Funding sought for survivors’ memorial

LOCAL advocacy groups including LOUD Fence and Continuous Voices are lobbying for State and Federal funding support to establish the sculptural memorial for survivors of sexual abuse at Victoria Park.

The City of Ballarat has made a commitment of $520,000 to the planned memorial, which is expected to cost $1.5 million in total, and will be installed by the lake beside Plane Avenue.

Continuous Voices’ Blake Curran was 21 years old when he lost his father, Peter, to depression. Peter was abused as a child at St Alipius, and St Patrick’s College.

“My kids don’t have a grandfather, so it would be great to have a place to bring them to, and a place where my mum, spouses and partners of victims, and all those affected can come to and reflect,” Mr Curran said.

“It’s important to recognise not only the victims, but the massive ripple effect that it’s had on the people around them, and people across Australia.”

LOUD Fence’s Trevor Coad wants the memorial to bring hope to all survivors, their families, and friends.

“This brings a sense of community, and somewhere to come to just quietly sit and be,” he said

“This is an acknowledgement that the old memories are real, but with that acknowledgement and the hard yards of treatment, things do get better,” he said.

Victorian upper house member Western Victoria, Stuart Grimley, said he has written to the Premier, Treasurer and Attorney-General, lobbying for $1 million.

“Whether it comes from the State or Federal government doesn’t matter, as long as this gets done,” he said.

“We’ve had communications with LOUD Fence, Continuous Voices, the Ballarat council, and many victim-survivors of the Ballarat community saying how important this memorial will be.

“It’s not going to heal all wounds, but this will offer the community a place to come, reflect and remember, not only as a survivor, but as families of survivors, and to have conversations to make sure that this never happens again.”

Continuous Voices, the City of Ballarat and artists met this week to share their ideas for the memorial’s design.

“This memorial could be used as a case study for other places, like Newcastle, to see the process we went through,” Mr Curran said.