Moving the signpost

By Lachlan Ellis

Those who commute by train may have noticed a recent change at Ballan Station – the Ballan sign, normally at the bottom of the hill near Walsh Street, has been moved.

The Ballan Station sign was moved on Sunday 11 December by the Ballan Stationeers, a group of volunteers who maintain the station’s gardens, collect rubbish, and more.

Ballan Stationeers Coordinator, Michael Vale, said it was always intended for the sign to be in its new prominent position up on a hill, but wet weather over the years had made getting the sign up there impossible.

“When they upgraded Ballan Station and put in the new track, the new platform, and the footbridge, it was right where the sign was. The contractors who upgraded the station just dragged the sign over to the side, out of the way of their workspace…it stayed there for a couple of years, because with the wet weather you couldn’t get it up on top of the hill,” Mr Vale told the Moorabool News.

“Trying to get any kind of heavy vehicle up there with the sign would have made a terrible mess of all the native grasses and everything on top of that hill. It’s taken until the last couple of weeks for it to dry up and allow us to relocate the sign.”

The sign was created by artist Paul Blizzard, with a grant from the Moorabool Wind Farm, and a donation of equipment and manpower by Crossroads Trading, allowing the sign’s installation.

“When it was dragged away for the infrastructure works, the sign kind of fell apart. Unfortunately we couldn’t do anything with it because each piece weighed several tonnes, so it was left as it was behind a fence,” Mr Vale said.

“We got a grant from the Wind Farm to rehabilitate the land in front of the pine trees, and to also relocate the sign when we could. Crossroads Trading also provided all the equipment and some of the extra manpower hours, because the quote that Paul gave me to relocate the sculpture was only for his labour.

“The heavy-duty equipment that was used to move it, Crossroads provided free of charge.”