{"id":120447,"date":"2026-03-13T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=120447"},"modified":"2026-03-11T20:18:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T09:18:02","slug":"illuminating-greatness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/","title":{"rendered":"Illuminating greatness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ILLUMINATE, the 2026 Great Women of Ballarat honouree induction evening, took place at the Ballaarat Mechanics&#8217; Institute&#8217;s Minerva Room last Thursday 5 March. Larelle Kuczer, Cathy Oddie, Rebecca Jakobi, Wendy Sturgess, Jill Oliver and Sherley Hart were recognised for their courageous leadership, volunteerism, advocacy, innovation and community service. Open to the public, the evening also raised money for the Ballarat Foundation&#8217;s Ballarat Women&#8217;s Fund.<\/p>\n<p>Photos: EDWINA WILLIAMS<\/p>\n<style id=\"bwg-style-0\">      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 #bwg_mosaic_thumbnails_div_0 {        width: 100%;        position: relative;        background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.00);        text-align: center;        justify-content: center;                  margin-left: auto;          margin-right: auto;                    padding-left: 2px;          padding-top: 2px;                }          #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg_mosaic_thumb_spun_0 {        display: block;        position: absolute;\t\t\t\tborder-radius: 0;\t\t\t\tborder: 0px none #CCCCCC;    \t\t    \t\tbackground-color:rgba(0,0,0, 0.30);        -moz-box-sizing: content-box !important;        -webkit-box-sizing: content-box !important;        box-sizing: content-box !important;      }\t\t\t#bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg_mosaic_thumb_0 {\t\t\t\tdisplay: block;\t\t\t\t-moz-box-sizing: content-box !important;\t\t\t\t-webkit-box-sizing: content-box !important;\t\t\t\tbox-sizing: content-box !important;\t\t\t\tmargin: 0;\t\t\t\topacity: 1.00;\t\t\t}      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg_mosaic_thumb_spun_0:hover {        opacity: 1;        backface-visibility: hidden;        -webkit-backface-visibility: hidden;        -moz-backface-visibility: hidden;        -ms-backface-visibility: hidden;        z-index: 102;      }\t     @media only screen and (min-width: 480px) {\t\t#bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg-container-0.bwg-mosaic-thumbnails .bwg-item0 img {\t\t\t-webkit-transition: -webkit-transform .3s; transition: transform .3s;\t\t}\t\t#bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg-container-0.bwg-mosaic-thumbnails .bwg-item0 img:hover {\t\t\t-ms-transform: scale(1.08);\t\t\t-webkit-transform: scale(1.08);\t\t\ttransform: scale(1.08);\t\t}\t\t      }\t      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg_mosaic_thumbnails_0 {        background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.00);        font-size: 0;        position: relative;        text-align: center;        display: inline-block;        visibility: hidden;              }\t  \/*image title styles*\/      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg_mosaic_title_spun1_0,      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg-mosaic-thumbnails .bwg_ecommerce_spun1_0 {        position: absolute;        display: block;        opacity: 0;        box-sizing: border-box;        text-align: center;\t\t\t\ttop: 50%;\t\t\t\tleft: 50%;\t\t\t\ttransform: translate(-50%, -50%);      }      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg-mosaic-thumbnails .bwg_mosaic_title_spun2_0,      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg-mosaic-thumbnails .bwg_ecommerce_spun2_0 {\t\t    color: #323A45;        font-family: Ubuntu;        font-size: 16px;        font-weight: bold;        text-shadow: ;        vertical-align: middle;        word-wrap: break-word;      }            .bwg_mosaic_play_icon_spun_0 {        display: table;        position: absolute;        left: -10000px;        top: 0px;        opacity: 0;      }      .bwg_mosaic_play_icon_0 {        color: #323A45;        font-size: 32px;        vertical-align: middle;        display: table-cell !important;        z-index: 1;        text-align: center;        margin: 0 auto;      }      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .bwg_gal_title_0 {        background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);        color: #323A45;        display: block;        font-family: Ubuntu;        font-size: 16px;        font-weight: bold;        padding: 2px;        text-shadow: ;        text-align: center;      }            @media screen and (max-width: 350px) {      div[class^=\"bwg_mosaic_thumbnails_\"],      span[class^=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_spun_\"] {      width: 100% !important;      }      img[class^=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_\"] {      width: 100% !important;      height: auto !important;      margin: 0px auto !important;      }      }      <\/style>    <div id=\"bwg_container1_0\"         class=\"bwg_container bwg_thumbnail bwg_thumbnails_mosaic \"         data-right-click-protection=\"0\"         