Australian culinary icons Julie Goodwin (inaugural winner of MasterChef), Darren Purchese (host of The Great Australian Bake Off) and Tim Bone (co-host Good Chef Bad Chef) will headline Sovereign Hill’s Heritage Harvest happening over next month’s Ballarat Heritage Festival.

Heritage Harvest Weekend is a celebration of autumnal flavours, rustic food, and traditional culinary practices brought to the Goldfields from around the world but with a modern twist.

The weekend-long foodie takeover will see Julie Goodwin and Darren Purchese present live demonstrations, Q&A sessions, and meet and greet sessions hosted by guest moderator Kara Monseen, Herald Sun food and wine editor.

The special guests will also spend time across the weekend connecting with visitors, answering their questions, and meeting local producers.

For the first time in the festival’s three-year history, Sovereign Hill will open up cooking demonstrations with the much-loved chefs and other cooking, craft and historical experts at no additional cost.

Over 30 producers and artisans will transform Sovereign Hill into a food-lovers feast with a village market stocked with quality wares from the region, live demonstrations of traditional crafts and cooking along Main Street, special kids’ activities to inspire the little ones, as well as cooking and craft sessions hosted by the Country Women’s Association.

Heritage Harvest Weekend is part of the Ballarat Heritage Festival that happens over May 17-26.

The City of Ballarat has stood proudly with its transgender and gender diverse community and celebrated their contribution to the city in a dedicated ceremony in recent days.

A flag-raising was held last Thursday at the city’s Queen Victoria Square, followed by an afternoon tea inside Ballarat Town Hall.

International Trans Day of Visibility is held annually on 31 March, with the City of Ballarat this year holding its flag raising on 28 March due to the Easter break.

The day is dedicated to celebrating transgender and gender diverse people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide, as well as being a celebration of their contributions to society.

Speaking at the event was Abbie Clark, a trans woman who transitioned in Ballarat in 2019 and has been leading the charge with Trans.au, the national directory of trans and gender diverse services and community groups.

The event is one of four celebratory events in 2024 that have been identified by the LGBTIQA+ Advisory Committee and led by the City of Ballarat.

Words and Image: Supplied

Users of Ballarat’s Yarrowee River trails are being asked for feedback on how to best provide safe and engaging off-road walkable and rideable connections at four key locations surrounding the Ballarat CBD.  

The Yarrowee River Trails and Connections Project aims to address the following:

• Accessibility and safety  
• Rest and contemplation areas  
• Trees and other planting  
• Information and directional signage
• Connections to other walking and cycling paths

The first connection identified is between Nicholson Street and Scott Parade, linking Black Hill to the Eastern Oval and onto Mair Street.  

The second location looks at providing new shared paths along Anderson Street East and West, connecting into the CBD and recently constructed tracks along Steinfeld Street.

This is hoped to allow for a seamless active transport route to and from the city.  

The third connection would link the trail from Grant Street along the Yarrowee River past White Flat Oval and the river reserve through to Sunnyside Mill at Hill Street.  

The final location will see improvements to the Prest Street Reserve including providing a lookout platform and site interpretation.  

These four connections have been identified from the Yarrowee River and Tributaries: River Corridor Masterplan, which includes 34 plans spanning the whole length of the river.  

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said design work to connect the Yarrowee River trails to the CBD is an important step in improving active transport links.  

“We are asking the community for their thoughts on these connections, and what we would do along these paths to improve the experience of using them,” he said.  

Community feedback will help shape these connections and the facilities along them, before further advocacy work is undertaken to fund the construction of the upgrades.  

To provide feedback, those interested can visit mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au. Consultation closes at 5pm Monday, 15 April 2024.  

Three artist and designer groups have been shortlisted from a field of 18 applicants to develop designs for the City of Ballarat’s long-awaited Continuous Voices public art memorial.  

The shortlisted candidates have begun eight weeks of design development, finishing with their proposed design of the memorial which will then be presented to an expert panel. The panel will make a final recommendation which will be considered by Ballarat City Council.

The competitive submission process has included supplying entrance statements, declarations and drawings. These were reviewed by the expert panel and narrowed to the successful shortlist of three.  

The final three shortlisted candidates will meet and work with the Community Reference Group, made up of survivors of abuse and advocates for change, as well as Traditional Owners to further develop their concepts.  

