Ballarat councillors vote on design of Continuous Voices memorial at Victoria Park

City of Ballarat documents reveal the proposed final design of a Victoria Park sexual abuse memorial set up to be a “living testament to resilience”.

AMASS Architects' designs for the Continuous Voices memorial at Victoria Park. Picture: City of Ballarat

Designs have been revealed for a Ballarat memorial half a decade in the making and meant to reflect the city’s legacy of sexual abuse.

The idea for a Ballarat memorial focused on sexual assault, particularly by the Catholic Church, has been prevalent following the conclusion of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

A view of the memorial looking east. Picture: City of Ballarat

A public area was sought for a memorial to “acknowledge all survivors” and “honour all voices which have been silenced while recognising Ballarat’s story and history with sexual abuse”.

Victoria Park was settled on in 2021 as the preferred location – specifically near the lake adjacent to Plane Ave – given its tranquillity and accessibility.

A design competition was held for the memorial in 2023 and final designs were presented to a panel by those short-listed this May.

Designs show a brass canopy near the lake. Picture: City of Ballarat

Designs in the June 26 City of Ballarat meeting agenda describe the memorial as a “living testament to resilience, unity, and the continual pursuit of healing and understanding”.

Individual brass strands emerging from the land and water would represent victims and together create winglike canopies.

Artwork would be made from the words of survivors, and visitors would be able to leave behind objects, such as a ribbon, similar to the LOUD Fence movement.

The landscaping would cater for group gathering and for individual reflection, the designs say.

Advocates for the Victoria Park memorial. Photo: Continuous Voices

Councillors voted at a meeting on Wednesday to accept the proposed designs by AMASS Architects Design with Ben Juckes, titled ‘Connected Voices' and expected to be complete in mid-2026.

So far the $1m memorial is half funded by the state government and half by the council, though the latter continues to seek another $500,000 contribution from the federal government.