CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Woodsmith
Paul Ryle; The Pub With Two Names; Ceramic artist
Ruby Pilven in her studio; Design at the Provincial
Hotel; The NT’s Numina Sisters exhibited at BOAA;
Dinner at Underbar; Winemaker Owen Latta.might be far removed from New York, where he worked at the three
Michellin-starred Per Se, and somewhat of a jump from Melbourne
where he lived at first upon his return to Australia, it has afforded
Boath and his wife the financial freedom to not only buy a house and
start a business, but to take bolder steps. “There is a supportive
community here that you don’t find in big cities, and this support
and access to interesting producers is a huge driver behind our
ever-changing menu,” he says. “We always use local where we can and
have built some great relationships with other like-minded locals.”
You don’t need to spend long in Ballarat to start noticing that
network. Among the wines that Underbar serves is Latta Vino,
the experimental label of Owen Latta, Gourmet Traveller’s Young
Winemaker of the Year 2018. Latta works out of his parents’
renowned Eastern Peak Vineyard, just over 20 minutes’ drive north
of town. He echoes Boath’s sentiments in extolling Ballarat’s virtues.
“Being in this part of the world you’re surrounded by incredible
people and resources; some of the best produce in Australia is grown
and made right here.” The land he refers to – the gently rolling hills
and sun-kissed fields known as the Golden Plains – has long been
known for its rich yields; for tens of thousands of years before European
settlement, the Wadawurrung people farmed it for quality fare like
the sweet coconutty roots of the murnong daisy. “When you have
good building blocks at the beginning anything is possible,” says Latta.
The landscape of Golden Plains makes its way into ceramicist
Ruby Pilven’s work too. Her studio in Smythes Creek overlooks the
bush, despite being just a 15-minute drive from town, and from here
she makes jewellery and homewares imbued with sunset sorbet
shades and a liberal splash of Jackson Pollock. The daughter of
renowned local ceramic artists Janine and Peter Pilven, Pilven
returned home to the area after seven years spent studying and living
in Melbourne. “There’s such a tight-knit community here, whereeveryone’s supportive of each other and they all know each other”
says Pilven. “You’ve got so many creative people who are hidden in
and around Ballarat.”
Made of Ballarat is an ongoing campaign that stitches together
this network, celebrating the city’s creative spirit through a series of
artisan masterclasses with the likes of Latta and Pilven. Fancy trying
your hand at spoon carving? Green woodsmith Paul Ryle will show
you the ropes. Ever wanted to become a blacksmith or harvest trout?
There are classes for that too. Events span everything from meet the
(wine) makers and ceramics workshops to charcuterie, beekeeping
and knifemaking; check madeofballarat.com.au to see what’s coming up.
“Ballarat has always had a very strong creative undercurrent, just not
a voice to tell everyone what is going on underneath,” says Latta.
“We’re so lucky that more and more people are now tuning into the
frequency. The City values its artisans in such high regard that it wants
everyone to know about them on a national and international scale.”
Even Ballarat’s grandest artistic institution is shaking things up.
The Art Gallery of Ballarat boasts a vast collection of Australian art
from the early colonial period onwards and the gallery’s director
Louise Tegart, who took up the post in 2018, and curator Julie
McLaren are seeking fresh ways to activate and interpret it. It’s also
a key venue for a major new event on the Australian arts calendar.
The Biennale of Australian Art (BOAA) launched last September128 AUSTRALIANTRAVELLER.COM