This will ensure the designers are guided and informed to create their designs, ready for the final stage of competition, presentation and review in May 2024.  

Continuous Voices is a project that connects trauma and creativity to stand for change and resistance against sexual assault and sexual abuse. The project acknowledges the courage of those who have stood for change and provides hope for these continuous voices to be heard.  

The project stems back to 2016, when the City of Ballarat acknowledged community advocacy to develop a permanent site to recognise the impact of sexual assault and sexual abuse in Ballarat. The call for a memorial became more focused after the release of the 2016 Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, part of which was held within Ballarat.

The design competition is the latest stage in the detailed process which has directly involved local artists, community organisations, survivors of sexual abuse and their families and friends over many years.  

Each of the three final shortlisted proposals will receive $5000 to continue deepening their design concepts to develop a comprehensive project plan, before one design concept is finally chosen.

The expert panel is responsible for making the final recommendation on the successful design. The panel has been carefully selected to include people with a profound understanding and sensibility to the issues and intent of the memorial, together with esteemed design professionals.

Local resident and primary school teacher Blake Curran, whose father was abused as a child by multiple priests in Ballarat and in turn passed away at the age of 43, remains a driving force behind the development of a memorial to recognise the trauma inflicted on Ballarat, but also to help the community move forward.

“It is a great achievement to be down to the final three designers, to develop a memorial that will not only be a space to remember victims of abuse that are no longer with us but also a place to recognise the lasting impact this has on the wider community,” he said.  

“I’m very proud of the collaborative and trauma informed approach that the City of Ballarat has had with victim-survivors, advocates, LOUD Fence and so many more to get to this very important stage”

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said this permanent public art piece will become an important part of the city’s extensive collection.  

“Every piece of public art in our collection tells an important story for a specific group of people and is often tied to an identified moment in time,” he said.  

“Continuous Voices memorial takes this so much further. The memorial will be a place for reflection, bravery, hope, grief and even rage – and it will be a place made by the community for the community.”

The location for the public art memorial will be near the lake adjacent to Plane Avenue in Victoria Park, Ballarat. Ballarat City Council voted unanimously to support the site proposed by the community, on 25 May 2022.  

By placing the memorial in a tranquil setting, near water and enveloped in nature, it is hoped the memorial will provide steps toward healing

The Continuous Voices project has been identified by the City of Ballarat as a priority project. To date the City of Ballarat has successfully advocated to secure State Government funding of $500,000 and continues to advocate to the Federal Government on behalf of the community for further investment.  

The City of Ballarat have committed $520,000 to the $1.5 million project.  

The City of Ballarat is developing a new master plan for its botanical gardens, to guide how it shapes the living attraction into the future. 

The new plan will focus on the main part of the gardens and the North and South Reserves. 

The Master Plan is the community’s chance to take a big picture look at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens – what’s working, what’s not working and what residents want them to look like in 20 years’ time. 

The City of Ballarat has appointed a consultant to undertake this work, and to assist is now inviting all residents, visitors and people with an interest in the gardens to join the conversation. 

Landscape architect Andrea Proctor will lead the process of developing the new Master Plan and has recently been involved in similar processes for the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, the Albury Botanic Gardens and the Colac Botanic Gardens. 

Ms Proctor and her team will also work with a range of stakeholder groups, including the Friends of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, the Ballarat Botanical Gardens Foundation and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. 

City of Ballarat Councillor Amy Johnson said the Ballarat Botanical Gardens are much-loved in Ballarat and encouraged the community to get involved and help shape the future of the gardens for generations to come. 

“Everyone has their own special memories of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens and now is the chance to put your ideas forward to inform the preparation of the Master Plan,” she said. 

“The Master Plan will be the long-term plan for the gardens which will maintain and protect the gardens’ important and well-loved features while allowing it to meet visitors’ contemporary needs. 

“The more feedback from our community and visitors, the better informed our plan will be.” 

The Ballarat Botanical Gardens is renowned as one of Australia’s most attractive cool climate gardens. 

The gardens were first reserved for a public garden in 1857. 

Today, the 40 hectares of leafy gardens and avenues located opposite Lake Wendouree feature a fine collection of exotic conifers, deciduous and native trees and historic bedding displays. 