data-bwg=\"0\"         data-scroll=\"0\"         data-gallery-type=\"thumbnails_mosaic\"         data-gallery-view-type=\"thumbnails_mosaic\"         data-current-url=\"\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120447\"         data-lightbox-url=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=GalleryBox&#038;current_view=0&#038;gallery_id=9&#038;tag=0&#038;theme_id=1&#038;shortcode_id=19&#038;sort_by=order&#038;order_by=desc&#038;current_url=%2Fballarat%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F120447\"         data-gallery-id=\"9\"         data-popup-width=\"800\"         data-popup-height=\"500\"         data-is-album=\"gallery\"         data-buttons-position=\"bottom\">      <div id=\"bwg_container2_0\">             <div id=\"ajax_loading_0\" class=\"bwg_loading_div_1\">      <div class=\"bwg_loading_div_2\">        <div class=\"bwg_loading_div_3\">          <div id=\"loading_div_0\" class=\"bwg_spider_ajax_loading\">          <\/div>        <\/div>      <\/div>    <\/div>            <form id=\"gal_front_form_0\"              class=\"bwg-hidden\"              method=\"post\"              action=\"#\"              data-current=\"0\"              data-shortcode-id=\"19\"              data-gallery-type=\"thumbnails_mosaic\"              data-gallery-id=\"9\"              data-tag=\"0\"              data-album-id=\"0\"              data-theme-id=\"1\"              data-ajax-url=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=bwg_frontend_data\">          <div id=\"bwg_container3_0\" class=\"bwg-background bwg-background-0\">                <div id=\"bwg_mosaic_thumbnails_div_0\"         class=\"bwg-container-0 bwg-container bwg-mosaic-thumbnails\"         data-bwg=\"0\"         data-mosaic-direction=\"vertical\"         data-resizable=\"0\"         data-width=\"250\"         data-height=\"250\"         data-total-width=\"150\"         data-block-id=\"bwg_thumbnails_mosaic_0\"         data-thumb-padding=\"2\"         data-thumb-border=\"0\"         data-title-margin=\"2px\"         data-image-title=\"none\"         data-play-icon=\"1\"         data-ecommerce-icon=\"none\"         data-gallery-id=\"9\"         data-lightbox-url=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?action=GalleryBox&#038;current_view=0&#038;gallery_id=9&#038;tag=0&#038;theme_id=1&#038;shortcode_id=19&#038;sort_by=order&#038;order_by=desc&#038;current_url=%2Fballarat%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F120447\"         data-mosaic-thumb-transition=\"1\"         style=\"visibility: hidden\" >      <div id=\"bwg_thumbnails_mosaic_0\" class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumbnails_0\">                  <a  class=\"bwg-a bwg_lightbox bwg_lightbox_0\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/IMG_5843_41142.jpg?bwg=1773220506\" data-image-id=\"84\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"no\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\">          <div class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_spun_0 bwg-item0 bwg-mosaic-thumb-span \">            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_0 skip-lazy bwg_img_clear bwg_img_custom \"                 id=\"84\"                 src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_5843_41142.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_5843_41142.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-width=\"377.00\"                 data-height=\"500.00\"                 alt=\"\"                 title=\"\" \/>                      <\/div>        <\/a>                <a  class=\"bwg-a bwg_lightbox bwg_lightbox_0\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/IMG_5855_42229.jpg?bwg=1773220506\" data-image-id=\"83\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"no\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\">          <div class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_spun_0 bwg-item0 bwg-mosaic-thumb-span \">            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_0 skip-lazy bwg_img_clear bwg_img_custom \"                 id=\"83\"                 src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_5855_42229.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_5855_42229.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-width=\"500.00\"                 data-height=\"333.00\"                 alt=\"\"                 title=\"\" \/>                      <\/div>        <\/a>                <a  class=\"bwg-a bwg_lightbox bwg_lightbox_0\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/IMG_6020_44427.jpg?bwg=1773220506\" data-image-id=\"82\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"no\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-2\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\">          <div class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_spun_0 bwg-item0 bwg-mosaic-thumb-span \">            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_0 skip-lazy bwg_img_clear bwg_img_custom \"                 id=\"82\"                 src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_6020_44427.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_6020_44427.