in a large city or a really small town, so Ballarat was the perfect opportunity for us. Also we have a child with a disability, so we wanted to make sure we had the services available for him and good schooling for our other two children. Our two older children have moved to Melbourne, but because Ballarat is so accessible, they can easily come home to visit. The history is really good. It is a regional city but it brings a lot. There are lots of opportunities that have been developed that we can access. Ballarat is a really nice environment to live in. It's charming, with all of its old buildings, and it's friendly.

The Gardiner-Pittard Building

I am born and bred here in Ballarat and run a family business that has been going for 45 years. It has good schools and hospitals and the security in Ballarat is excellent. The historic culture, its goldfields background and the Eureka Stockade have made it famous. — Troy Beaston Ballarat Community Health

We tend to get a lot of patients coming from Mount Gambier, Horsham and Mildura for their care because we are so well set up Mark Guirguis My wife and I are both from Melbourne. We really didn’t have much association with Ballarat prior to moving here. I finished training as a surgeon and we decided to move to Ballarat. It was a big leap of faith, so we said, "Why don’t we give it six months and see how we go?" – that was 13 years ago and we’ve loved it ever since. The lifestyle and the amenity of being close to schools, home and work has made living here so unique. Our extended family is still in Melbourne, so we can easily commute forwards and backwards. I still work at St Vincent's Hospital and the Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital, so it’s very easy for me to commute. We also enjoy that there’s quite an established cultural story and legacy in Ballarat, combined with the fact we have a beautiful property here. We’ve got four children so we have lots of drop-offs and pick-ups and ferrying kids from sport and other activities, and we find it’s so easy here – there is no traffic. Life’s so much more relaxed – I feel very lucky that I can have this lifestyle. My wife and I have been collecting art for a long time, and when I moved to Ballarat I was introduced to the Arts Academy here. It was having a student art auction and I was blown away by the standard of the work. One of the lecturers was auctioning his paintings and I bought one of them. It was through that conversation

that I met the artist, Doug Wright, and through that friendship became involved in the Arts Academy at Federation University. My wife and I decided to support the arts here and established a new prize called The Guirguis New Art Prize, which is now a national prize run every two years. Before moving to Ballarat, I was doing high-end head and neck cancer surgery. So when I arrived, the establishment of the Ballarat Regional Integrated Cancer Centre (BRICC) enabled us to do fairly major head and neck cancer surgeries here, which previously weren’t offered in Ballarat. This has evolved and we are a very lucky community to have that sort of level of healthcare. There has been such a push to regionalise care, whereas previously everyone from Ballarat had to go to Melbourne for their cancer care. People do receive a high standard of care here. Ballarat acts as a referral base for all the other regional places. We tend to get a lot of patients coming from Mount Gambier, Horsham and Mildura for their care because we are so well set up. We’ve even got accommodation if patients need to stay for their chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery.

Tameaka Lakey I’ve lived in Ballarat my whole life. I really love living here because everyone I know lives here and I feel like I’ve got a really good sense of community and everyone likes to help each other. There is lots to do, and it is not too far to go to Melbourne or go down to the beach. I like catching up with friends and helping the community. In my work, I go out to schools and do presentations with students on healthy eating, body image, self-esteem, alcohol and sun smart awareness. We also work with the schools to implement policies to create a healthy school environment.

Gary Wallis I live in Delacombe. I moved up here nearly three years ago to help my son out who owns the Pro shop. That’s why we came to Ballarat. I reckon it’s a great place to live. The health services are absolutely brilliant. I’ve spent time in St John of God Hospital. I go to probably six different specialists there and it’s great. I’ve never had a problem.

Jim Rodgers I’ve lived in Ballarat since 2006. I came from London. The options were Geelong, Bendigo or Ballarat, and my research just told me to choose Ballarat and since I’ve moved here I’ve never left. The prospects for my children are probably the main driver for being here. The town itself is just amazing. It’s got some fantastic schools and the health services are fantastic. All the things that make a good town are here.

Melissa Farrington I’ve lived in Ballarat for four years. I came from Queensland. I got a great career opportunity here. We are close to family, so we have family support. It is a great place for young families. I work in community programs in food security, so I work with young people right up to older adults and work in men’s health as well. It is really a diverse job, and I get to help vulnerable groups in the community. We support school, nutrition and physical activity programs as well as help people access affordable health care.

Jarrod Parsons I live in Creswick. I’ve worked at the community health centre as an exercise trainer for just over three years. Given it’s a regional setting, the clientele is a little more relaxed. The demographic is also quite different, which is a massive positive. Living here has given me a greater appreciation for a regional setting. There’s cheaper housing here and the cost of living tends to be a lot cheaper. You can get around and do everything a bit easier, without having to worry about factoring in extra travel time.

Barb Cole I live in Newington. We had read about Ballarat and knew that there would be good schools and good hospitals. That was one of the things that encouraged us to move here. We’ve lived here 47 years. The tram was still running down Sturt Street when we moved here. The ability to get good medical care is really important. We definitely get that here. Living here has allowed me to live in fresh air, which is wonderful. It has just been a healthy lifestyle, really.

Ballarat Community Health

St John of God Hospital

Ballarat is great as it has all the advantages of a big city, but it is still like a country town. I'm an osteopath and word-of-mouth referral is really important for me. — Megan Fraumano

Ballarat Health Services

Maureen Woodford I’ve lived in Ballarat all my long life! I’m a volunteer with the welcome team at Ballarat Health. It’s an absolutely world-class facility. Hundreds come here every day. In the consulting suites and the outpatient clinics they have a big range of specialists. Ballarat had a pretty spectacular start with the gold rush and it has just gone on from there. It is close enough to Melbourne and other places to travel to, but to live here is much better! You know lots of people and you can just stop and have a yarn. You can’t go down the middle of the street and not see someone that you know.