The gardens are a popular and an invaluable heritage and recreational location for residents and visitors, featuring a remarkable plant house and a world-renowned collection of tuberous Begonias. 

The gardens also feature the Robert Clark Conservatory (home to the annual display of Begonias), the Prime Ministers’ Avenue in the Horse Chestnut Avenue, a significant collection of late 19^th Century statues and the recently reconstructed Fernery.  

Feedback from the community will be used to guide the development of the Draft Ballarat Botanical Gardens Master Plan. 

The survey closes 5pm, Sunday 21 April via the council’s MySay online platform.

All feedback will be considered in the development of the final master plan, which will then be presented to the council for consideration. 

There will also be a community pop-up session where you can share your feedback in person on: 

• Sunday 7 April at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens Conservatory from 10am to 2pm. 

Those interested can also pick up a printed copy of the survey at City of Ballarat sites, including the Ballarat Botanical Gardens’ Robert Clark Conservatory, Customer Service and Ballarat Libraries. 

The new master plan will replace the 1995 Ballarat Botanical Gardens Master Plan. 

A prominent new garden that will celebrate Ballarat’s diverse cultural backgrounds has taken a major step towards completion.

The Ballarat Intercultural Garden will this year be constructed at the intersection of Sturt and Pleasant streets, designed to provide a public space that can be used by all members of the community and cultural groups to celebrate events.

Tender documents have now been released calling for construction of the project, with works expected to start mid-2024.

The garden will beautify and improve the existing space at the north-western corner at the intersection of Sturt and Pleasant streets, near the City Oval football ground and City Oval Bowling Club.

Celebrating Ballarat’s cultural diversity, the garden will also include a community flagpole, picnic shelter, park furniture, an arts display plinth, and electrical and water connections.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said the Intercultural Garden had been a project that had been on the radar for some time.

The initiative to create the Intercultural Garden was part of the City of Ballarat Intercultural Plan 2002-2026.

Pet owners in Ballarat are being gently reminded that pet registrations fall due on April 10 for renewals and new pets.  

Owners of Ballarat’s 21,000 plus registered pets will soon receive their 2024/25 registration form in the mail or via email, if they haven’t already.

Renewing registration each year ensures all contact details are up to date and officers can return animals home, not have to impound them, reducing stress on pets and owners.  

Each registration fee contributes to the City of Ballarat’s Animal Management Officers supporting the community by attending to nuisance complaints such as:  

• barking concerns
• cat and dog roaming reports
• welfare and cruelty complaints
• wandering and stray animals  
• investigating dog attack incidents and
• picking up stray cats and dogs.

In addition, the fee helps cover the cost of education and community information as well as managing and running the Ballarat Animal Shelter.

Guide dogs have been exempt from registrations fee requirements for some time, and now this has been extended to all assistance dogs.  

Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria (outlined below), assistance dogs are exempt from the registration fee.  

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said pets are a wonderful addition to our families.

“Registration fees ensure the City of Ballarat staff can provide essential services to domestic animals in Ballarat such as welfare complaints and picking up stray cats and dogs,” he said.  

A standard registration for a dog is $43.00 annually, whereas a pensioner rate is $21.50. Restricted breeds, as determined by the Domestic Animals Act 1994, are $249.00 annually.  

A standard registration for a desexed cat is $43.00 annually, and a pensioner rate is $21.50. Cats that are not desexed can be registered for $167.00 per year.  

To be eligible for the registration fee exemption, the owner of an assistance dog is required to make an application to their council, providing reasonable evidence that:  

• the applicant has a disability that necessitates an assistance dog.  
• the assistance dog has been trained to alleviate the effect(s) of the disability (as per the definition of assistance dog under Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (EO Act)).
• the assistance dog has completed obedience training, as defined in the Order.  
• the assistance dog is at least 12-months old.
• the assistance dog is microchipped.
• the assistance dog is desexed.  

An applicant is not eligible for free registration of their assistance dog if:

• not all eligibility criteria are satisfied.
• the applicant has been found guilty of two or more offences under the DA Act with respect to the same assistance dog.  
• the assistance dog has been declared menacing or dangerous.  
• the assistance dog is a restricted breed dog. 

Ballarat celebrates all things multicultural as the city hosts its annual Harmony Festival from this Friday March 15 through to March 27.

