Future of former Golden Point school back up in the air

A three member community consortium, GPlace, had leased the English Street site for several years.

However, they were forced to vacate the building a few weeks ago after its former owners, BEST Community Development, went into voluntary liquidation in 2015.

The site, near Sovereign Hill, is now in the hands of liquidators.

The GPlace consortium included the Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council, the Ballarat University of the Third Age and Mt Clear College.

BRMC has since moved to new headquarters at the Ballarat Welcome Centre in Victoria Street while the U3A now holds most of its retiree courses at the Eastwood Leisure Complex or the Ballarat North Community House.

Mt Clear College used the building for its VCAL studies and year nine REAL program - which is for students who have disengaged from learning - professional development activities and staff meetings.

Education Department spokesman Alex Munro said they had been working with Mount Clear College to find a new home for its programs since its lease expired on January 7.

He said this included looking at Ballarat Secondary College’s recently closed Barkly Street campus as an interim location.

The school opened in 1875 and was closed in 1993 as part of the Kennett government’s closure and subsequent sell off of 350 Victorian schools in the 1990s.

Golden Point merged with the Eureka Street and Richards Street primary schools to form the Canadian Lead Primary School.

At its peak, the school had up to 900 students but its enrolments had dropped off dramatically by the 1990s.

After it closed, the building remained empty and run down until it was bought by BEST Community Development in 2007.

The building was then restored back to its heritage glory and included a function room suitable for up to 80 people, a commercial kitchen, several classrooms and a small computer laboratory.

Of the other Ballarat schools closed in the 1990s, Eureka Street became a private residence and Richards Street became a housing estate.

Ballarat North Technical School also became Midlands as part of the merger with East Ballarat and Wendouree technical schools to form Ballarat Secondary College. However, it closed only a few years later.