Sarah Kotzapetros I’ve only just moved back to Ballarat, but I’ve lived here on and off for the past 15 years. Ballarat has every different kind of food you could possibly want. The people are really friendly. The healthcare system is brilliant here. I love living in Ballarat, besides the cold weather.

Catherine King I’m the Federal Member for Ballarat. This region is an incredibly beautiful place. We have great access to health and education facilities, and great business opportunities here as well. It is an incredibly beautiful environment, from the lake to our streetscapes to our great neighbourhoods. There is a lot of vibrancy about our city and there are lots of new people moving in all the time.

The YMCA also holds a number of events throughout the year where the youth can get involved Stacey Oliver I love the streetscapes and combination of old buildings that have been really well maintained and looked after. Coming from Geelong originally, I found Ballarat so friendly and easy to be involved in different activities. I am the director of community and youth engagement for the Ballarat YMCA. I oversee a couple of youth centres, manage the Delacombe stadium and the Recranked Bike Recycle program. At the YMCA, youth is defined as people aged between 12 and 25. Recranked Bike Recycle is a program where people donate their unused bikes to the YMCA. We have a team of staff and volunteers that fix up bikes and then distribute them (along with a brand-new helmet and bike lock) to the communities that need them – over 800 have gone out in the past 5 years. The youth centre is not just a drop-in place; we want the young people to gain life skills. Activities might include cooking, barista training, woodworking and resumé writing. It builds up their skills and hopefully they can gain some employment in the future.

Another initiative is the Boxes of Joy campaign in the lead-up to Christmas. People can donate active items suitable for children and teens that go into a shoebox. These items are then distributed through local agencies as a gift to nominated recipients. A 19-year-old came up with this fantastic concept. The YMCA is really passionate about advocating on behalf of young people. YMCA Australia has created a platform called "Why Not?", where the youth can put their issues forward and we will raise them on their behalf. It started in early 2017, when 10,000 young people surveyed across Australia identified the following as key issues: youth unemployment, mental health, and marriage equality. The Ballarat community is always amazing with its support. They’re so willing to give us their old bikes, and donate and supply items for our Boxes of Joy campaign – one of the local schools ran a market and raised over $1000 last year for the campaign. I definitely have a great sense of belonging and community feel in Ballarat.

The YMCA also holds a number of events throughout the year where young people can get involved. We have the Winterfest market that we hold as part of the Ballarat Winter Festival. This is an indoor market with local stallholders showcasing their produce.

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FIRST CLASS

EDUCATION

The Ballarat region is home to some of the finest primary and secondary schools and first-class independent schools, as well as home to Federation University Australia and campuses of several high-quality universities, such as the Australian Catholic University. 101

Marcus Merryfull I’ve lived in Delacombe for three years. I only just moved to Ballarat for uni. I’m from Portland. It’s good here. I went to ACU because it offered the course I was interested in, but more just because I didn’t particularly want to live in Melbourne because it is a big city. So, it’s a good option for that. It’s a pretty relaxed lifestyle here. You don’t have to stress about getting places on time; you don’t have to worry about much. I’ve never had any problems here, so I guess it’s made uni a lot less stressful.

Sue Lockett We’ve lived in Insignia on the golf course for two years. We came off five acres at Invermay and moved here. We love the beautiful community and the neighbours. Everyone watches out for everybody’s home. It’s fantastic. Every day I thank the fact that my family brought us here. My children have gone to a great school, and they’ve been amazing sports people. Our daughter was in the Australian Ballet company – we have the best ballet schools here. It’s just a whole combination. I don’t think you can put it into one word.

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Kathryn Hutchins I board in Wendouree, but I’m from Horsham. I’ve boarded here since 2015. I love it like crazy. Awesome place to live, to go to school, everything. The friendliness of the community makes Ballarat unique. There’s so much opportunity as well – sporting, school and activities. There’s always stuff to do. I love the lake and run or walk it often. It was a smooth transition for me, Ballarat became home very quickly. The people are just so lovely, there are always community events, and it’s not too big that it’s an overwhelming city, but it’s not too small that you’re confined. I think through living here, I’ve gained a lot more independence, and my values have been shaped a lot because of those country values and appreciation for your community.

Shean Vanderwert I’ve lived in Linton for six months and in Ballarat for about a year. The wide open spaces make this area unique. Moving here to a closer community, it’s more unified. It’s what growing up should be like. I’ve got a daughter who goes to the Ballarat Specialist School. It was one of the major reasons why we moved to the area. We’ve got access to the school and we have acreage out here. She loves it.

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Ballarat High School

Federation University Australia

McArthur Street Primary School

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Phoenix College

Gracie Robinson

Eliza Riordan

I’m a boarder at Ballarat Grammar. I’ve been there for one year. I’m from Warrnambool.

I started boarding here this year. I come from Geelong, which is an hour away. I didn’t really want to go to a Melbourne school, and I like the whole country atmosphere.

The lake here is really beautiful, and Ballarat's got such beautiful gardens and such a great atmosphere. Everyone you see is always happy. As a boarder, I came here into an unknown place, but Ballarat’s such a good place that I want to stay. It’s such a good experience; everyone’s so nice and the teachers are so lovely. I miss the beach sometimes, but when I go home I get to see it, and the lake does the job. I’d describe Ballarat as environmental because everywhere you look has really nice plants, trees, and green grass. It’s all beautiful. I go for walks around the lake, there are great shopping facilities, and I like to hang out with my friends at cafés.

