We are seeking community input and ideas for a welcoming entrance to Ararat that signifies what our community is about, for locals and visitors alike.

We are inviting the community to help reimagine Ararat’s eastern entrance. Share your ideas for a new town gateway that reflects who we are, welcomes travellers, and encourages them to stop and explore. Submissions are open on Engage Ararat for 30 days.

About this project

Ararat’s eastern entrance is the point where travellers arriving from Melbourne and Ballarat first meet our town. It sits on the Western Highway, a national freight and tourism route used by thousands of vehicles every day.

The existing eastern entry signage and sculpture have become tired and damaged over time. Council sees this as an opportunity to create a stronger sense of arrival for both locals and visitors, and to better tell the story of Ararat Rural City.

Our municipality has an extraordinary layered identity: traditional Djab Wurrung country, the only Australian city founded by Chinese people, a gold rush boomtown, a neighbour to renowned wine regions, and the eastern gateway to Gariwerd/the Grampians. The renewed entrance can help express these stories in a way that feels authentic to local people, and intriguing to those passing through.

Across regional Australia, some of the most successful town gateways use a combination of scale, strong visual design, durable materials, native plantings, and public art to create memorable entry statements. These gateways do more than simply say “welcome”; they encourage people to pause, take photos, and spend more time in the communities they are visiting.

For Ararat, we want to understand what you think a welcoming, distinctive eastern entrance should look and feel like. Your input will help guide the design brief and future concept development for this important location.

What we are asking you to do

Over a 30 day consultation period, we are inviting community members, artists, designers, local businesses, Traditional Owners, community groups, and interested residents to share ideas for Ararat’s eastern entrance.

You can contribute by:

• Uploading drawings, sketches, or digital designs that show how you would like the entrance to look.
• Sharing photos or examples of town gateways from other places that you think work well, and telling us why you like them.
• Suggesting themes, stories, or messages that should be reflected at Ararat’s eastern entrance.
• Nominating artists, makers, or potential suppliers who could be involved in future concept development and construction.
• Providing your general thoughts on how we can create a stronger sense of arrival for people travelling along the Western Highway.

You do not need to be a professional designer to participate. Simple sketches, written ideas, or links to images you like are welcome, as long as they help explain what you think would make a great entrance for Ararat.

What we will do with your feedback

All ideas submitted during the consultation period will be collected and reviewed by Council officers. We will look for common themes, preferred styles, and key stories that the community wants to see represented at the eastern entrance.

Your feedback will be used to:

• Inform a design strategy for the eastern entrance, including objectives, design principles, and desired outcomes.
• Guide future concept designs and cost estimates for the site.
• Identify opportunities to incorporate First Nations artwork and dual naming in respectful ways, in line with Council’s engagement policies and work with Traditional Owners.
• Consider appropriate materials, native and indigenous planting, scale, lighting, and ongoing maintenance needs.
• A summary of what we heard, and the next steps for the project, will be shared on Engage Ararat at the conclusion of the consultation period.

How to have your say

You can have your say by using the contribution tools on this page:

• Complete the online form to tell us your ideas for the eastern entrance.
• Upload images, sketches, or documents that help explain your suggested design or inspiration.
• Mark up the map with your comments

If you prefer, you can also provide feedback via email [email protected] or post, PO Box 246, Ararat VIC 3377.

Please ensure your submission is respectful and suitable for publication. Council may choose not to publish content that is offensive, discriminatory, or unrelated to the project.