New spaces for living museum

SOVEREIGN Hill is set to expand with six million dollars’ worth of new facilities and upgrades to be built over the next two years.

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula, announced the support at the historic site last Friday, which is part of the State Government’s Regional Tourism Investment Fund.

The expansions will include a new pavilion for community functions and a Waterside and Wadawurrung cultural precinct, and Mr Pakula said the support will help Sovereign Hill bounce back after COVID.

“It’s done it really tough during the pandemic so this investment is a real vote of confidence in Sovereign Hill’s future,” he said.

“We think the sort of changes we’re supporting today will help up to another 80,000 visitors a year come through the place.”

Additional expansions include the Valley of Light outdoor space set to hold up to 5000 people as well as the revitalisation of the gold panning precinct aimed at facilitating evening activities.

Works are expected to be finished in mid-2024 and will provide almost 70 construction jobs and 11 ongoing positions following completion.

Sarah Quon, CEO of Sovereign Hill Museums Association, said the expansions will “reactivate” the event spaces across the site and benefit the city as a whole.

“Across these projects, by 2040, we would predict an additional 100,000 visitors would be driven just by the events that these new upgrades,” she said.

“That’s massive for us in terms of what it does for visitation and we know events like Winter Wonderlights last year contributed $20 million to the Ballarat economy.

“So, it’s not just Sovereign Hill that will prosper. It’s accommodation, hospitality and the other attractions around town that supports the visitor economy here so a great win for our industry after a pretty tough couple of years.”