I’ve become more independent. I do my own thing and look after myself more. Living in the boarding house, we’ve had to learn to live with other girls and to co-operate and get along. I love how green it is, and the old buildings; I love some of the old houses here, along the lake. The lake’s really pretty and good to walk around, and we row on the lake. I do the rowing program. There’s heaps of stuff to do here. I think Ballarat is quite a beautiful town. I love the old heritage of it and all the big trees; they’re old and cool.

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We’ve got a unique relationship between the government, independent and Catholic schools here. All the schools get on well David Shepherd I came to Ballarat for the job and I fully expected to be here for four or five years and here I am 21 years later. What makes Ballarat a really special place is that it has that city feel, with all of the resources around being a city. But it also has a village feel, so you know that the people who are going to be looking after your kids are going to have similar values to you. Living in Ballarat has given me more discretionary time to do whatever I want to do. It has meant, as my kids were growing up, I had more time to spend with them because my commute distance was only a kilometre away. It also has given me an opportunity to be more involved in the community. One of the special things about Ballarat is education. It is one of the biggest employers in the region. We’ve got this unique arrangement whereby the relationship between the government, independent and Catholic schools is very close. All of the schools get on well. There are lots of opportunities for both students and staff. On top of that, there are the two universities – the Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Federation University Australia (FedUni). So there is a lot of choice, which is unique to our region. At Clarendon we want to be nationally recognised as a world-class school, so I think that is what makes us different. Our brand proposition is about excellence in everything we do. Our students and staff do extraordinary things.

The best thing about Ballarat is it is a regional city. We attract students from a semi-circle all the way down to Warrnambool, from Mildura, Caroline Springs, Beaufort to Rokewood, the other side of Daylesford and, of course, locally. It is quite a large catchment area – and it is growing. Our students are country kids so they understand they’ve got responsibilities in being part of their community. But they also get the benefits in that they feel connected to their community and an important sense of belonging. The biggest challenge to maintain the quality of education is to recruit the highest-quality staff we can get. One of the great things we think that we’ve got to offer is that we can attract a graduate teacher and train them much quicker than in Melbourne. We can provide leadership opportunities earlier, and we can also provide them with more extensive training opportunities. I think if there is one thing we could improve it would be the speed of transport to Melbourne. More and more Ballarat is becoming a place that people want to come and live because the housing is affordable. If I had one word to describe Ballarat, what would it be? Vibrant. It’s a really good place to live.There’s lots going on all the time, whether it be in sport, the arts, theatre, or at our art gallery. We’re very lucky.

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We’ve settled into the Ballarat regional life. Everyone’s pretty welcoming. We’ve made friends, the kids are at a good school; they’re quite excellent with lots of facilities. So it’s been an easy move. — Alan Swanson

Ballarat Tech School's Virtual Autopsy Machines Interspectral Inside Explorer Tables

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Creswick Library

Angela Smith I’ve lived in central Ballarat for 21 years. Our children have just finished their education in Ballarat. It’s a beautiful education city with many private and public schools and universities. We’re very spoilt. The schools are amazing. We’ve got amazing places to walk; Mount Buninyong and all these lovely places that we can go walking and bike riding. We’re also so close to Melbourne. It’s just so good to get on the train and you’re in the middle of the CBD. The beach is just an hour away as well. We’re very spoilt being so close to everything.

Nathan Fernandez I’m from Bacchus Marsh. I’m a pupil at Ballarat High. There are a lot of good people here. I‘ve got a lot of good friends from up here and they’re all really nice. School is really good here, I really enjoy it. I play basketball for a Ballarat team, so I come up here every Tuesday night and play basketball. I mostly travel on the train, unless my parents can come up here for some reason, but 90% of the time it would be train. The commute is pretty good. It’s quiet most of the time.

Jessie West I moved to Ballarat just this year from Stawell. There are more opportunities and more things to do here. It just has a lot of people and it’s close to everything and it is different to everywhere else.

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Lachlan Matheson, Kyra Postlethwaite, Keelan Westerland andÂ Nia Harrison

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Lachlan Matheson

Kyra Postlethwaite

I’ve lived in Ballarat all my life. Ballarat is community minded, a nice mix of rural and metro and there are good vibes about the place. The location of the school, just across the road from the lake and across the road from a park and shops, makes it unique and really accessible.

I live in Ballarat. I lived in Bendigo until I was two years old. My parents came to Ballarat for my dad’s work. Ballarat is big enough to provide us with lots of facilities but small enough that it is also a tightknit community.

Ballarat’s history associated with the gold rush makes it unique, but also it is a lot more than just its past. It’s a diverse community with a lot of different people in it.

I like the gardens. It’s just a nice place. I do dancing in Ballarat and for that kind of thing there is a really good performing arts culture in Ballarat. There are lots of theatre companies and dance schools. There are lots of opportunities there.

The schooling is great as well with lots of opportunities sporting wise. We’ve got a lot of sporting clubs with football, soccer and rowing. It’s a really nice community.

Ballarat is home. I like that I can go down the street and run into people I know. It’s a social kind of community. It’s the right size.

Keelan Westerland

Nia Harrison

I live in Donald, two hours from here. School and sport bring me to Ballarat. I play hockey for a rep side in Ballarat. There are 60 in the squad, and we train three times a week.

I came to Ballarat this year from Horsham to board. Clarendon is definitely recognised as very strong in education and that’s what I wanted, so I decided to come here.

Ballarat provides me with an opportunity to do well in my sport, but also I get a good education at the school. Boarding here is a good community to be in. It’s a good culture; it is always positive and supporting.

I love the school community, the school pride and we get that in the boarding house as well. I definitely think everyone in Ballarat is proud to be part of Ballarat. I love the shops and I also love the lake. That there is a town situated around the lake and people rowing, running or walking, makes Ballarat so unique. The lake makes it an aesthetic city.

Ballarat provides opportunity.

