Informative book marking the trail

LIKE many of Ballarat’s suburbs, Brown Hill has a number of walking tracks and heritage buildings, and now much of it has been collated into a guide for residents and visitors alike.

A new 16-page booklet contains informative maps highlighting 10 different walking trails as well as historical sections on nine Brown Hill buildings.

With financial support from the City of Ballarat, the document was produced by the Brown Hill Progress Association, and secretary Brendan Stevens said he hopes it will give the community a greater appreciation for their surroundings.

“We’ve had community input, and it’s a really nicely-produced document with some useful information in it that everyone can look at,” he said.

“We want people to know what’s in their local community and to be able to take a bit of pride in the place.

“So, it’s all about just being able to walk around the area and take in the history of it at the same time. We’ve got quite a few old buildings and it’s important to highlight that too.”

Originally completed in late 2019, the booklet’s release was shelved during the pandemic, and is now being humbly launched after promotion from Member for Buninyong, Michaela Settle.

The development of the maps came about through public meetings that were part of the City of Ballarat’s Engaging Communities program.

Walks are arranged with escalating difficulty, with the book beginning with one-kilometre circuits, to longer treks of nearly four kilometres.

BHPA is discussing the idea of adding signage on buildings featured in the booklet, which Mr Stevens said will “link in” with the descriptions on the pages.

You can find the booklet at locations in Brown Hill and there are plans to put it online via the community hub website.

Mr Stevens said the making of the document showed off the area’s ability to work together.

“All the people you see in the photos for it are all people who worked on it. That’s the sort of group this is, of people who are actively involved in so many ways,” he said.

“I think we’re a pretty inclusive bunch, and so hopefully this book will promote that and that this is a good place to be proud of.”