Reflecting on Ballarat’s car industry

CHANGE in Ballarat’s car industry will be the focus of a Twilight Talk next week at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute.

The panel discussion will be led by Dr Phil Roberts, Twilight Talks coordinator and author of Peter Stevens – Much More Than Cars.

The book details Mr Stevens’s years in the motor industry and his community impact, as well as changes throughout Ballarat in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The book is the 23rd written by Dr Roberts, and he said it was fascinating learning about different aspects of Ballarat’s car industry.

“I know about cars, but I don’t know lots about them so for me it was an adventure finding out a lot of the detail, especially about Ballarat’s car industry,” Dr Roberts said.

“I was very surprised when I started doing all the research to find out how much it had changed.

“A big change is that half of the car franchises now are owned from outside Australia.”

Panellists for the talk will include prominent figures in Ballarat’s car industry Peter Stevens, John Emery, Barry Bedggood and Garry Harrowfield.

The panellists will discuss the future of the car industry and there will also be a chance for audience members to ask questions.

“I’m sure people will find it very interesting because many people wouldn’t be aware how fast change is coming,” Dr Roberts said.

“It may very well be in the future that we may get to a situation where we bypass the car dealers and people will go online and start going straight to the manufacturer of cars.”

The talk will begin at 5.30pm on Wednesday 19 March. Tickets cost $9 for BMI members or $13 for the general public and can be purchased on the BMI website.