Ballarat is very well known for its schools, so if you want your child to have a good education, I think that is guaranteed in Ballarat, whether it is the public or the private schools like Clarendon.

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Education here is special and it comes down to the fact that we have a strong family atmosphere on campus Bridget Aitchison I moved to Ballarat from Sydney six months ago to accept a job at the Australian Catholic University. The job was something I was looking for and happened to be in Ballarat. It’s been a much better lifestyle for me, a lot less frantic and less stress.

and paramedicine, education, theology, some science and this year we just started physiotherapy. We opened the St Brigid’s Healthcare Building, our health sciences building, which is a world-class facility to support the physiotherapy students.

My job is not far from the lake, so after a long day of work, I can get my kayak out, paddle at sunset and just feel all the stress fall away, and soak in the gorgeous nature. It just balances you.

We also offer study abroad opportunities to expose students to cross-cultural experiences, which is wonderful.

I work for the Australian Catholic University as the Campus Dean of the Aquinas Campus. It’s a very unusual job in that I’ m an academic, a full professor, but I’ve done a lot of operational work in my career. This job brings both of those worlds together in a very unique job description. The campus has just over 1000 students, and a lot of casual and full-time faculty staff. It has a family atmosphere where both students and staff all know each other; that gives the students and the staff a different experience from a large urban campus. There’s a real sense of community, and a sense of knowing each other and caring about each other, and that’s unique. In the Ballarat region, there are a lot of educational options outside of ACU, like Federation University Australia and TAFE. We don’t offer all programs of study because we target a particular area of expertise and specialisation that is needed in the region for employability. We specialise in nursing

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Education here is special and it comes down to the fact that we have a strong family atmosphere on campus. It’s about getting to know each other and really caring about the holistic development of the students. Our academic results are pretty darn good. Many of our students stay in Ballarat or in regional Victoria when they leave as they want to stay close to home and work in the area. For students that are not from Ballarat, we have a residence in Gillies Street called Camillus, where students will share a house. We also have a number of houses in the community that we can sub-lease to students. The university facilities are also great. If you’re walking down Mair Street, the first thing you notice is Carn Brae, which is this beautiful heritage mansion. We have a mix of heritage buildings and very modern facilities. The gardens on campus are just magnificent. I’ve only been here a short time but I love everything.

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Vanessa Stephenson Ballarat is really unique because of the history of the area, but also it is a really close community. Great for young families and really good for work. Close to the city, but also close to the country and getting back to nature. I grew up about 40 km away in a smaller town and then I moved here when I went to university. It has impacted me because I had the chance to go to university and I’ve had good career opportunities in Ballarat. I came here originally for university and now I’ve got a secure job.

Rebecca Paton We moved here for work and for a home we could afford. We have stayed here for the fantastic schools, brilliant health and disability services, great friends and the inclusive community. So many people are willing to pitch in and make good things happen for the community. People from all walks of life give their time and money to make our events great and to help those in need.

David Lockett I’ve been in Ballarat all my life. It’s very clean here. It’s got good educational facilities and good medical facilities. Good people. The town’s got a lot of history about it, and of course we’ve got our lake. Ballarat impacts you personally; the quality of people you grow up with and the fact that you’re not just a number because you know people that you’ve seen all your life. It just makes you feel a bit more secure. It’s a good place to bring children up.

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Sarah Tuddenham I’ve lived in Buninyong all my life – 30 years. It’s just a beautiful town, a beautiful community. Everyone’s friendly, everyone gets along with everybody. It’s easy living. Buninyong is perfect for me, and hopefully my family. I was able to go to university and choose different courses as well. Had quite a big range of jobs to choose from. Primary schools, secondary schools; all of that. All my friends and family live here, and it’s close to everything – Geelong and Melbourne. And the homes are just so much cheaper here, especially if you want land.

Lindsay Burgoyne I’ve been in Ballarat for 20 years. Ballarat’s history makes it unique. You can see that in the historic buildings around the place. It’s got good hospital systems and most of the facilities that any person would need. It has opened up a lot more opportunities, particularly for my children because we have access to tertiary education and the opportunities in schooling are a lot better. Ballarat is picturesque, particularly the lake which so many activities are based around. Ballarat is a really attractive place.

Tavis Baker I’ve lived in Ballarat for 15 years. I moved from Hamilton. Ballarat has a whole range of different schools and hospitals. We’re involved in cycling and it’s a good place for that. I’ve got two kids going to school here, and I find their schooling and education in Ballarat very good. I think they are recognising winter as a strength of Ballarat as well; putting on ice-skating and some winter attractions to bring tourism to Ballarat.

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Artist's impression of Ballarat West Employment Zone

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INNOVATIVE

BUSINESSES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The region boasts exciting business investment opportunities and access to a skilled workforce. After a golden era of heavy industrial and engineering business activity, the region now boasts thriving manufacturing, agricultural and hi-tech industry sectors featuring national and international companies that have chosen to make the Ballarat region home. GovHub, the 600-hectare Ballarat West Employment Zone and the very successful technology park precinct nestling alongside Federation University are just some examples of where you can find opportunities for business investment, research andÂ development, and employment. 117

We searched the world ... and then we reached out to Ballarat Ryuji Nakamura I’m the managing director of Hakubaku Australia. We make organic Japanese noodles. We buy Australian organic wheat, milled in Ballarat, made in Ballarat, and sell through Coles and Woolworths. So about 35% of the noodles stay here in Australia, and the remainder is exported. It’s a Japanese company which decided to invest in this operation. Hakubaku Australia started in 1998 and is the only factory in Australia. We have 35 people in our workforce and both our Australian and European markets are very strong. As a noodle manufacturer, we needed a few key functions to set up. We use wheat flour to make the noodles, so having a good milling facility is one of the most important things. We chose Allied Mills across the road in Ballarat because we buy organic wheat from around the Swan Hill area, so it’s close to the grower. And then we export overseas; therefore we needed to be close to the port of Melbourne, which is only 90 minutes away. All the transport is done by a local company and our warehouse is local. Our tradies, maintenance and services are provided by other local businesses.

