Hello and goodbye to Made in Ballarat – June 2019 in review

Riding high – Thursday, 6 June edition

BMX racer Josh Jolly added another national championship to his mantle after claiming gold in the 13 Boys class at the BMX National titles held in Shepperton.

The Ballarat High School year 8 student had tasted success at the highest level before, having also won two golds a few years ago.

Jolly’s win meant he was off to Heusden-Zolder in Belgium for the World Championship in July.

“It was good to come over the line in first,” he said. “I’m going to try to get into the final [in Belgium]. I got world three there when I was nine.

“It’s a big event and hard, but I hope I do good.”

 

Barkly Square opens – Thursday, 6 June edition

Championed by BGT Jobs + Training, Barkly Square would once again find new life as a centre of education and community support.

Along with BGT, the renovated former senior campus Ballarat Secondary College would go on to become the home of the YMCA, Voice FM, Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council, Ballarat Whole Foods Collective, the Ballarat Toy Library and Ballarat Community Men’s Shed.

In a few months the Ballarat Times would also call Barkly Square home.

“It has been a hub for learning since 1862 and thanks to your investment the centre will continue the proud tradition while attending to the needs of the community,” said then Ballarat deputy-mayor Jim Rinaldi.

“It will strengthen the pathways for further education and employment through a highly collaborative approach.”

 

Made of Ballarat launched – Thursday, 13 June edition

It was a bold choice to rebrand Visit Ballarat to Made of Ballarat, but leaders of the organisation backed the move.

Then CEO Noel Dempsey said the change was about getting the city on the radar of people from Melbourne.

“Just because it has a rich history it wasn’t enough to put the town on the agenda,” he said.

“Ballarat is made of earth, once it was gold now it is the produce and the land. It is also made of creativity with a lot of artistry that is hidden, and we are made of heritage but you don’t tell it with just museums, you have to bring it alive in a certain way. And importantly we are made of rebellion.”

 

They’re on the list – Thursday, 13 June edition

Four community members were awarded Queen’s Birthday honours for their service to the region.

Dr Jeremy Johnson was Member of the Order of Australia for his work at Sovereign Hill over 15 years.

“I love Sovereign Hill and my community so I am thrilled for the recognition,” he said.

“My wife Anne and I arrived in the Ballarat 30 years ago, to a warm welcome and embrace from the community, where we have raised our four daughters.

“Anne has been a great support throughout my career and I would like to recognise the help of my senior executive assistants at Sovereign Hill, Janelle Burns and Barbara Howes.”

Barbara Hughes, Margaret Robinson and Stephen Higgs all received a Medals of the Order of Australia.

 

From little things – Thursday, 20 June edition

It started as a small fundraiser with the aim of making a few hundred dollars for the Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea campaign.

Yet before she knew it Tegan Stevenson’s effort had gained a head of steam and by the end of one Saturday in early winter, there was nearly $4500 in the bank.

For Ms Stevenson, the reason to get behind the campaign was personal.

“Mum was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumours a few years ago, and they keep popping back, so I decided I wanted to raise money for cancer,” she said.

 

Made in Ballarat terminated – Thursday, 27 June edition

Two weeks after the Made of Ballarat brand was launched, the City of Ballarat advised it was going to end funding for the organisation.

The municipality was putting about $2.7 million a year into the tourism body and then mayor, Cr Samantha McIntosh said the decision was about value for money.

“We’ve done quite a bit of work looking at other models around the state and around the country and we can see that there’s a significant amount of money that we’re putting into tourism,” she said.

“Compared to the return it’s not necessarily as good as some of the others, or what we would like to see. It’s really important that we get the best results for our rate payers.”

Made of Ballarat/ Visit Ballarat’s then board chair, Paul Armstrong, said he was “disappointed” by the move.

“Obviously we’re very disappointed but we respect the fact that the council has the right to do that. They are out main supporter,” he said.

“We felt over the last 12 months we’d made some significant changes. Some of us are relatively new to the board and were put in place at the annual general meeting late last year. Only this morning [Tuesday] we’d finalised our five-year strategic plan, which we’d put a lot of time and effort into. So we were ready to go for the next step.”