I’m going to a rental inspection today but just wondering what it’s like in the area? The area is the other side of town to where I currently am in Mount Pleasant so I’ve never really ventured out there at all. Looking on the map it’s very close to Lucas Rise Park if that helps!

So, who do folks source their firewood from these day? Looking for someone legit.

Anyone know what the woohoing sound is? I hear it often but not sure what it is and where it’s coming from. Just curious what it is!

literally any restaurants that serve vegan food that isn’t chips or avocado toast lol

Hey everyone! I’m looking for some casual Magic: The Gathering players around Ballarat who might be interested in meeting up for some Commander games.
I’m still fairly new, so I’m mainly looking for relaxed, friendly games rather than anything highly competitive. I currently have a few Commander decks and would be happy to meet at somewhere like Guf or Good Games.
If you’re interested—or already have a casual group with room for another player—leave a comment or send me a message!

Is there anywhere in Ballarat that fry up donuts on the spot for you?

I am aware that there are the vans etc that open every so often randomly that do it, but wanted if there were any solid permanent options I can go to at any time when I'm craving them.

Cheers!

Thank you all for the suggestions! I habe a few weeks of diabeetus awaiting me :)

I survived': victim speaks after laughing Ballarat rapist attempts appeal
Bryan Hoadley
Journalist. Published 28 August 2026, 08:00 am
A Ballarat man who raped his partner while laughing “like it was a game” and later sent her a text saying “I’m a rapist, f— yes” has attempted to appeal his conviction.
Elijah Thomas, 28, was sentenced to nine years and two months in prison with a non-parole period of six years, after a jury found him guilty in 2024 of two charges of rape.
He was also sentenced over 14 assault and family violence-related charges that he pleaded guilty to in June 2023.

Elijah Thomas, 28, attempted to appeal his rape conviction in the Supreme Court of Victoria. File picture
At a hearing in the Supreme Court of Victoria in November 2025, Thomas sought leave to appeal his rape conviction, with his legal team arguing there were three grounds for appeal.

These were that a “substantial miscarriage of justice” had occurred during cross-examination and in the prosecution’s closing address, and that the jury had reached an “unreasonable and unsupported” verdict based on the evidence heard at trial.
Previously, the County Court of Victoria heard that during a three-year relationship, Thomas subjected the victim to a variety of physical assaults including strangling her until she passed out, biting her so hard she bruised, and kicking her while she lay on the ground.
He also subjected her to a variety of other manipulative, controlling and abusive behaviours, such as death threats, posting naked pictures of her online, and threatening suicide.
After years of abuse, the victim ceased all contact with Thomas in 2019, but in March of that year, he went to her house and asked her to have sex with him.
Despite being repeatedly told no, Thomas put his hand over the victim’s mouth and raped her while laughing “like it was a game”.
After the rape, Thomas acted as if everything was normal and spent time scrolling on his phone before leaving the house.

WATCH: How does Australia’s court system work?
The next day, the victim sent Thomas a series of messages accusing him of rape.
Thomas then replied to the victim, messaging “I’m a rapist, f— yes”.
In a judgement dated August 20, 2026, Supreme Court Justices Lesley Taylor, Rowena Orr and Peter Kidd rejected the application to appeal on all three grounds.
In their reasons, they said a substantial miscarriage of justice had not occurred during cross-examination or in the prosecution’s closing address and that such arguments were without substance.
The justices also said it was “well open” to the jury to accept the victim as a credible witness, to reject Thomas’ denials and to find the charges proven beyond reasonable doubt.
“It must be assumed that the jury, having seen and heard the complainant give evidence, assessed that evidence to be credible and reliable,” the justices said.
“Examining the whole of the evidence for ourselves – and taking into account in particular the various criticisms made of the complainant’s evidence – we are not persuaded that the jury, acting rationally, was compelled to harbour a reasonable doubt as to the applicant’s guilt on the charges.”
‘The appeal is over. My life continues. I survived’