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Hakubaku has the biggest market share in Japan for barley, like roast barley tea, mixed grains, those sort of things. It has two noodle factories there, but this is its only operation overseas, and its only organic operation. Initially, we built the factory in Australia because most noodles manufactured in Japan use Australian wheat. We tested the wheat and identified a few varieties, but it was very difficult to source those overseas, so the best way was to source the wheat locally, make the noodles locally, and then send them back to Japan. Initially we had a lot of Japanese expats building the factory. There was a lot of help from the City of Ballarat, even finding a house for Japanese workers; they were very helpful. The story behind the product is very important. Every single pack of Hakubaku noodles you find in Coles, Woolworths, wholefoods in the US, or the supermarket in France has exactly the same statement written on it: From Japan a global search for premium ingredients brought Hakubaku to Ballarat. Combining the finest Australia organic wheat with traditional Japanese recipes, Hakubaku is proud to bring you the highest quality authentic noodles.

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We had an Ernst & Young independent study done, and it revealed that Sovereign Hill generates $260 million that goes into the Victorian economy Adrian Doyle I’m originally from Shepparton, went to Melbourne for uni in the mid-70s and then came up here in 1990. What originally attracted us to Ballarat was the fact that my wife and I were both from the bush, and Ballarat was just a perfect location. It is an hour to Melbourne, it’s an hour to the beach, an hour up to the wineries and an hour to Bendigo. We were also starting a family, so we were looking for education, medical etc, and Ballarat ticked a fair few of those boxes. I’ve got my own business in town that I run (I’m a property valuer and consultant) and I’m president of Sovereign Hill. I’ve been involved on the Board for seven or eight years now. Sovereign Hill’s a great facility and a tourist attraction for Ballarat; it brings a lot of people in. We were lucky enough to recently win the Victorian Major Tourist Attraction Award again for the fourth year running. That’s never been done before. And it also entitles us to now compete at the national level. We’ve won the national level for the past two years; if we pick up our third national award it will give us Hall of Fame status. We had an Ernst & Young independent study done, and it revealed that Sovereign Hill generates $260 million that goes into the Victorian economy, and it provides 1660 jobs. We’ve got 380 full-time staff, but critically, we’ve got 250 volunteers – “FOSH” we call them, meaning Friends of Sovereign Hill.

Our FOSH turn up every day and they get dressed up, and around they go. There are not a lot of businesses that have 250 people turn up for no pay each day and help out. It’s an extraordinary institution. People here genuinely want to support other local businesses; and the Committee for Ballarat and the Ballarat City Council have certainly got behind that. The council runs a Winter in July program in the CBD, and our CEO wanted to turn winter into a positive as winter is Sovereign Hill's quietest month. So we collaborated with the council to create a win/win situation. As a result we quadrupled the number of visitors over winter just by putting some initiative into the winter months and all the programs that went with it. In addition to Sovereign Hill, there’s the Gold Museum, which has just some magnificent gold memorabilia. And, importantly, for our education program, we’ve got the Narmbool Farm, which is a 5000-acre property that was bequeathed to Sovereign Hill. Moving to the Ballarat region, I had the confidence that I could raise a family here and thought it was going to be good, but it’s just been extraordinary.

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Findlay Engineering

Mars Wrigley

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Windfarm at Mt Mercer

McCain

Matt McLean I’ve lived in Mount Pleasant for about three years. I was from Rushworth, a little town the other side of Bendigo and moved here for uni, and have just stayed. Now I'm an accountant in Ballarat. I still wanted to have that country-town feel, but not in the big city, and Ballarat gave me that option. It’s got that sort of in-between feel, just that right balance. Business is growing here, so we’re really busy. It’s enabled me to find a good job and get involved in community sports.

Graeme Hood I ran an electronics class in my backyard and a guy called Kevin came to me at the end of the class and showed me a device, like a little mouli mincer. This device eventually became the fine fuel moisture meter, which is still used by the Department of Environment today for prescribed burns and wildfires. It was manufactured here in Ballarat. I’m no Robinson Crusoe. I could name a dozen other people in the electronics area of similar age to myself who are doing interesting things. The thing about Ballarat is that we have the facilities.

Lane Buckwell I’ve lived in Ballarat for 17 years. Before then I was in Warrnambool. Ballarat is a nice town. I think you appreciate it more when you come back to it – going places and then coming back. I’m the assistant manager at the Lucas store of Wilsons. The customer service that we deliver makes it unique. Our produce sets us above and beyond. Just the experience you get when shopping here. Lucas seems to be growing by the minute.

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There are lots of local people around that can help you foster your networks Amanda Collins I was born in Ballarat, and went to school here at Ballarat Grammar, then onto uni at ACU. After graduation I worked in Ballarat and Portland as a nurse but realised it wasn’t what I wanted to do. So I returned to Ballarat and went to FedUni this time and then moved into local government, working in Geelong and northern Victoria where I met my husband. We then moved back to Ballarat for employment and for family support as we were planning on having a family. We knew that the healthcare services and education here were really good. We also knew that housing was affordable; Ballarat has it all. We have built a business, which was a spontaneous thing that we never anticipated. About five years ago, we were gifted a bee hive. As a result of that we frantically researched and worked out what we were supposed to do with this bee hive. Then we realised, “Wow, this is exciting. This is fantastic. We can do this.” It was the first time I’d ever seen my husband read a book from cover to cover. The book was about bees and beekeeping. I have a passion for gardening and edibles and urban farming. We thought this married really well with where we both see ourselves being in the future. We decided to move back into town 12 months ago from Navigators so that we could focus on beekeeping. That’s when our urban beekeeping business was formally established – Backyard Beekeeping Ballarat.

