Mayor's message for autumn 2025

image of Mayor Councillor Tracey Hargreaves in her mayoral chains and gown

As Ballarat grows, it’s important we have the right infrastructure in place at the right time to ensure we can make the most of the opportunities that growth can offer our city.

That’s why the City of Ballarat is partnering with local organisations to advocate for funding for key projects across the municipality. These projects will set Ballarat up for success as we grow, as outlined in Ballarat Now and Into the Future: Enabling Growth 2025. You can read about these priority projects, including the Wendouree Library and Learning Centre, in our cover story: Preparing for growth

In this edition of ourballarat, we’ll meet some of the community members behind our much loved Anzac Day services. They make powerful moments of reflection possible and are often our unsung heroes behind the scenes. You can read about the members of the Arch of Victory Avenue of Honour Committee, who organise the annual Anzac Day services at the Garden of the Grieving Mother in the article: Remembering those who have served our country

Council is surveying the community to understand how well the City of Ballarat is delivering services in the 2025 Community Satisfaction Survey, read more in the article: Proudly working with and for our community

While the weather may be cooling down, autumn is an exciting time to be in Ballarat with a range of unique events taking place in and around our city. Following a highly successful inaugural event last year, the Ballarat Marathon will return to the CBD in April. Some of Australia’s top mile runners will descend on Ballarat for the event, after it was announced at the end of last year that the Elite Mile races will become the Australian Road Mile Championships. Read about the Ballarat Marathon in the article: Ballarat’s own world class running festival

There’s also several stories in this edition that explore the important work of local community groups – from the Salvation Army and its work supporting women who have left situations of family violence, to local environmental and Landcare groups that are working hard to restore biodiversity.

I’m incredibly proud of our city and the people that make it a great place to live.

Please enjoy this edition of ourballarat. 

Cr Tracey Hargreaves
City of Ballarat Mayor