In a statement to The Courier, the victim, Amelia Martin-Block, said she was grateful Thomas’ sentence was upheld on appeal and that the court had recognised the seriousness of his conduct.
“It took two trials and five years for him to be sentenced,” she said.
“I was cross-examined four times, repeatedly forced to relive some of the most traumatic experiences of my life while waiting for justice.
“For Elijah (Thomas), the appeal was an opportunity to challenge the consequences of his actions. For me, there is no appeal from those consequences. I continue to live with the trauma, fear and loss of safety.”
When highlighting the effects her abuser’s nightmarish conduct had on her, Ms Martin-Block said her experience was not unique among women.
Indeed, she pointed to the fact that one in four Australian women has experienced intimate partner violence and that, according to Australian Femicide Watch, 47 women have been violently killed so far in 2026.
“These are not just statistics. They are women who should still be alive,” Ms Martin-Block said.
“We cannot keep asking women what they could have done differently to prevent violence. The responsibility belongs to the men who choose to perpetrate it.
“We need to stop asking why women stayed, why they did not leave sooner or why they did not report, and start asking why men choose to control, intimidate, sexually assault, threaten and hurt women.
“The appeal is over. My life continues. I survived, I rebuilt and I found my voice. I will use it because women should have to survive violence before we decide it matters.”
Affected by this story? There is help available.
You can phone the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, in Sebastopol, on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292.
Or phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380, or Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277.
Bryan Hoadley
Journalist. Published 28 August 2026, 08:00 am

Can anyone recommend a fencer they have used that does quality work at a fair price to build a front fence? Specifically a picket front fence for a heritage home.

Hi all,

I'm looking for recommendations for somewhere reliable to get my car serviced.

I’ll be the first to admit I know absolutely nothing about cars 😂 so I’m looking for a mechanic who is honest, reasonably priced and won’t take advantage of that fact.

The biggest thing for me is good communication — if they find anything else that needs doing, I’d like them to contact me first, explain what it is and what it will cost before doing any extra work, rather than just handing me a bigger bill at the end.

Who do you trust with your car and would happily recommend? 😊

P.S. It’s only a shitty little 2011 Mazda 3 😂 Nothing fancy, but it gets me where I need to go!

So around 5pm, a huge black dog ran out from one of the houses across from the Church on York Street (I’m not going to say the number, only that the guy who lives at the house with the little library on his fence might have saved not only the dog being attacked’s life, but potentially ours too!- serious old school Aussie legend!!!).

The dog latched onto the throat of the smallest little old lady staffy you’ve ever seen, it ended tearing skin off the poor owners fingers, and myself and a heap of other amazing people all rushed in to try and save the staffy! There were 5-6 of us kicking it in its head and torso etc and it wouldn’t let the staffy go, and then (I think when we all thought the little staffy was dead) some superhero guy found a plank of wood and was able to knock it unconscious (after 4-5 unsuccessful blows directly to its head- if we were in America, I would bet my life savings on it having rabies).

Multiple cops cars arrived as though it was an episode of Law and Order, but in true ballarat style, ended up saying (the equivalent of, so I’ve heard, yada yada disclaimers so the good citizen warming neighbours can’t get sued!) “weeeeeell, because the owner doesn’t need cat 1 ambulance, the council will take it from here”?!!!

And you know what the council have done?!!! (Apparently, again, this is what I’ve heard, not stating it as fact, just warning others) Left this dog at the property?!! If it wasn’t a staffy with a thick and wide studded collar, it would’ve been killed in under a minute, but a toddler… that kid would be killed in seconds! And the council knowing the danger but apparently not seizing it (I say apparently, because - above disclaimer etc) is unimaginable!

So look, for the next few weeks, please be really cautious around the York Street Church (the people there are actually fantastic and ran out to help btw!) when walking your dog/s 🐶❤️❤️❤️

P.S And F*ck irresponsible dog owners!!! 🤬

Looking for some builder recommendations and builders to stay away from?

We have a smaller and strict budget of 650k for house and land, so looking for something that has all inclusions and no sneaky price rises as we cannot afford anything outside of our loan.

Love to hear anyone else's experiences that had a similar budget when building.

Does anyone know what happened to Rafters at The George Hotel? Is it permanently closed now?

Upcoming Wednesday night: a new local tech meetup for anyone interested in the IndieWeb (https://indieweb.org/).

Local experts will be there to help you get started, troubleshoot any technical issues, or you can just come along and share your own IndieWeb achievements.

All ticket proceeds go to the non-profit, volunteer-run Ballarat Hackerspace, and the experts are donating their time and knowledge.

I’m sick of Woolworths, the last couple of lots of bacon I’ve bought has been so thin and stuck together that it shreds when trying to seperate and just disintegrates, same product I’ve been buying for years is now suddenly virtually unuseable go figure. I looked on a couple of butcher websites but that doesn’t seem to the place to go. I googled Delis and it seemed to just be a bunch of fancy cafes that also sell cheese on the side.

I’m trying to avoid a trip to Melbourne.

And realise it is unlikely.

Thanks

Having to relocate to the eastern suburbs for a new job and would appreciate recs on move-out cleaners.

We've still got some tickets left for this Saturday night at Ballarat North Sports Club, and would love to fill them to ensure we can raise funds for a community member seeking gender affirming care!