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It was through our research and knowledge that we developed networks around beekeeping and grew our business. In formalising our business we approached the Ballarat Business Centre, and from that assistance we appointed a local accountant and solicitor to help us develop our business. The Ballarat Business Community has been a huge amount of support. We also became members of Commerce Ballarat, and we were finalists in the Federation Business School Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards in the Regional Development Australia Grampians Paddock to Plate Business Awards. That was really awesome as well. Business is not our main skill set, but Commerce Ballarat provides really good information through its workshops and seminars. I went to a one-day workshop that was held at FedUni where people talked about business, how to create and develop connections, and how to identify gaps in your business. There are lots of local people around that can help you foster your networks. Ballarat has everything you need, whether you have a family, or you’re single or have a small business.

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I think that the key to any small enterprise is to be supported by your local community and your councils, and the community around Ballarat has been fantastic David Sanders I’ve lived in Lake Gardens in Wendouree for 12 years but I was born in Creswick. We had a successful business in Bendigo, but we came back to Ballarat because of family. There are a multitude of reasons why people live in Ballarat – it’s temperate climate, close access to Melbourne, beautiful hospitals and schools, great opportunities to go and sightsee, both down at the beach and around the Grampians. We’ve found that Ballarat has been good to us. We’ve had several businesses here, our kids have gone to school here, and we’ve still got a couple of businesses here now. One business is called Smart Options, which is a solar business – renewable energy and solar. We started that in ’97, and it wasn’t all that trendy to have solar at that stage. I’d been involved in engineering and saw that there were some good things happening in that area. We have since sold probably two to three meg of solar onto homes in Ballarat. We do a lot for the industry and we’ve been involved in other solar projects. We’ve designed and built solar systems that have got nanotechnology in them, and we won an award in Bendigo for our solar hot water system.

I also worked for the CFA for 20 years. It was a great organisation. I progressed through as a motor mechanic, did engineering, and then came back to Ballarat to set up and run a business. I think that the key to any small enterprise is to be supported by your local community and your councils, and the community around Ballarat has been fantastic. We’ve got a number of ventures that we’re running at the moment, and one of those is the bio digester. It was developed some 25 years ago by Charles IFE Pty Ltd for its piggery, and we’ve been working for 10 years to improve it. Wind farms and solar have high profiles in Ballarat, which is good for our business, and for the environment. I’m involved with the Committee for Ballarat's Innovation and Sustainability project team and we’ve put some initiatives up regarding water recovery and treatment. We’re looking at trying to develop a training bio-digester hub here in Ballarat, with new energy, and that’s something that I think will be progressive in the future. I think Ballarat’s fantastic. The town itself has a massive future in front of it.

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Peter de Deugd Timmermans Furniture opened last May. We’ve been making products for other people and wanted to present our own brand to the public. Our furniture is predominantly French Industrial in style. We also salvage, mill and dry a lot of timber from around the Ballarat region, so we utilise what would otherwise go to landfill and turn it into something special. The building was built in 1924 by Jim Galloway as a blacksmith’s store. It became a garage for general automotive supplies and maintenance from around 1935 onwards. It’s been in a local family’s care since then. Two generations. Then they were looking for someone who would have it for another few generations. It’s a very special building. Clunes is quaint. It hasn’t been upgraded in all of the fandangled ways yet and I think that’s what makes it great.

Robert Layton I lived in Ballarat during my final years of uni and PhD, and Ballarat gave me the opportunity to grow a network and improve my skills in technology. It also provided a base to start a family, with great services. We aim to build regional start-ups in Ballarat. The challenges here are quite different from a Melbourne start-up, and our knowledge of the area helps with achieving those goals. A collaborative nature has led to quite a few referrals to us, due to our quality of work and also the fact that we are local. It has provided a way to build the business without the hassles. Ballarat has an easier lifestyle and a great sense of community. It has the population to support a number of industries as well as people with the drive to make that happen. There is still a real community in Ballarat, with people helping people in all areas.

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Haymes Paint

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Being a Ballarat business has helped us. We’ve been a local family business for a long time. Our customers tend to be loyal and stick with us David Gay G Gay & Co Mitre 10 is a timber and hardware store that my great-grandfather started back in 1918. He was originally a mine manager and when the gold industry started to wind back, he started selling second-hand building materials. Today we operate from three locations on three different sides of the town, so we are nice and handy. We employ over 110 staff. They are a diverse mix from 16-year-old kids who work weekends to more senior people who have been with us for a long time – quite a few have been with us for between 25 and 35 years. What is unique about working and running a business in Ballarat is the loyalty of the customers. Today we serve the grandchildren of people who dealt with my grandparents. When you give good trustworthy service, customers stick with you for years. Our business is always changing. In my time we’ve gone from manual dockets and pricing to a fully integrated computer system. What hasn’t changed is the type of product we sell. It’s still building materials, but today it is largely engineered and manufactured products, rather than natural wood products. We’re mainly a trade-based store. Seventy-five per cent of our turnover is repeat business with builders but over the past 15 to 20 years we have diversified to get more of a retail presence to help grow our business.

