Mr Whykes spent 30 years as the city's town crier, taking up the post in 1987 before retiring in 2017.

He was recognised as the best town crier in the country on multiple occasions and previously served as the president of the Australasian Guild of Town Criers, of which he was also a life member and founding member.

City of Ballarat councillor and former mayor Des Hudson said Mr Whykes served his community proudly for 30 years.

"In that role as town crier, Brian had a big, robust personality and had a big, robust voice as well," he said.

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"When he was ringing the bell and playing that role and making various announcements, he really did it well.

"In all of the vision you would have seen of town criers in the past, whether it's seeing them live or on TV, he fulfilled every one of those characteristics with the way he brought himself to the role and did it for such a long time.

"He was also a past president of the town criers guild, so he was held in significant esteem by other town criers. We will remember him fondly of all the times that he played that role in service to our area."

Cr Hudson said while other cities and towns might have moved on from the role of town criers in the community, Mr Whykes was part of the fabric of Ballarat's history.

"He was part of that fabric that he brought to those events and it always great to hear that bell ring and then the 'Hear Ye! Hear Ye!' and the scroll would unfold and he would deliver a message," he said.

"He would deliver it absolutely professionally and to the best of his ability absolutely every time, he was always on point.

"We extend our sympathies to his family and we recognise and thank him for his many, many years of contributions to that role and his overall contribution to Ballarat and we'll always remember him fondly for that."

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