It's going to be such a fun night full of drag performances of course, but we also have a face painter, pet portrait artist, market stall - where you can pay what you want for our items, and a MASSIVE Silent Auction (including Spilt Milk tickets, a pass for the Curium escape room, tickets to the Western Bulldogs Pride Match and 50 more amazing items)

Grab your tickets now!

Looking for a GLP1 consultant in Ballarat. I know I can get it from the GP, but I am looking for someone who works on the wholistic premise rather than GP, then dietitian etc etc

Which ones are your favourites so far?

I know it’s a while away, but rather than ringing around places - just wondering if anyone knew of anywhere that’s open for Christmas lunch on Xmas day? Preferably somewhere that sells beer and has pokies.

I’m coming from interstate, and usually my family all meets up in Melbourne.

My dad is 84, (a “older 84”) incredibly naive - and I don’t know whether I’m just insanely paranoid - but I’m not keen for him to catch the train on his own at his age to Melbourne.

So my plan is to suggest to the family we all congregate down to Ballarat.

Worst case scenario if there is nothing I will travel to Ballarat and drive him / accompany him to Melbs

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated so I can compile a list of options

Thankyou in advance

Looking to recreate a iced Buko shake

This coming Wednesday is our next Council meeting. Here’s a link to the agenda.                                                                                             

Sorry I missed writing updates the last month or two. Life has been hectic. This is just a quick update as I’m in Thailand on holiday (which I timed so that I’m back for the meeting).

Please note: this post is just my personal views and I’m not representing Council. Just trying to increase visibility, transparency and participation in Council matters and the updates seem well received here.

Meeting Details: 6:30pm Wednesday 26 August, Town Hall, Sturt Street. Also livestreamed on our website.

If you'd like to have your say, ask questions of Council on any Council matter, or make a submission on any agenda item below you can do so but there are strict deadlines.

• Attend in person at Town Hall or watch online via ballarat.vic.gov.au
• Submit questions (max 75 words) by 12pm on the day.
• Make a submission (max 500 words) on any agenda item by 2pm.

Submissions and questions can be made online, via email, or in person at the Council offices. If you’re not attending, they’ll be read aloud during the meeting (time permitting). 

Here's just some of the items in the agenda:

♿ New Disability Access & Inclusion Plan

Council is being asked to adopt Ballarat's new Disability Access and Inclusion Plan for 2026-2030.

The plan focuses on:

• More accessible public spaces
• Better information and communication
• Improved employment opportunities
• Disability advocacy and awareness
• More inclusive council services

💰 Financial Hardship Policy

Council will consider updates to the policy that helps residents struggling to pay rates.

The new policy:

• Simplifies access to hardship support
• Removes some barriers to applying
• Expands recognition of issues like family violence and economic abuse
• Continues options such as payment plans, deferred payments and limited rate waivers

🎭 Arts & Culture Advisory Committee

Council will appoint members to the new Arts & Culture Advisory Committee, which will provide advice on arts, culture, public art and creative industries in Ballarat.

The recommendation includes Cr Tracey Hargreaves and myself as Council representatives, with me recommended as Chair.

🎪 Events & Grants Changes

Council is considering changes to how event funding works.

Business conferences and similar events would move out of the Tourism Events Grants Program and into a separate process designed to help attract more conferences and business events to Ballarat.

🎹 Royal South Street Society

Council will consider a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Royal South Street Society, replacing arrangements that date back to 1987 and clarifying how South Street and Her Majesty's Theatre work together.

🌏 UNESCO Conference

Council will consider approval for Ballarat's Coordinator Creative City to attend the UNESCO Creative Cities conference in Bulgaria.

Flights and accommodation would be paid for by the host city, with the City of Ballarat covering approximately $900 in incidental costs.

Other items

Also on the agenda:

• Art Gallery of Ballarat board appointments
• Grant and partnership governance changes
• Borrowing policy update
• Community asset committee updates
• Various governance and delegation matters

As always, these are the items before Council, not final decisions. I’m happy to hear your thoughts or answer general questions here where I can. I may need you to email me if the question is complex – so that I can log it and get you a detailed response.

Cheers,
Cr Jay Morrison
Wendouree Ward

Massive pot holes in both directions, was able to avoid them on the way to Melbourne in daylight, but hit one on my return at night and bent my rim. Driving around victoria these days a fucking crater avoiding mission, i miss most, hit the odd one but finally one damaged my car.

inb4 ITS THE RAIN. Yea it tends to fucking rain doesn't it, it rained the last 4 years, it's raining this year and guess fucking what, it's going to rain next year as well.. I hate this fucking state.

I'd hate to be a fucking bike rider, hitting a crater at 110 in the dark is a bent rim for me but death for them.