City of Ballarat

17/09/2026

🎾 Ballarat, are you ready to get active on the courts this spring?

Recent upgrades at the CE Brown Courts in Wendouree are now complete, providing improved facilities for both tennis and pickleball players.

The works delivered by the City of Ballarat included:

✅ Repairing cracks and improving court levels

✅ Installing new tennis posts, nets and line marking for two courts

✅ Applying a new asphalt surface across the entire court area

✅ Adding line marking for four pickleball courts (BYO nets)

These upgrades provide a safer, higher-quality playing surface while creating more opportunities for the community to get active and stay connected. 🎾🏓

17/09/2026

😊 Are you interested in Ageing Well in Ballarat?

The City of Ballarat is inviting community feedback on the draft Ageing Well in Ballarat Strategy 2027-2030.

The strategy will guide work over the next four years to support Ballarat in becoming an increasingly age-friendly city.

It aligns with the City of Ballarat’s commitment as a member of the World Health Organisation Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities.

More than 650 people contributed to the development of the draft strategy earlier this year, sharing their experiences, priorities and aspirations for ageing well in Ballarat.

The draft Ageing Well in Ballarat Strategy 2027-2030 is now on public exhibition at the City of Ballarat's MySay platform until Friday 2 October 2026:
https://mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au/ageing-well-ballarat-strategy

Residents can also view a copy of the draft strategy at any City of Ballarat library location or community hub.

For enquiries or to request a hard-copy response form, contact the Ageing Well Services team on 5320 5500 or email [email protected]

Help us to plan for an Age Friendly Ballarat, where people aged 55+ can thrive!

17/09/2026

📆 Did you know that it is Australian Citizenship Day each year on 17 September?

The day is an opportunity for all Australians to reflect on the meaning and importance of Australian citizenship, and the responsibilities and privileges that come with it.

It is also a chance to celebrate our shared citizenship and what it means to be part of the Australian community.

In accordance with the Victorian Government's flag protocol, the Ballarat Town Hall will display the Australian National Flag all day.

Further information on flag protocol can be found here:
https://www.vic.gov.au/flag-notifications

16/09/2026

This is a photograph of the Ballarat City Municipal Chambers that was featured in the Ballarat Illustrated 1917 publication.

This room has been repurposed into Committee Room 1, with the chairs now in use in the Jessie Scott Room and the wooden ledgers on display in the Morton Room.

Council meetings are held in the Council Chamber at 6.30pm every fourth Wednesday of the month. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 23 September.

For more information, visit https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/about-us/council-meetings

📸 Photo courtesy of the Victorian Collections www.victoriancollections.net.au

16/09/2026

😃 PopCon is back for 2026!

Ballarat’s favourite pop culture convention returns for its 7th year — and it’s FREE! Get along for a full day of fun, fandom, and family-friendly vibes.

It's on from 11am to 4pm on Sunday 27 September at Civic Hall, 300 Mair Street, Ballarat Central.

What’s waiting for you at ?

🎭Cosplay Competition & Cosplay Parade
🎨Over 60 Artist, Author and Pop Culture Stalls
🛡Live Action Role Play and sword fighting with Imagined Realms
🎲Tabletop Gaming Drop-in with Good Games
📸Free Photobooth
🎸Music and performances
🍔 Food Vans
🫧Chill Space & MORE!

Whether you're a cosplayer, gamer, anime fan, or just looking for something awesome to do with the kids — PopCon is for YOU.

RSVP and find out more at https://www.facebook.com/share/1DDME2MSph/

No tickets required!

16/09/2026

🖼️ New Art Trail to showcase what local artists love about Ballarat!

Ballarat residents and visitors are invited to discover the city through the eyes of local artists, with the Ballarat In The Know Art Trail set to begin installation across the C*D this weekend.

From Saturday 19 September, nine large-scale artworks created by Ballarat artists will begin appearing at locations throughout the city centre as part of the Ballarat In The Know Art Trail.

The temporary public art activation celebrates the people, places, landscapes, food, culture and unique character that make Ballarat special, with each artist sharing their own personal interpretation of what they love most about the city.

The trail features works by:

- Carly Hitchcock at Hop Lane (image 1 pictured below)
- Scott Leonard at Time Zone external wall, Bridge Mall (image 2)
- Abbie Matthews at The Unicorn (image 3)
- Melinda Muscat at Myer Loading Dock (image 4)
- Brigid Corcoran at Parent Place external wall (image 5)
- Caroline Keys at Hop Lane (image 6)
- Jay Rankine at Central Square external wall, Doveton Street (image 7)
- Ben Sanders and Cam Ross at Time Zone external wall, Bridge Mall (image 8)
- Spencer Harrision at Mckenzie Lane (image 9)

A digital trail map is available via Ballarat In The Know's website, social media platforms and e-newsletters:
https://ballaratintheknow.com.au/art-trail

16/09/2026

🎉Bookings are now open for our Ballarat Libraries Spring School Holiday Program!

