Exploring Ballan’s past and the unknown

INTEREST in history and the paranormal will be piqued during a series of tours in Ballan.

With the Ballan Shire Historical Society, Mysteries Lost in History will host a visit to the Old Courthouse on Tuesday 30 June. A percentage of the ticket sales will go back to the society as a donation.

Mysteries Lost in History will then host a tour of the FlackPTO gallery on Friday 10 July.

Organiser Amanda Powell said the tours attracted people who were fascinated by their community.

“How things were done in the past, how they differ from the way things are done now,” she said.

“Also, they go in there with a bit of an open mind and a bit of curiosity, so they don’t quite know what to expect.

“But when they do experience certain things that they can’t explain, it really sort of builds an excitement in them and a fascination… that fosters a bit of a bond with the place.”

Powell said a benefit of the tours is promoting a sense of ownership in older buildings with younger generations.

“It’s more of getting the community on board to sort of support what they have in the local area and turning them into tourist attractions to bring people in,” she said.

She said FlackPTO gallery will be a highlight, as it will be “literally like stepping back in time”.

A former post office, the building Powell said had been owned by the same family for 160 years.

“There’s a lot of history attached to the place because if you think back, back in the 1800s, the lifeblood of any town was a telegraph office,” she said.

“It’s where all the information was, it’s where they were connected to the outside world.

“It would have been a really interesting location back when it was a post office.”

More information and bookings at mysterieslostinhistory.com