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-width=\"333.00\"                 data-height=\"500.00\"                 alt=\"IMG 6020 44427\"                 title=\"\" \/>                      <\/div>        <\/a>                <a  class=\"bwg-a bwg_lightbox bwg_lightbox_0\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/IMG_5949_45786.jpg?bwg=1773220506\" data-image-id=\"81\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"no\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-3\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\">          <div class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_spun_0 bwg-item0 bwg-mosaic-thumb-span \">            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_0 skip-lazy bwg_img_clear bwg_img_custom \"                 id=\"81\"                 src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_5949_45786.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_5949_45786.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-width=\"500.00\"                 data-height=\"333.00\"                 alt=\"IMG 5949 45786\"                 title=\"\" \/>                      <\/div>        <\/a>                <a  class=\"bwg-a bwg_lightbox bwg_lightbox_0\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/IMG_5874_42391.jpg?bwg=1773220506\" data-image-id=\"80\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"no\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-4\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\">          <div class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_spun_0 bwg-item0 bwg-mosaic-thumb-span \">            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_0 skip-lazy bwg_img_clear bwg_img_custom \"                 id=\"80\"                 src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_5874_42391.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_5874_42391.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-width=\"500.00\"                 data-height=\"333.00\"                 alt=\"IMG 5874 42391\"                 title=\"\" \/>                      <\/div>        <\/a>                <a  class=\"bwg-a bwg_lightbox bwg_lightbox_0\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/IMG_5982_45639.jpg?bwg=1773220506\" data-image-id=\"79\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"no\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-5\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\">          <div class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_spun_0 bwg-item0 bwg-mosaic-thumb-span \">            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"bwg_mosaic_thumb_0 skip-lazy bwg_img_clear bwg_img_custom \"                 id=\"79\"                 src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_5982_45639.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-src=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/photo-gallery\/thumb\/IMG_5982_45639.jpg?bwg=1773220506\"                 data-width=\"333.00\"                 data-height=\"500.00\"                 alt=\"IMG 5982 45639\"                 title=\"\" \/>                      <\/div>        <\/a>            <\/div>    <\/div>    <style>      \/*pagination styles*\/      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .tablenav-pages_0 {\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\t\t\t\tfont-size: 12px;\t\t\t\tfont-family: Ubuntu;\t\t\t\tfont-weight: bold;\t\t\t\tcolor: #666666;\t\t\t\tmargin: 6px 0 4px;\t\t\t\tdisplay: block;      }      @media only screen and (max-width : 320px) {      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .displaying-num_0 {     \t display: none;      }      }      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .displaying-num_0 {\t\t\t\tfont-size: 12px;\t\t\t\tfont-family: Ubuntu;\t\t\t\tfont-weight: bold;\t\t\t\tcolor: #666666;\t\t\t\tmargin-right: 10px;\t\t\t\tvertical-align: middle;      }      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .paging-input_0 {\t\t\t\tfont-size: 12px;\t\t\t\tfont-family: Ubuntu;\t\t\t\tfont-weight: bold;\t\t\t\tcolor: #666666;\t\t\t\tvertical-align: middle;      }      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .tablenav-pages_0 a.disabled,      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .tablenav-pages_0 a.disabled:hover,      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .tablenav-pages_0 a.disabled:focus,\t\t\t#bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .tablenav-pages_0 input.bwg_current_page {\t\t\t\tcursor: default;\t\t\t\tcolor: rgba(102, 102, 102, 0.5);      }      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .tablenav-pages_0 a,      #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 .tablenav-pages_0 input.bwg_current_page {\t\t\t\tcursor: pointer;\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\t\t\t\tfont-size: 12px;\t\t\t\tfont-family: Ubuntu;\t\t\t\tfont-weight: bold;\t\t\t\tcolor: #666666;\t\t\t\ttext-decoration: none;\t\t\t\tpadding: 3px 6px;\t\t\t\tmargin: 0;\t\t\t\tborder-radius: 0;\t\t\t\tborder-style: solid;\t\t\t\tborder-width: 1px;\t\t\t\tborder-color: #E3E3E3;\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbackground-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 