Ballarat More Vibrant Than Ever?

It appears that Shangri-La has been discovered and it’s 122kms across the Great Dividing Range and its name is Bendigo. Well you could be forgiven for thinking this after reading Michelle Coxall’s letter (The Courier, October 11).

It seems that while Bendigo, where the sun always shines and the shops are always full of people and the streets are beautiful, is simply buzzing with vibrancy and excitement, Ballarat in contrast is “slipping back” due to a lack of “leadership” and “vision”.  

Well, as I read Michelle’s letter on what was a gloriously sunny Ballarat Saturday morning, it got me thinking. What is it that we Ballaratians are missing out on?

Then I recalled how I had happily spent the previous day at Lake Wendouree mixing with the large crowd of visitors from Australia and overseas who had come to Ballarat for the World Rowing Masters Competition. I even joined some of them for a quick lunch in the huge marquee that had been erected for them by the Lake. What a great atmosphere! I noted approvingly, and with just a little pride, how the Lake has been restored to full glory after the years of devastating drought.

 Earlier in the week I joined a large crowd of enthusiastic people to see former PM Julia Gillard unveiling her bronze bust in our unique and justifiably famous Prime Minister’s Walk. The Botanical Gardens were looking splendid with the floral displays at their Spring best. Have they ever looked better? I must confess to more feelings of pride in my city.

As I soaked up the warm sun on that Saturday morning, my thoughts then turned to the prospect of another night of lively Ballarat Cabaret Festival entertainment in the Deluxe Spiegeltent, which the organisers had very cleverly and bravely brought to Ballarat and placed prominently for all to see and enjoy in the city’s heart.

 

Then I thought to myself what a big week it had been for Ballarat!

 My point is that it is very easy to see the grass as always greener somewhere else. But please remove the blinkers and take a good look at what is really happening in our city.

The Council does attract a lot of flak, some of which is deserved, but let’s be generous with the credit when it is due. 

One of the things Ballarat is doing exceptionally well is attracting and supporting major events. The annual events calendar is brim full.

Off the top of my head I know that over the next 12 months we can look forward to the Eureka 160^th Commemorations, the hosting of the Bahrain Soccer team during the Asian Cup, the Road National Cycling Championships, the Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields Festival, the Beer Festival, the Rockabilly Festival, the Begonia Festival, the Photo Biennale, the Heritage Festival, the Slow Music Festival, Springfest and the Royal South Street Comps.

These and other events bring many visitors to our city and celebrate and showcase all the best that our city has to offer, whether it’s the magnificent gardens and Lake Wendouree, the unique heritage buildings and streetscapes, our wonderful cultural institutions and, importantly, the scores of local volunteers who give their time and energy so freely to support these events.

Michelle Coxall however is correct in noting the number of empty shops in our central activities district. But take a look at any regional centre or suburban shopping strip and you will see this is not unique to Ballarat. This is just a symptom of the revolutionary changes happening in the retail sector, including the growth of online shopping. We need to encourage new uses for the buildings left vacant by these changes.

Happily this is happening, albeit slowly, in Ballarat. Never have we been so spoilt for choice when it comes to dining out. For the first time that I can recall we have two restaurants (Catfish and Kambei) scoring highly in the 2014 Age Good Food Guide, one only narrowly missing “Chef’s Hat” status. It’s not that long ago that I cringed a little when visitors asked me where I would recommend they should go to eat in Ballarat. That‘s no longer the case and I can very easily rattle off upwards of a dozen very good suggestions depending on taste and budget.

To borrow from Mark Twain, who actually visited Ballarat in 1895, reports of (the city’s) death are greatly exaggerated. But that’s not to say there are not great challenges needing to be addressed when it come to the reinvention and transformation of the central activities district.

Yes I would love to see the re-introduction of trams to the centre of Ballarat, but we have to be realistic.

So topping my list would be the need to resolve the ultimate fate of the Civic Hall (hopefully based on adaptive re-use), the development of the Railway Station precinct, the future location of the visitor information centre, the need to completely overhaul the unappealing and unattractive Eastwood Street/Little Bridge Street supermarket precinct and the desirability of encouraging further heritage restorations and veranda reinstatements coming off the success of Jackson’s marvelous makeover on the corner of Lydiard and Mair Streets and the restoration of The Unicorn in Sturt Street.  

It will take vision and leadership from Council to satisfactorily resolve these challenges and opportunities.

In the meantime, I happily commend the Council for the recent improvements to Armstrong Street North and the support for the development of the laneway alongside the George Hotel to Lydiard Street, as well as the general footpath, street furniture and garden upgrades of recent times. But much more can and should be done throughout the city centre.

Without doubt Bendigo and Ballarat are both fabulous cities with many similarities and some big differences, but I am really over this business of negatively comparing one with the other.

Finally, by all means express your opinions in the columns of this newspaper (the Ballarat Courier), but I also urge every reader to get behind the many exciting events that are scheduled for our city over the coming months and give your support to the cafés, hotels and restaurants and other emerging businesses that are helping to transform and bring new life and vibrancy to our city.