City of Ballarat’s The Time Is Now push launched yesterday, to bring the 143-year-old building into the 21^st Century and repair the building’s glaring safety issues.  

As reported by The Courier in April, the grand old dame has serious structural concerns. One roof truss is split, and the stage can’t support heavy equipment to fix the issues above it, due to the passage of time and some support beams being chopped in half over the years. 

City of Ballarat committed $5.3 million in their 2018/2019 budget for the emergency works, with another $2 million coming from a Heritage Victoria grant. 

Theatre manager Daniel Henderson said that while they know the theatre’s stage can be secured for the $7.3 million currently available, there is still mystery about how bad the damage is within the walls. 

“Priorities constantly shift, and I think they could again, because I don’t think this building hasn’t given up all its secrets,” he said. 

They are now seeking a $5 million contribution from the state government and $10 million from the federal government to make the building Disability Discrimination Act-compliant, extend the foyer and restore walls and floors to original condition.