Josephine Antonelli, who did the Good Friday walk with daughter Jasmine Beck, said she had been doing it annually since she was a child.

"My father and my mother always did it every year and now we like to do it as a family too," Ms Antonelli said.

Similarly, Clare Chibnall, Rebecca Smail, Monique Orr and Michelle and Madison Bedggood were also continuing a long-standing family ritual.

"I've been doing it since I was this big," Michelle Bedggood said, pointing at her knees.

"We do it every year. We're Catholics and it's just a good thing to do," Mrs Chibnall added.

The walk, which began in Ballarat in 1960, is a traditional devotion which symbolises the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and marks the start of Easter.

It began at St Columba's Church in Lydiard Street in sunny autumnal weather, winding its way through the streets of Ballarat North and Black Hill before ending at the Black Hill lookout.

Participants took turns carrying a cross to represent Jesus on his final walk through the streets of Jerusalem to his crucifixion site.

Along the way, hymns were sung and scriptures were read at 14 regular intervals - or stations - which represented the days leading up to Jesus' death, including the last supper, when he was betrayed by Judas, denied by Saint Peter, judged by Pontius Pilate, crucified and placed in the tomb.

fiona.henderson@fairfaxmedia.com.au