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Our business is based on personalised service. We’ve got experienced people who can give you advice on the best product to use rather than just give you what you think you want. Being a Ballarat business has helped us. We’ve been a local family business for a long time. Our customers tend to be loyal and stick with us. Our staff and their families and friends will come and shop with us. It’s nice to spend locally and leave your money in town and support the local community and help the economy grow. I suppose I’m biased, but what makes Ballarat unique is being a regional country town that’s got all the facilities. Everything is available that any capital city has. There is really nothing that Ballarat is lacking as far as services and facilities go. We’ve got a very vibrant retail industry and some state-of-the-art manufacturing businesses. There is plenty of opportunity for work. We’re growing; the population is growing, new homes are being built – we have everything associated with a growing economy. I would describe Ballarat in one word as "inclusive". I say this because the community pulls together and looks after each other.

G Gay & Co Mitre 10 is a timber and hardware store my Great Grandfather started when he was about 50. He was originally a Mine Manager and when the gold industry started to wind back, he started selling second hand building materials. Today we have three locations on three different sides of the town, so we are nice and handy. We employ over 110 staff. They are a diverse mix of fifteen and sixteen year old kids that work weekends and other more senior people that have been with us for a long time, quite a few have been with us for between 25-35 years. What is unique about working and running a business in Ballarat is the loyalty of the customers. Today we serve Grandchildren of people who dealt with my Grandparents. You give good trustworthy service and customer stick with you for years. Our business is always changing. In my time we’ve gone from manual dockets and pricing to a fully integrated computer system. What hasn’t changed is the type of product we sell. It’s still building materials, but today it is all engineered and manufactured products now, rather than natural wood products.

Our business is based on personalised service. We’ve got experienced people who can give you advice on the best product to use rather than just give you what you think you want. Being a Ballarat business has helped us. We’ve been a local family business for a long time. Our customers tend to be loyal and stick with us. Our staff and their families and friends will come and shop with us. It’s nice to spend locally and leave your money in town and support the local community and help the economy grow. I suppose I’m biased, but what makes Ballarat unique is being a regional country town that’s got all the facilities. Everything is available that any capital city has. There is really nothing that Ballarat is lacking as far as services and facilities. We’ve got a very vibrant retail industry and some state of the art manufacturing businesses. There is plenty of opportunity for work. We’re growing; the population is growing, new homes are being built, we have everything associated with a growing economy. I would describe Ballarat in one word as inclusive. I say this because the community pulls together and looks after each other.

We’re mainly a trade based store, 75% of our turnover is repeat business with builders but over the last fifteen to twenty years we have diversified to get more of a retail presence to compete with the likes of Bunnings.

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Share Your Story! Join our campaign by asking yourself the three questions below and sharing your answers with us on our Facebook and Instagram pages or email us at: morethangold@committeeforballarat.com 1. What makes Ballarat and its region unique? 2. Why do you live here? 3. Describe Ballarat and its region in one word.

morethangold.ballaratstories

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Acknowledgements An initiative of Committee for Ballarat’s Community Wellbeing project team, this book has been produced using the stories of more than 220 residents from across our region. We thank them for their willingness to share their stories (a full list of contributors is included on the following page). We acknowledge the Committee for Ballarat Board for its support and the outstanding work of the Committee’s Community Wellbeing project team in steering this project. The project team members – Robyn Reeves, Caroline Amirtharajah, Peta Clark, Daryl Clifton, Sheree Collins, Brett Macdonald, Barry Petrovski, Kate Phillips, Melanie Robertson, Janet Dore and Gayle Adams – have

brought their skills, enthusiasm and commitment to the project and we thank them for that. And yes, team, there is still more work to be done in rolling out our More than Gold campaign! We also acknowledge local historian Dr Anne Beggs Sunter, who was consulted to check the veracity of our historical timeline. We are grateful for her expertise. Also, we thank the professional team at My Word for their collaborative approach in helping bring More than Gold to fruition. This project was made possible by the support of Committee for Ballarat and the Williamson Foundation.

Photos: Front Cover: White Night photo courtesy of the City of Ballarat; Netball players photo courtesy of The Courier, photographer Lachlan Bence; Illabrook photo courtesy of the Golden Plains Shire; p5: Bike race photo courtesy of Buninyong and District Community News;Heritage: Streetscape photo, photographer: Tony Evans; p15: The Design Exchange Market Ballarat Mining Exchange photo courtesy of the City of Ballarat; p33: Ballarat Arch photo, photographer: Tony Evans; p38: Ballarat Botanical Gardens courtesy of the City of Ballarat; p42: Pyrenees photo, photographer: Jayne Newgreen; p46: Illabarook photo courtesy of the Golden Plains Shire; p50: Pyrenees photo, photographer: Jayne Newgreen; Facilities: Art Gallery photo courtesy of the City of Ballarat; Ballet photo by Indimax; Mars Stadium photo, photographer: Terry Hope; p62: Aria Day photo by Indimax; Mars Stadium photo courtesy of the City of Ballarat; p68: Art Gallery photo courtesy of the City of Ballarat; p77: Ballarat photo courtesy of the City of Ballarat; Sovereign Hill photo courtesy of Sovereign Hill; p82: White Night photo courtesy of the City of Ballarat; Health Services: Ballarat Community Health photo by Dianna Snape Photography; Education: Ballarat Tech School photo by MDP Photography; p108: Ballarat Tech School Virtual Autopsy Machines photo by MDP Photography; Businesses: Gekko photo courtesy of Gekko; Bartletts photo by MDP photography; p122: McCain photo, Photographer: Andrew Wilson, Photo Design; Mars Wrigley Confectionery photo courtesy of Mars Wrigley Confectionery; p129: Haymes Paint photo, photographer Rob Clark, Infocus Photography; Back Cover: Art Gallery photo courtesy of the City of Ballarat; Brass Band photo by Indimax.

