26/08/2026
ARADALE — PART OF OUR HISTORY, PART OF OUR COMMUNITY ❤️
Like many people in Ararat, we were saddened to hear about the suspension of tours at Aradale.
As Aradale Golf Club, this story feels particularly close to home.
Our club's own history is intertwined with Aradale.
The people who helped establish our golf club were people who worked at Aradale. Families lived and worked within the grounds, and the friendships and community connections formed there helped play a part in creating what would become our little golf club.
So when we talk about Aradale, we aren't simply talking about an old building beside our golf course.
We're talking about part of our own history.
Aradale has been part of the fabric of this community for generations. It has provided employment, homes, friendships, stories and memories for countless local families.
And today, Aradale is also an important part of our local tourism industry.
The sudden suspension of tours has a very real flow-on effect for businesses and people who rely on visitors coming to Ararat.
We are particularly mindful of the impact on Acacia Caravan Park, one of our valued Aradale Golf Club sponsors and other accomodation providers, who welcomes visitors to our region.
We also acknowledge Aradale Ghost Tours - Ararat Lunatic Asylum and Friends of J-Ward, whose guides and operators have spent years sharing the history, stories and experiences of these incredible places with visitors.
Their work doesn't just benefit the tours themselves — it helps bring people into Ararat, who stay in our accommodation, eat at our restaurants and pubs, visit our shops and support local businesses.
For a regional community, that matters.
We completely understand that public safety must come first. If buildings are unsafe, they need to be made safe.
But we also believe the current situation should be a catalyst for finding a genuine, long-term future for Aradale — not the beginning of the end.
We would love to see the Victorian Government, Melbourne Polytechnic, Council, tourism operators, community groups and local businesses come together and have a serious conversation about what happens next.
Because Aradale deserves more than locked gates and uncertainty.
It deserves to be protected.
It deserves investment.
It deserves a future.
And most importantly, its stories deserve to continue to be told.
For our little golf club, Aradale isn't just part of the landscape.
It's part of who we are.
❤️ Let's not let the story of Aradale end here.