Find our complete list of programs, including drop-in sessions, in our program flyer. Pick up a copy at your local library or read it online now: https://libraries.ballarat.vic.gov.au/school-holidays

All sessions for children under 12 are designed to be co-learning activities where parents and carers participate as core support for their child. Children under the age of 12 cannot be left unattended.

Age ranges are given as an indication of program suitability and safety. Please check the age range prior to booking.

15/09/2026

that not all roads in Ballarat are managed by the City of Ballarat?

We are responsible for maintaining local roads throughout the municipality, while major arterial roads are managed by the Victorian Government through the Department of Transport and Planning.

This means State responsibility is not just for Ballarat’s highways, but many other roads including Albert Street, Barkly Street, Creswick Road, Daylesford Road, Doveton Street, Drummond Street, Geelong Road, Gillies Street, Grant Street, Hertford Street, Howitt Street, La Trobe Street, Learmonth Road, Main Road, Mair Street, Norman Street, Smythes Road, most of Sturt Street, Victoria Street, Water Street, Whitehorse Road and Wiltshire Lane.

Visit the DTP website to fully explore (Map of declared roads - Transport Victoria) and see who is responsible for every road in Ballarat:
https://transport.vic.gov.au/road-and-active-transport/business-and-industry/road-and-traffic-management/map-of-dtp-managed-roads

But don’t worry if you’re still not sure about it when you see an issue - just Snap Send Solve it and we’ll do the rest!

15/09/2026

👏🏻😊 The City of Ballarat is thrilled that there will be a new Teen Mental Health First Aid Instructor trained through a $5,000 gift from GMHBA Ballarat to Live4Life.

City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves said last week, “As the lead agency for Live4Life Ballarat, the City of Ballarat continues to work alongside schools, community organisations and health partners to improve mental health outcomes for our young people. We thank GMHBA for its contribution, which will help strengthen this important work in our community.”

This World Su***de Prevention Day, is backing young people in Ballarat to build the knowledge, confidence and skills to look after their mental health and support their mates. 💙

This year's theme, "Changing the Narrative", encourages us all to Start the Conversation by challenging myths, breaking down stigma and creating safe spaces for open, honest discussions about mental health.

Through GMHBA's Charitable Gifts program, the Ballarat Branch has directed $5,000 to support Live4Life Ballarat's Teen Mental Health First Aid training, helping more young people learn how to recognise when a friend might be struggling and how to offer initial support.

The funding will help train a local instructor to deliver Teen Mental Health First Aid as part of the Live4Life Ballarat program, a community-wide youth mental health initiative involving 12 secondary schools across Ballarat. Since launching in 2023, the program has supported more than 6,000 young people to complete Teen Mental Health First Aid training.

💬 "An instructor who can properly guide students as they figure out how to handle situations regarding mental health benefits not only the welfare of students, but also the peers around them. It creates a safe environment, encourages people to challenge what they know, and gives them a space to make mistakes without being judged."

– Georgia, 2026 Ballarat Live4Life Crew member

We're grateful to for investing in the wellbeing of young people and helping create a community where it's okay to talk about mental health and seek support when needed.

🔗 Read the full media release: https://www.gmhba.com.au/about/media-centre/live4life-ballarat-program

📷From left: Ballarat Live4Life Crew members Charlie (Clarendon College), Taliah (Mount Clear College) and Georgia (Loreto College) with GMHBA Ballarat Location Manager Lisa Antonio

Kids Helpline
1800 55 1800

Lifeline
13 11 14

Ballarat Help Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ballarat.help

15/09/2026

🍃 Black Hill Primary students present microforest progress

Ballarat Town Hall was pleased to welcome a passionate group of grade 4 and 5 children from Black Hill Primary School who are involved in a unique microforest project.

In partnership with project lead Stuart Porteous and neighbouring residents, the children are working on creating a community microforest in the heart of Black Hill next to the Post Office on Peel Street North.

The undeveloped block of land is set be transformed into a vegetation wonderland with the creation of a small, dense, biodiverse forest using a method developed by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the 1970s.

Mr Porteous said, “Microforests feature native species planted closely together to rapidly grow into self-sustaining ecosystems helping combat climate change, creating wildlife habitats, cooling their host areas and enhancing mental wellbeing."

The project received a $9,500 grant through the City of Ballarat's Community Impact Grant program in 2025/26.

Acting Mayor Cr Ben Taylor welcomed the students to Ballarat Town Hall and showed them the Council Chambers. The students then presented their progress to City of Ballarat sustainability officers.

The City of Ballarat congratulates the students on their commitment to making a difference.