Historical society to mark Australia Day

A COMMUNITY breakfast event is set to be on the menu as part of the Napoleons and District Historical Society’s annual Australia Day acknowledgement.

Set to be held at the Napoleons Memorial Hall on Friday 26 January, the group’s president Les George said it will be a great way to bring the community together.

“There’ll be a cooked breakfast from 8am to 9.30am with things like eggs, bacon, cereal, sausages, toast and jam, that sort of thing,” he said.

“We’re following it with something new with a morning tea and that’ll be scones and cream for those people that can’t make it earlier.

“It’s about celebrating Australia Day and that historical aspect and to have something for the community to be able to come to.

The event will include a flag-raising ceremony and reciting of the Australian national anthem.

Books from local historian Doug Bradby, such as those in his The Astonishing History of Ballarat, and The Seriously Weird History of the Goldfields series, will be given away to attending families.

The group’s Australia Day breakfast has been running for about 25 years, and Mr George said it’s long been a popular event for the region.

“We used to get about 120, 130 people attending. Last year we had 70 people. It’s one of the few community activities in the district,” he said.

“We held this year but we’re wanting to build it up again after COVID and make it a real service to the community where people can just get together and talk.”

The breakfast will cost $15 for individual attendees and $30 for families while the morning tea will be $10 and $15 respectively.