It's close to a decade since the old Lambton Arms Hotel in Burrumbeet served its last pint, closing its door following the duplication of the Western Highway some metres from its premises.
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And though there remains an air of yesterday about the 119-year-old hotel, there's also more than a hint of tomorrow, with the site these days peppered with large, quirky sculptures of dogs, flowers, ducks and everything in between.
Sculptor Annie Younger, the force behind the change, is an artistic provocateur whose surprising creations look to the sublimity of simple happiness.
"I just like to make things - happy characters - that make people smile," she said.
"I like it when people seem to lose themselves [in the art] in a fun, light-hearted way."
Ms Younger, who previously operated an art gallery in Byron Bay, has been gradually transforming what was once a fairly dependable watering hole into an art gallery with a twist, with the name 'Flying Goolie' emblematic of its mission to rivet and bemuse.
"We've done a hell of a lot of work," she said. "The essence of the old hotel is intact, but we've lifted a few rooms to provide the space needed for a really immersive gallery experience."
"Our hope is that this will be a bit of a pocket of joy on the side of the highway."
Her plans for a highway art gallery are currently being advertised on the City of Ballarat planning website, with the proposed venture promising to lend new life to a historic township on the decline.
"It is considered that the ongoing use of the [hotel] will assist in ensuring the continued survival of Burrumbeet as a community, as part of Ballarat's cultural and built form heritage," the planning application states.
The proposed art gallery would be housed within the existing old hotel, accommodating up to 100 patrons, and make use of the cleared garden area across the balance of the site.
It would also use the site's existing commercial kitchen, with a view to providing visitors with meals and drinks, as well as light entertainment.
A planning permit is required due to the agricultural zoning of the site, the car parking dispensation sought and the liquor licence required to complete the vision.
Without pre-empting the conclusions of City of Ballarat, Ms Younger said she was hopeful she could pull off her whimsical business adventure.
"We really just want people to come and enjoy the atmosphere, and soak up the surrounds; it's meant to be a happy journey," she said.
With that, fingers-crossed for this happy-go-lucky venture.
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