Vol. 29 No. 9
A FREE PUBLICATION FROM YOUR LOCAL RADIO STATIONS 3WM AND MIXXFM
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
FINALS PREVIEW 20 Page Lift-Out
INSIDE TODAY
SUSPENDED: Nathaniel Buchanan of Eerie Tours has been running night-time, paranormal-based tours at Ararat’s Aradale until they were abruptly shut at the weekend. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER
Closure felt broadly BY BRONWYN HASTINGS
A
rarat’s tourism drawcard Aradale has been closed to the public, with leaseholder Melbourne Polytechnic suspending tours due to safety concerns.
Friends of J Ward volunteers host historical daytime tours of the government-owned former psychiatric hospital, while Eerie Tours gives nighttime, paranormal-based tours. Eerie Tours was informed on Friday by phone and email of the immediate access suspension to Aradale, citing ‘a number of safety concerns requiring further investigation and assessment’. Eerie Tours owner Nathaniel Buchanan said the 162-year-old heritagelisted buildings’ safety concerns were ‘serious this time’. “Over the last four years, Melbourne Polytechnic has ignored all requests
for any form of maintenance – and there have been many that have come from myself, from the maintenance man on site, and from MP Martha Haylett,” he said. “Holes in the slate roof have appeared and gotten bigger and bigger. We’ve got water coming into the building, and it’s just been deemed completely unsafe by a Melbourne Polytechnic facilities director. “It’s a legal obligation they maintain the building, it’s heritage listed up the wazoo and of significant state importance – the Heritage Act is not optional. There are penalties for not fixing it. “There’s millions of dollars’ worth of damage, and over the next 10 years it’ll be tens-of-millions of dollars.” Mr Buchanan said for almost 16 years, Eerie Tours had brought about 10,000 people – and $5-million – a
year to the 8500-population rural city. The closure will result in 14 Eerie Tours staff being out of work. Yesterday, Mr Buchanan met with Federal Member for Wannon Dan Tehan, who was hosting Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price in Ararat to meet with the region’s business owners, where the closure was discussed. Mr Buchanan encouraged people to contact their local members of parliament and Ararat Rural City Council to voice their concerns. He said the community response to the closure had been humbling. “Aradale doesn’t belong to just me, it belongs to the whole town and the whole state,” he said. Mr Buchanan said the town would be decimated by the closure. “I’ve got emails from multiple motel owners, saying this is going to cut their weekend traffic by 75 to 80 per
cent,” he said. “It’s going to smash the town, and it’ll damage the surrounding regions – Stawell, Halls Gap, even Ballarat’s going to get hit. There are people who stay in Ballarat and go to Ararat and back every weekend. “It’s a national treasure – we entertain people from all over Australia every weekend.” Ararat Mayor Bob Sanders said the strain on the district’s tourism sector was ‘very real’, having ‘immediate flow-on impacts on our accommodation and hospitality businesses’. “While safety concerns surrounding the site make this a complex issue, the resulting strain on our tourism sector is very real, and we remain fully committed to supporting our local business community,” he said. Greater Ararat Business Network president Kelsey Hocking said Eerie Tours had the network’s support.
“With at least 10,000 visitors a year coming to our region directly attributed to the tour of this iconic building, the economic and tourism value of this attraction is undeniable,” she said. “The current state of dilapidation of such an iconic and historically significant building is a disgrace and represents a missed opportunity for our community, tourism sector and regional economy. “There is an opportunity to produce something truly great through the reinvigoration of this site. “With the existing demand, there is a strong foundation upon which to build a broader visitor experience, creating further tourism, employment and economic opportunities for Ararat and the surrounding region.” Continued page 3
IN THIS ISSUE • Coalition pledge to cancel VNI West project • Monthly AgLife • Racing club celebrates Phone: 03 5382 1351 Read it online: www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au
21,505 COPIES DISTRIBUTED EACH WEEK (average)
WIN your Dad $1000 in Meat Vouchers Just spend $20 at any Horsham Plaza store to enter Prize includes $1000 of vouchers from Your Regional Butcher at Horsham Plaza Drawn 12noon Friday, September 4, 2026 l KMART l SPOTLIGHT l REJECT SHOP l BEST & LESS l WIDE RANGE OF SPECIALTY STORES l WWW.HORSHAMPLAZA.COM.AU