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A big thank you to all of our storytellers Aaron & Sarah Kotzapetros

Colin Pickering

Hayden McGill

Kerryn Quemard

Natalie O'Brien

Shaarang Tenneti

Courtnie Apps

Kevin Brookman

Nathan Fernandez

Shane Ferguson

Adele Lorensene & Robert Re

Courtny Norton

Hayley Wachter & Travis Nicholson

Kim Temple

Nell Blake

Shaun Hue

Cristine Yates

Howard Phillips

Kok Keat & Yu En Chia

Nia Harrison

Shayne Reese

Damian Birks

Jacinta Smith

Kristen Kelly

Nicholas Phillips

Shean Vanderwert

Daniel Findlay

Jackie Mawkes

Kyra Postlethwaite

Nicole Elliott

Shelley Barnes

Daniel Neri

Jake Charnock

Lachlan Matheson

Noel Annakis

Shelley Dalrymple

Daniel Nestor

James Dunstan

Lane Buckwell

Owen Ralli

Siga Asa Leausa

Darren McGuiness

James Gerrard

Larissa Telfer

Paige Bartram

Simone Broad

David & Leroy Appleby

Jan Koolmees

Laura Lee

Paul Williams

Stacey Oliver

David Bock

Jan O'Shannassy

Laurie Curran

Pauline Clemens

Steven Hunter

David Clark

Jarrod Parsons

Lindsay Pritchard

Peter Chandler

Stewart Easdon

David Fisher

Jason Birch

Lisa Smith

Peter de Deugd

Sue Clifford

David Gay

Jason Panosh

Liz Hayward

Peter Eddy

Sue Howie

David Lockett

Jason Ray

Louise Clark

Peter Freund

Sue Lowther

David Sanders

Jeanette Keating

Louise Feery

Peter Sherman

Sue Lockett

David Shepherd

Jeff Unmack

Peter Stevens

Susan Nelson

Dean McCarthy

Jeremy Warfe

Manuel Echeverria & Gabriela Marquez

Pia Geljon

Susan Shea

Dean Wells

Jesica Kuhn

Marcus Merryfull

Rachel Peterken

Tavis Baker

Dianne Phillips

Jessie West & Georgia Belleville

Maria Culvenor

Rae Pickersgill

Temam Hussen

Marilyn Delfin

Jim Rodgers

Raj Singh

Tameaka Lakey

Mark Guirguis

John Burns

Raymond D

Tom Cochrane

Mary & Chanel Baxter

John Wood

Rebecca Marsh

Tracie McGahey

Matt McLean

Jorden Dixon

Renate & Bill Peacock

Trent McKinnis

Maureen Woodford

Joseph Perse

Tim Gaden

Troy Beaston

Max Diamond

Julia Zass

Rick Lockett

Troy Dorron

Megan Fraumano

Justine Ng

Robert Oliver

Vanessa Stephenson

Mel Drummond

Kat Pengelly

Ron Komisars

Wayne Roberts

Melissa Farrington

Katey

Rory Brennan

Wendy O'Kelly

Michael de Kort

Katherine Cape

Ryuji Nakamura

William Caram

Michaela Fiegert

Kathryn Hutchins

Willy Schaap

Michele Billings

Sally Brennan & Craig Whiteford

Tina Verhey

Michelle Trigg

Samuel Beverley

Keelan Westerland

Zac Hill

Michelle Wong

Sandra Foster

Kelly & Georgia Amoore

Zachary Rutherford

Monica & Tom Dickson

Sarah Tuddenham

Kerri & Ray Peck

Zainab Sabri

Narelle Tolliday

Sebastian Steenhuis

Kerry Armstrong

Nat

Seyhan Ozyurt

Adrian Doyle Alan Swanson Amanda Collins Andrea Wilkinson Andrew Brown Angela Smith Angus Holcombe Anita Auchettl Anita Schreiber Anne Francis April Cox Ashley Richardson Barb Schiltz Barb Cole Bill West Bradley Neunhoffer Brett Emmerson Brett Goodes Brett Macdonald Brett Vallance Brian & Mischelle Wallis Bridget Aitchison Carmen Baldwin & the Gillespie Family Catherine Kennedy Catherine King Cathy Faull Chris Brown Chris Dobson Chris Ward Christine Lethlean Clare Keogh Clive, Wendy & Ivy Kirby

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Dot Newton Duane Findlay Ebony Hansen Eileen Robinson Elanor Elliott Eliza Riordan Elizabeth Armstrong Erique Coggins Francis Slade Gareth Aplin Gary Wallis Georgie Steenhuis Glenda Hipwell Gracie Robinson Graeme Hood Hannah Cozens Harriet McConville

Wilson Ekayapan

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ISBN: 978-0-9875391-7-5 Publisher: Committee For Ballarat Editor: My Word Connect Through Stories Pty Ltd – ABN: 34 664 625 282 Graphic Design: My Word Connect Through Stories Pty Ltd – ABN: 48 619 441 897 First Edition Print: May 2018 in Australia by Revolution Print Title: More Than Gold Ballarat and Region: Our Story © Committee for Ballarat Inc 2018. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part of this book or publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a database and retrieval system or communicated or transmitted in any form or any means without the written permission of the copyright owner – Committee for Ballarat Inc. Whilst the publisher has made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at the time of publication, the editor and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage or disruption caused by any errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or other cause. Inquiries relating to bulk purchasing distribution can be addressed to Committee for Ballarat directly (see below for contact details). Committee For Ballarat Ph: (03) 5332 1240 Email: admin@committeeforballarat.com Web: www.committeeforballarat.com

My Word® Connect through stories

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BALLARAT AND REGION: OUR STORY Our region has long been defined by its rich history based on gold. However, now it offers very much more than gold and has a compelling story to tell. Committee for Ballarat’s More than Gold campaign is designed to showcase the vibrant and progressive culture of Ballarat and the region through the stories of local residents.