19 months of saving Her Maj

A YEAR has passed since the Save Her Majesty’s Ballarat – The Time is Now campaign begun.

Following the discovery, in December 2017, of serious structural and foundation weaknesses throughout the now 144-year-old theatre, it was decided the space was unsafe.

For the last 19 months, Her Maj has been closed, pushing iconic annual booking, the Royal South Street eisteddfod to other venues across the city.

Although the City of Ballarat had planned to have the theatre operational before the beginning of this year’s competition, it said last week it will probably reopen its doors in early to mid-September, with this first round of emergency structural repairs and restoration finished.

With over $100,000 donated to the project from the community, $10 million committed by the state government during their 2018 election campaign, $2 million given from their Living Heritage Program, $5.3 million allocated in council’s 18-19 Budget specifically for stage and roof repairs, a Change.org petition with over 2,830 signatures, and a huge amount of written support for the campaign, the desire to get Her Maj back on her feet quickly is clear.

The lobbying, however, passionately continues. Earlier in the year, Labor pledged to give $5 million needed to complete the next stage of safety and accessibility work, providing they formed federal government in May. This didn’t happen.

Council is strongly campaigning to secure that last boost to comply with contemporary disability standards and increase functionality and inclusiveness for all show goers.

Her Majesty’s Chair, Cr Daniel Moloney said $5 million is “petty cash” in the Federal budget, yet Ballarat missed out.

“The Federal Coalition has shown a lot of support for the arts. We’re hoping some of that can translate to a bit of support for Ballarat. We’re quietly confident at a departmental and political level that we can make the case.”

This $5 million will be directed towards installation of passenger lifts at the back and front-of-house for easy, direct access to dressing rooms, toilets, the stage, the Dress Circle, the Long Room and office spaces, and the respectful maintenance of the historic building in compliance with current building and construction standards.

Cr Moloney said the project is remarkable, receiving such broad community praise.

“A lot of people in town understand the importance of, not only maintaining a beautiful old heritage building, but also investing in the arts and making sure we’ve got one of the best facilities in regional Victoria.

“We saw a big drop off last year to South Street when the theatre was closed, so it’s a big drawcard. It has such prestige for anyone that’s on the stage,” he said. “We’re keen to gets shows back on and get people back in.

“The crucial thing is getting the South Street calisthenics performances back. They’re the ones that get the massive draw cards. We need them coming from around the state, performing, and then going back and telling people that the theatre’s open.”