The festival this year is being headlined by the Harmony Day Flag Raising Ceremony and Harmony by the Lake, with more than 30 events to be held across the two weeks.  

From Indian food festivals to Chinese library tours, global markets to daily musical performances in Sturt Street, there are many events on offer to help celebrate Ballarat’s cultural diversity.

In line with the Victorian Multicultural Commission, the 2024 Cultural Diversity Week theme invites us to weave a tapestry of vibrant experiences with “Our Shared Stories – Celebrating Together.”

Attending the launch of the 2024 Harmony Fest Program at Latin American restaurant Pancho on Mair Street, City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said Harmony Fest had created a better understanding of Ballarat’s cultural diversity.

“As the first officially recognised Intercultural City in Australia of the Intercultural Cities Network, we pride ourselves on maximising and valuing our cultural diversity in Ballarat,” he said.

“An Intercultural City is where diversity is deemed to be the norm and an advantage. What better way to showcase our diversity than Harmony Fest?

“I encourage people to explore the program, see what we have on offer and see what they can get out of Harmony Fest this year.”

Details for the two key events are as follows:

Harmony Day Flag Raising Ceremony, Thursday 21 March, 10.30am

• The annual Harmony Day Flag Raising Ceremony will be held on Thursday 21 March (the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination), at Queen Victoria Square (in front of the Town Hall).
• A morning tea will then follow, and all are welcome to attend.

Harmony by the Lake, Sunday 24 March, 12pm-3.30pm

• A free community picnic, with music, dance, and activities for families and everyone to be held at Lake Wendouree.  
• Bring your own chairs, picnic blankets and enjoy the day, to be held at View Point (opposite the Lake View Hotel)  
• Food trucks will be on site at own cost.

Harmony Fest is designed to align with Harmony Day, the United Nation’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is celebrated on 21 March. The day encourages Australians to come together to reflect on and celebrate the many cultures that create our great nation.

Work has begun to explore opportunities to make Ballarat’s Forest Street in Wendouree safer, more enjoyable and more accessible for people walking and cycling.  

Forest Street is a key transport link in Wendouree for residents to get to local businesses, shops, schools, early learning centres, community facilities and Lake Wendouree.  

The street has many side streets and places of interest, and it has been observed that some people find this corridor unsafe and challenging to get around.  

The State Government has also recognised Forest Street as a strategic cycling corridor, and Ballarat Bicycle Network have identified the street as a key route in Ballarat.

The community’s local knowledge of this area is invaluable in understanding what improvements can be made to make it safer and more enjoyable.  

Feedback is being encouraged from people who use bikes, scooters or mobility aids as well as people who use the route without a car, such as pedestrians and parents who push prams.  

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said having safe and accessible routes for all the community is vital as the city grows.  

“We want your insights on Forest Street as it is currently and what you may like to see in the future,” he said.  

“If you have any areas of concern or suggestions as to how we can improve active transport in this area, we urge you to participate in the scoping exercise so our team can determine what changes may be made.”  

Thos keen to have input are being invited to visit the City of Ballarat’s MySay page, to pin their ideas on the map of Forest Street, answer a short survey or ask a question. Consultation closes on 8 April 2024.  

At this stage, this is a scoping project seeking to understand local issues and set the parameters for what improvements may look like in this area.

Feedback will be collated and reported back to the submitters and the design team will then prepare concept designs for community review.

The City of Ballarat Heritage Advisory Committee is currently seeking new members from the community.

The committee provides an advocacy platform for Ballarat’s citizens, communities, groups, organisations and businesses relating to heritage matters across the whole municipality, including rural areas and urban areas.  

It is seeking four additional community members for the final four months of the term, which ends on 30 June 2024. Members can reapply should they wish to continue following the end of the financial year.

While anyone can apply to be on the committee, First Nations, intercultural and younger members of our community members and youth are especially encouraged to apply.  

The committee’s role is to assist the City of Ballarat in the collection and dissemination of information, with the aim of sustaining Ballarat’s heritage.  

City of Ballarat Councilor, and Heritage Advisory Committee Chair, Cr Samantha McIntosh said the committee’s advice and recommendations on the city’s heritage is incredibly beneficial to the work that the City of Ballarat undertakes.  

