City of Ballarat announces restoration works for the Ballarat East Avenue of Honour

The City of Ballarat announced it would commence restoration works on the Ballarat East Avenue of Honour, located on Melbourne Road, saying it would help provide those who had lost their lives during the First World War with the recognition they deserved.

The Ballarat East Avenue of Honour, which was established in 1917 and originally had 100 trees planted, was often dismissed by the Ballarat community due to the former divide which existed between the Ballarat West and Ballarat East municipalities, Federation University history senior lecturer Dr David Waldron said.

"There was a lot of rivalry between the two and Ballarat West was a lot wealthier, and the Ballarat West Avenue of Honour has a lot more publicity, having been opened by Prince Edward of the Royal Family and also having been built in conjunction with the huge Arch of Victory, whereas Ballarat East was a tent city of miners and was generally less well-off and so the Ballarat East Avenue of Honour kind of gets a bit forgotten in Ballarat's heritage," Dr Waldron said.

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He also said the media coverage and the size of the Ballarat West Avenue of Honour when compared with Ballarat East's played a part in the neglect of the Ballarat East Avenue of Honour.

"Ballarat West's Avenue of Honour got a lot of the attention and a lot of the interest and dominated the newspaper coverage in the way the Ballarat East Avenue of Honour didn't and when looking at the sheer size of the Ballarat West Avenue it's one of the longest avenues in the world with 3900 trees," Dr Waldron said.

He said it was crucial works took place to restore the fallen trees at the Ballarat East Avenue of Honour to cement the immense contribution Ballarat East citizens had during the First World War.

"People from Ballarat East who lost their lives in the war weren't remembered in the same way as those from Ballarat West and there's a parallel made with Avenue of Honours in that trees being living creatures that require maintenance and care and so on over time become reflective of the people that they represent so, this restoration work is significant and will draw attention to those people who did come from the poorer side of Ballarat," Dr Waldron said. "It's also an important way to keep the memory of those people alive and of course, it keeps the story of Anzac alive."

The City of Ballarat has received $15,000 of grant funding from the Victorian Government's Restoring Community War Memorials and Avenues of Honour Grant Program which will go towards planting 72 trees at the Ballarat East Avenue of Honour along what is believed to be the original alignment of the trees prior to the freeway works.

It will also assist with erecting new signage to better inform visitors of the avenue's significance. This funding will also aid with restoring the Tourello Avenue of Honour through providing funding to conduct minor ground works as well as through planting 15 English Walnut trees at the site. Tree restorations will be supported by the Ballarat Lions Club and the Brown Hill Progress Association with works set to commence over the next few months.

Councillor Samantha McIntosh said these avenues were an integral part of our history and it was important to preserve them for future generations to learn from.

"With the support of this grant and some people-power, it's pleasing to see our continued enhancement of Avenues of Honour throughout Ballarat," she said.

Member for Wendouree Juliana Addison said it was vital to continue to honour the heroes that were part of the community.

"These smaller, more local avenues are an important reminder that the many soldiers who didn't come home after World War One lived in our streets, went to local schools and were a part of our community," she said.

"These young heroes are not a myth, but lived amongst us, and preserving their memory is an important part of our Anzac story."

Minister for Veterans Shaun Leane said this funding would help maintain the legacies of the veteran community for the future.

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