Heritage

Council has a free Heritage Advisory Service for properties within an existing or proposed heritage overlay. 

To find out whether your property has a heritage overlay, please visit the Victorian State Government's Planning Maps page Vicplan (mapshare.vic.gov.au).

If you own a heritage property, looking or buy, or renovate, we encourage you to speak with Council’s Heritage Advisor. Council’s heritage advisor can provide you with information on the property's history and how to maintain its heritage. They can also provide advise on any proposed renovations or alterations.  

Please call Strategic Planning on 03 5366 7100 or email info@moorabool.vic.gov.au  

For further information visit the below websites: 

Council's Heritage Advisory Committee provides support and advice about cultural heritage matters throughout the Shire. The Committee includes representatives from local historical societies and groups, community members, Councillors and Council staff including Council’s Heritage Advisor. 

View the Heritage Advisory Committee Terms of Reference.  

To find out more about the Committee contact Council’s Growth and Development Team via email at info@moorabool.vic.gov.au or call 5366 7100

Moorabool Shire Council along with 14 other local councils, led by the Cities of Ballarat and Greater Bendigo, have partnered to progress a joint bid to secure the UNSECO World Heritage Listing of the Victorian Goldfields. These Goldfields are one of the largest and best surviving landscapes in the world that showcases the worldwide gold rush phenomenon of the nineteenth century. 

The project aims to recognise, celebrate, and present the history of the Victorian Goldfields. This will be achieved by creating a listing of multiple sites throughout the Victorian Goldfields Region that represent the significant values related to the Victorian gold rush. 

A UNESCO World Heritage Listing has the potential to bring economic diversification, jobs, investment and tourism, and raise the socio-economic outlook and livability for cities, towns and communities across the region. 

Find more about the project at: https://goldfieldsworldheritage.com.au/

Moorabool is home to many fascinating Historical Societies running throughout the Shire. 

Each one is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of the area: 

• Bacchus Marsh and District Historical Society
• Ballan Shire Historical Society 
• Blackwood and District Heritage Society
• Bungaree and District Historical Society 

The Moorabool Shire Heritage Strategy 2024-2028 was adopted by Council in September 2024. The Strategy was prepared by Council officers with input from the community, internal Council departments, historical societies and Registered Aboriginal Parties. The Strategy will be evaluated for progress in its final year, and to inform the preparation of the next strategy, in line with current best practice for municipal heritage strategies to be reviewed every four years.

 

You can also view the previous 2016-2020 strategy document here. 

In December 2023 Council adopted the West Moorabool Heritage Study Stage 2A Review. This amendment will introduce the heritage overlay to 106 individual properties and 7 heritage precincts in Ballan, Blackwood, Bungaree, Gordon, Lal Lal, Millbrook, Mount Egerton, and Wallace. Once authorisation from the Department of Transport and Planning is received, Council will exhibit the amendment.