“Our purpose is to provide an advocacy platform for Ballarat’s community, residents, organisations, businesses and visitors on all heritage matters. The committee is crucial in assisting the City of Ballarat and delivering on the Council Plan,” she said.

Detectives from the Echo Taskforce have this week released CCTV as part of their investigation into the non-fatal shooting of a senior member of the Bandidos Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG) in Ballarat last year.

Police became aware of the incident after the 29-year-old Sebastopol man was dropped at a Ballarat hospital about 1.20am on Sunday, 1 October.

He had sustained non life threatening injuries to his upper body.

While the exact circumstances surrounding the shooting are still being determined, investigators believe it occurred in the vicinity of the Bandidos clubhouse on Greenbank Court in Delacome.

Police attended the clubhouse the morning after the shooting and a significant search of the area was undertaken.

Detectives are looking at whether the shooting occurred as a result of an internal dispute within the club or if it was motivated by ongoing issues with another OMCG.

The incident occurred on a weekend when the Bandidos OMCG had travelled to Ballarat for their national run.

Police have this week released CCTV footage showing a light coloured Holden Commodore which police believe is linked to the shooting.

Detectives are hoping someone may be able to identify the vehicle or provide information on it’s current whereabouts.

Investigators are also keen to speak to anyone who may have information about the shooting and who is responsible, or what the motivation was.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online via the Crime Stoppers website.

Detective Inspector Mick Daly, Echo Taskforce: “This was a deliberately violent incident which could have resulted in the death of a man. We say it often that only centimetres will sometimes decide if someone lives or dies when illicit firearms are involved.

“We believe it was targeted at the victim, however we are still working through whether this was as a result of an internal dispute within the Bandidos or some kind of disagreement with another club.

“There will be people out there who know the reason for the shooting and if they don’t know who was directly involved, then they will have their suspicions.

“We are keen to speak to these people and as always, this information can be provided anonymously.

“We are also interested in speaking to anyone who may have information about the vehicle believed to be involved, including who may own it and it’s current whereabouts.

“This shooting was a reckless incident with seemingly no regard for the safety of anyone else, and we’re lucky more people weren’t impacted.”

The Ballarat Botanical Gardens Fernery is now open to residents and visitors after landscaping works were completed.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson and Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison joined the Friends of Ballarat Botanical Gardens and the Ballarat Botanical Gardens Foundation on the first day of the Ballarat Begonia Festival to mark the official opening of the landscaping project.

The fernery is now an impressive gallery for hundreds of ferns, including a large Elk Horn fern, and plant chandeliers.

The landscaping features a new entrance to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens from Wendouree Parade, as part of a fernery forecourt designed around the Claxton Fountain.

Inspired by 19th Century garden design, the forecourt features paving patterned in the shape of fern frond leaves with timber and bluestone seats.

Landscaping at the rear of the structure connects the fernery and the rest of the gardens.

Andrea Proctor Landscapes completed the landscaping designs and AQL Landscape Design delivered the landscaping.

The delivery of the fernery project was funded by the City of Ballarat ($340,000), the State Government ($150,000 from Growing Victoria’s Botanic Gardens Grant Program), the Friends of Ballarat Botanical Gardens ($200,000) and Ballarat Botanical Gardens Foundation ($50,000).

The fernery is one of only a few examples in the state of a grand Victorian plant house. The steel framed replica of the original 1884 Gothic-inspired fernery entrance was completed in 2021.

The participants in Ballarat’s esteemed live music development program Be Hear Now have been announced for 2024.  

The Be Hear Now showcase will be held on 23 – 25 August at Ballarat’s Civic Hall for all to attend to hear from industry experts, artists, songwriters and more.  

The program, supported by the City of Ballarat and Creative Ballarat, nurtures the development of musicians by providing them with a framework to celebrate their skills and talents, as well as the tools to help them refine their craft.

The 2024 program celebrates Harry Nijam, a performer under the name Surfe, who is a laid back, dance, indie-pop artist that has been announced as part of this year’s cohort.

Harry participated in the program last year, as a fringe member, which allowed him to take a small gig in the schedule and attend the inaugural Be Hear Now live music conference.  

From this experience and mentoring, Harry was able to network and meet with industry contacts, secured a deal with Unified Music Group, and is developing new music for release this year.  

