I am incredibly proud to have been given the opportunity to represent Ballarat at this year’s World League of Historical Cities conference.    

‘Smart, innovative, creative historical cities of the future’ was the topic for this year’s conference in Austria earlier this month. I was among delegates from more than 100 of the world’s historical cities to attend, and I have returned full of ideas for Ballarat, enthused  by the stories I’ve heard.

At the conference, I joined in launching an international guide to developing historical cities, the Historical Urban Landscapes Guidebook. This new resource for local governments features Ballarat as one of eight global case studies of cities successfully building on their heritage strengths as a way of advancing growth and development.

What became clear from many speakers at the conference is the challenges that all cities face balancing change in the historic environment. Although each of our cities are different the challenges we face are similar. 

Maria del Pozo Lopez, director of Spain’s Aranjuez Cultural Landscape Foundation, said Ballarat was on the right path.

Ballarat was the first city in the world to become a signatory to the Historical Urban Landscapes initiative.

It seems like we have struck a little more gold through this work. Our work and success is attracting attention from other countries and we are developing strong relationships for the future.

Since the League of Historical Cities conference, delegates have returned to countries including Korea and Turkey to talk about Ballarat’s leading historical cities approach, and we expect this will open up even more opportunities for our city. 

Along with the Mayor, I have also arrived home with some great ideas to explore and advance. These include artistically lighting our city and heritage buildings at night to provide even greater night-time activation of our historical landscape.  It happens around the world - why not here?

Ballarat’s thriving tourism sector revolving around its unique history and heritage was of great interest to many of the conference delegates, who were impressed with the balance we’ve struck between providing a modern visitor experience that also respects and integrates the past.

The popularity of Ballarat Heritage Weekend and Heritage Awards demonstrates the interest in our city’s past and that people want to be part of living it. We know what we have and we know that our community loves it.  We need to ensure that we stay focussed on celebrating what we have and what makes us a unique and attractive destination for visitors and residents alike while we grow.

Evidence shows that heritage overlays increase property values, build pride and a desire to renovate, restore and look after what we have.  When we investigate why people choose Ballarat as a place to live, they tell us that they love our heritage, open space and public parks and gardens. We can build upon this through increased community participation and an enlivened and proud municipality presenting our buildings and cultural history to a world stage.

Ballarat has demonstrated a world presence in heritage conversations.  We know, the world knows it, and I invite you join with us in helping to celebrate our great city.

​Councillor Samantha McIntosh