1.00);\t\t\t\tbox-shadow: 0;\t\t\t\ttransition: all 0.3s ease 0s;-webkit-transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;      }      <\/style>      <span class=\"bwg_nav_cont_0\">                <script>jQuery('.bwg_nav_cont_0').remove()<\/script>                <input type=\"hidden\" id=\"page_number_0\" name=\"page_number_0\" value=\"1\" \/>      <script type=\"text\/javascript\">        if( jQuery('.bwg_nav_cont_0').length > 1 ) {          jQuery('.bwg_nav_cont_0').first().remove()        }        function spider_page_0(cur, x, y, load_more) {          if (typeof load_more == \"undefined\") {            var load_more = false;          }          if (jQuery(cur).hasClass('disabled')) {            return false;          }          var items_county_0 = 1;          switch (y) {            case 1:              if (x >= items_county_0) {                document.getElementById('page_number_0').value = items_county_0;              }              else {                document.getElementById('page_number_0').value = x + 1;              }              break;            case 2:              document.getElementById('page_number_0').value = items_county_0;              break;            case -1:              if (x == 1) {                document.getElementById('page_number_0').value = 1;              }              else {                document.getElementById('page_number_0').value = x - 1;              }              break;            case -2:              document.getElementById('page_number_0').value = 1;              break;\t\t\t\t\t\tcase 0:              document.getElementById('page_number_0').value = x;              break;            default:              document.getElementById('page_number_0').value = 1;          }          bwg_ajax('gal_front_form_0', '0', 'bwg_thumbnails_mosaic_0', '0', '', 'gallery', 0, '', '', load_more, '', 0);        }                    jQuery('.first-page-0').on('click', function () {              spider_page_0(this, 1, -2, 'numeric');              return false;            });            jQuery('.prev-page-0').on('click', function () {              spider_page_0(this, 1, -1, 'numeric');              return false;            });            jQuery('.next-page-0').on('click', function () {              spider_page_0(this, 1, 1, 'numeric');              return false;            });            jQuery('.last-page-0').on('click', function () {              spider_page_0(this, 1, 2, 'numeric');              return false;            });        \t\t\t\t\/* Change page on input enter. *\/        function bwg_change_page_0( e, that ) {          if (  e.key == 'Enter' ) {            var to_page = parseInt(jQuery(that).val());            var pages_count = jQuery(that).parents(\".pagination-links\").data(\"pages-count\");            var current_url_param = jQuery(that).attr('data-url-info');            if (to_page > pages_count) {              to_page = 1;            }\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tspider_page_0(this, to_page, 0, 'numeric');\t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn false;\t\t\t\t\t\t          }          return true;        }        jQuery('.bwg_load_btn_0').on('click', function () {            spider_page_0(this, 1, 1, true);            return false;        });      <\/script>      <\/span>                <\/div>        <\/form>        <style>          #bwg_container1_0 #bwg_container2_0 #spider_popup_overlay_0 {          background-color: #EEEEEE;          opacity: 0.60;          }          <\/style>        <div id=\"bwg_spider_popup_loading_0\" class=\"bwg_spider_popup_loading\"><\/div>        <div id=\"spider_popup_overlay_0\" class=\"spider_popup_overlay\" onclick=\"spider_destroypopup(1000)\"><\/div>        <input type=\"hidden\" id=\"bwg_random_seed_0\" value=\"2071642942\">                <\/div>    <\/div>    <script>      if (document.readyState === 'complete') {        if( typeof bwg_main_ready == 'function' ) {          if ( jQuery(\"#bwg_container1_0\").height() ) {            bwg_main_ready(jQuery(\"#bwg_container1_0\"));          }        }      } else {        document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {          if( typeof bwg_main_ready == 'function' ) {            if ( jQuery(\"#bwg_container1_0\").height() ) {             bwg_main_ready(jQuery(\"#bwg_container1_0\"));            }          }        });      }    <\/script>    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ILLUMINATE, the 2026 Great Women of Ballarat honouree induction evening, took place at the Ballaarat Mechanics&#8217; Institute&#8217;s Minerva Room last Thursday 5 March. Larelle Kuczer, Cathy Oddie, Rebecca Jakobi, Wendy Sturgess, Jill Oliver and Sherley Hart were recognised for their courageous leadership, volunteerism, advocacy, innovation and community service. Open to the public, the evening also [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":120457,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-120447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Illuminating greatness - Ballarat Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Celebrate the 2026 Great Women of Ballarat inductees. See highlights from the ILLUMINATE evening at the Mechanics&#039; Institute.