The 2024 cohort finalists and festival headliners are:

• ZÖJ
• Aaliyah Bise
• Dayfever
• Surfe  
• Coda Chroma  

This year, there is also a remaining shortlist of musicians that will be supported by the Be Hear Now program, they are:

• Juan Alban
• Thing From Spring  
• Oluwatobi Akanbi  
• Darlings Family Trust  

To see the musician’s full bios, you can visit creativeballarat.com.au/music

The main goal of the Be Hear Now program is to find, foster and develop artists within the Ballarat region.  

The selected acts for the 2024 cohort are given headliner status in a festival showcase program and are mentored by the festival team, provided with profile articles and coverage including radio, newspapers, magazines and online.  

They are also introduced to industry connections from record labels, booking agencies, streaming and online marketing and industry bodies.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said 2023 saw a very successful Be Hear Now cohort deliver a great selection of live music for our city.  

“Since 2019, when the program commenced, we have been committed to supporting performers in Ballarat, identifying talent and providing mentoring and training,” he said.  

“The 2024 program has added elements of education, with the participants to be trained in subjects such as business, branding and networking.”

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Live4Life to expand in Ballarat schools in 2024 | City of Ballarat

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Live4Life to expand in Ballarat schools in 2024

06 March 2024 1:10pm

The award-winning Live4Life program – increasing mental health knowledge throughout Ballarat – will continue to grow this year.

Returning for its second year, Live4Life is the only mental health education and youth suicide prevention model designed specifically for rural and regional communities.

After first being introduced to Ballarat in 2023, the program saw more than 1200 students across eight schools undertake evidence-based teen mental health education in response to a reported increase from schools and agencies in depression, anxiety, cyber bullying, and self-harm.

In 2024, the program will expand to 10 schools, with an estimated reach of 3500 students in both Year 8 and Year 10 to participate.

The Live4Life Ballarat Partnership Group is comprised of a dedicated collective of secondary schools, health provider networks and community organisations.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said the foundation laid by Live4Life’s inaugural year in Ballarat in 2023 would allow for the wider community to be better informed about mental health.

Ballarat’s Civic Hall is set to be transformed into a high-octane battleground this year when professional wrestling returns to the local regional city.

Oceania Pro Wrestling (OPW) will once again bring world-class wrestling entertainment to Ballarat on the weekend of 30 August – 1 September 2024 for its ‘Gold Rush’ weekend of events.  

The Gold Rush weekend will feature three nights of top-tier wrestling and officially launch OPW’s partnership with the international promotion Major League Wrestling (MLW). In addition, a major international star, to be revealed soon, will headline one night of the event.

Fans can anticipate high-level competition as OPW’s fan-favourite stars go head-to-head with MLW’s formidable international roster. With multiple championship belts on the line, the bouts promise high-stakes drama to captivate crowds.

In addition to premium in-ring action, attendees will have opportunities to engage directly with larger-than-life competitors during meet and greets and other fan events organised throughout the city that weekend.

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson said the wrestling event was a great way to diversify the usage of Civic Hall.

“It certainly looms as an event with a difference and we look forward to having a packed Civic Hall for what is certain to be quite a spectacle,” he said.

“We understand wrestling has a significant following, and I’m looking forward to having it broadcast from within Civic Hall, showcasing Ballarat throughout Australia and the rest of the world.”

Oceania Pro Wrestling Managing Director Cameron Vale said he was excited to bring more wrestling action to Ballarat.

“We are thrilled to bring our electrifying OPW action back to the passionate fans in Ballarat,” he said.  

“Teaming up with a premier wrestling organisation like MLW will allow us to deliver even more hard-hitting, dramatic championship action to our loyal fans. We can’t wait for fans to witness our homegrown OPW athletes battle MLW’s international all-star roster for three nights of must-see title fights.”

Major League Wrestling CEO Court Bauer said this will be a world class event, not to be missed.

“This partnership and weekend of matches packs a punch, much like the world class fighters fans will experience from Major League Wrestling and OPW,” he said.

“We’re excited to work with OPW, celebrate combat sports, and bring the incredible fans of Australia matches that the world will be talking about.”

The City of Ballarat secured the event via its Event Development Fund.

Tickets for the ‘Gold Rush’ weekend of events will go on sale in April, with an early access offer to those who pre-register.