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illuminating greatness - Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Celebrate the 2026 Great Women of Ballarat inductees. See highlights from the ILLUMINATE evening at the Mechanics&#039; Institute.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/11-march-tng.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Times News Group\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Times News Group\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Times News Group\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795\"},\"headline\":\"Illuminating greatness\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-12T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":78,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/11-march-tng.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/\",\"name\":\"Illuminating greatness - Ballarat Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/11-march-tng.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-12T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Celebrate the 2026 Great Women of Ballarat inductees. See highlights from the ILLUMINATE evening at the Mechanics' Institute.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/11-march-tng.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/11-march-tng.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Honouree, advocate for victim-survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence Cathy Oddie, is presented with her certificate and yellow Zonta rose of friendship by the City of Ballarat's Cr Tess Morgan.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/illuminating-greatness\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Illuminating greatness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ballarat Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ballarat Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/BALT.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/BALT.png\",\"width\":739,\"height\":98,\"caption\":\"Ballarat Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795\",\"name\":\"Times News Group\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/author\\\/warick\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Illuminating greatness - Ballarat Times","description":"Celebrate the 2026 Great Women of Ballarat inductees. See highlights from the ILLUMINATE evening at the Mechanics' Institute.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Illuminating greatness - Ballarat Times","og_description":"Celebrate the 2026 Great Women of Ballarat inductees. See highlights from the ILLUMINATE evening at the Mechanics' Institute.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/","og_site_name":"Ballarat Times","article_published_time":"2026-03-12T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/11-march-tng.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Times News Group","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Times News Group","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/"},"author":{"name":"Times News Group","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#\/schema\/person\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795"},"headline":"Illuminating greatness","datePublished":"2026-03-12T17:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/"},"wordCount":78,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/11-march-tng.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/","name":"Illuminating greatness - Ballarat Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/11-march-tng.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-12T17:00:00+00:00","description":"Celebrate the 2026 Great Women of Ballarat inductees. See highlights from the ILLUMINATE evening at the Mechanics' Institute.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/11-march-tng.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/11-march-tng.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Honouree, advocate for victim-survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence Cathy Oddie, is presented with her certificate and yellow Zonta rose of friendship by the City of Ballarat's Cr Tess Morgan."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/illuminating-greatness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Illuminating greatness"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/","name":"Ballarat Times","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#organization","name":"Ballarat Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/10\/BALT.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/10\/BALT.png","width":739,"height":98,"caption":"Ballarat Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#\/schema\/person\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795","name":"Times News Group","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/author\/warick\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120447"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=120447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}