Kingston Avenue of Honour

18/04/2026

We are at the Creswick Market today selling plants (and rhubarb bundles!) to raise money for the Avenue of Honour at Kingston. We hope to see you there, or next Saturday from 8.45am at our Anzac Day Service in the Avenue.

24/03/2026

Important Reminder: Please join the Friends of the Avenue on Sunday 29 March for our Working Bee in the Avenue of Honour at Kingston from 10am to 12pm. Kingston Fire Brigade CFA have kindly offered the use of their station for sign ins and our free BBQ lunch afterwards for all volunteers.

Please meet at the Kingston CFA Station at 10am to sign in and collect your safety vest. Please bring hand tools such as secateurs or loppers for tidying up the trees, and/or line trimmers for trimming the grass around them. Gardening gloves recommended.

20/03/2026

We are at the Creswick Market today, selling plants to support the Avenue of Honour at Kingston. Plants are groen by Friends members Claire, Margaret, Julie and Jeremy, with donations by Iris specialist Ken Fenn. We hope to see you.

18/03/2026

Tune into ABC’s Ballarat Breakfast radio at 107.1 FM after the 7.30 news tomorrow morning - Steve Martin will be interviewing the Kingston Friends of the Avenue President Julie Baulch regarding the Western Renewables Link proposal.

LISTEN to ABC Ballarat Breakfast Radio where STEVE MARTIN will be interviewing local resident JULIE BAULCH from The Friends of the Kingston Avenue of Honour.
They are fighting to stop AusNet from using the heritage-listed Kingston Avenue of Honour as a heavy vehicle route for the Western Renewables Link project.
Concerns focus on potential damage to the historic trees and verges from up to 70 daily trucks, threatening the World War I memorial site as well as the historical bluestone bridge.
TOMORROW 7.30 AM 📻

17/03/2026

WESTERN RENEWABLES LINK PRESENTATION
On Monday 2 February, Kingston Friends of the Avenue presented our response to the Inquiry & Advisory committee on the Western Renewable Link’s proposed route to the north of the township of Kingston. We shared our concerns about the proposed use of the Avenue for numerous heavy vehicles while the transmission lines and concrete bases are being constructed, and the potential safety and psychological impact on visitors to the Avenue. We also shared a projection of how the proposed transmission lines might look from near the corner of Kingston Road and Victoria Road, not far from the 1927 Cenotaph where we hold our Commemorative Services.

You can listen to our presentation to the Inquiry & Advisory Committee on the Western Renewable Link's proposed Route at the below link: https://engage.vic.gov.au/project/Western-Renewables-Link-IAC/page/Recordings

Our Recording is from Week 11, 2 February 2026, and begins at the timepoint 1.19.32. (Please note that the sound is odd for a minute or so at the beginning, but them improves.)

You can view the slideshow on our website at the following page:
https://kingstonavenueofhonour.org.au/contact/

17/03/2026

Working Bee
Please join the Friends of the Avenue on Sunday 29 March for our Working Bee in the Avenue of Honour at Kingston from 10am to 12pm. Kingston Fire Brigade CFA have kindly offered the use of their station for sign ins and our free BBQ lunch afterwards for all volunteers.

Please meet at the Kingston CFA Station at 10am to sign in and collect your safety vest. Please bring hand tools such as secateurs or loppers for tidying up the trees, and/or line trimmers for trimming the grass around them. Gardening gloves recommended.

14/03/2026

PROTECT THE MAGNIFICENT AVENUE OF HONOUR

Friends of the Avenue are deeply concerned that AusNet wants to use the heritage listed Avenue of Honour in Kingston as a heavy vehicle route for the construction of the Western Renewables Link transmission project.

The Victorian Heritage overlay protects the verge, from the fencelines to the road edge, and the trees — but not the road itself.

Up to 70 B-doubles and concrete trucks every day could travel along the Avenue to the proposed construction site, north of the historic village of Kingston.

This traffic risks damage to the road and the verge, which protects the trees’ root zone. How easy would it be for large vehicles to stray off the road? Some canopies are at risk of damage from high, wide loads.

We raised these concerns in our presentation to the inquiry into WRL. It’s extremely disappointing that AusNet continues to insist that Kingston Road is their preferred route.

The Friends of the Avenue are committed to protecting the Avenue as a living memorial for future generations. We are escalating our concerns to the RSL and Heritage Victoria.

Please let Martha Haylett Member for Ripon or your local State MP know your concerns.

19/02/2026

The Bunnings BBQ is today! Please come along to Creswick Road Bunnings and buy a sausage or two to help support Kingston friends of the Avenue and the Kingston Agricultural Society. We were able to fill all the slots, many thanks to all our wonderful volunteers.

10/02/2026

Kingston Friends of the Avenue and Kingston Agricultural Society are holding a Bunnings BBQ at Creswick Road Bunnings on Friday 20th February. We have just one spot left to fill, so if you can come along in the afternoon and help with the money, please sign up by clicking the image below. Otherwise, we hope to see you there to buy a sausage!

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Thank you! PLEASE CONTACT JOHN IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON 0419527734

01/02/2026

TODAY - IMPORTANT REMINDER
Kingston, Friends of the Avenue Inc. will appear at the EES in Ballarat today to raise our concerns with the Inquiry & Advisory Committee.
Monday 2 February from 11.40am – 1pm.

You can attend in person in Ballarat or join online.

The TIMETABLE and LINK for joining online can be found here. The link is in the timetable.
https://engage.vic.gov.au/download/document/44388

Our Hearing is at Mercure Ballarat Hotel and Conference Centre, Eureka Ballroom (613 Main Road, Ballarat)

01/02/2026

HEARING IS TOMORROW - IMPORTANT REMINDER
Kingston, Friends of the Avenue Inc. will appear at the EES tomorrow to raise our concerns with the Inquiry & Advisory Committee.
Monday 2 February from 11.30am – 1pm.

You can attend in person in Ballarat or join online.

The TIMETABLE and LINK for joining online can be found here. The link is in the timetable.
https://engage.vic.gov.au/download/document/44388

Our Hearing is Monday 2 February at Mercure Ballarat Hotel and Conference Centre, Eureka Ballroom (613 Main Road, Ballarat)

20/01/2026

URGENT: Western Renewables Link Inquiry and Advisory Committee Hearing Dates and Information - beginning tomorrow from 10am

Updated timetable
The timetable can be found at the following link: https://engage.vic.gov.au/Western-Renewables-Link-IAC
Being the Western Renewables Link Inquiry and Advisory Committee (IAC) Hearing Timetable for the second part of the Hearing. The Hearing recommenced at 12.30pm on Tuesday 20 January 2026 at Planning Panels Victoria in Melbourne.

Hearing Venues and Links
The Melbourne Hearing in January and March 2026 will be held at Planning Panels Victoria.

The timetable contains links to view the Melbourne portion of the Hearing online (via Microsoft Teams). Please attend as much as you can, to support the community (AusNet is counting participants - clicking on the link indicates your presence, so even if you can’t attend the entire session, it all helps!)

Attachment 1 (which can be found by clicking the timetable option at the above link) includes more information about the venues and joining the hearing online. There will also be some seats available to view the proceedings in person.

Timetable Selections - Kingston groups:
Wednesday 21 January

Venue: Planning Panels Victoria, Hearing Room 1 (Ground Floor, 1 Spring Street, Melbourne

10.05am
Kingston and District Power Alliance Inc (KDPA) represented by community members covering the following topics:
- Planning; Landscape; Visual impact; Undergrounding; Biodiversity; Bushfire and fire; Heritage; Bullarook Streamside Reserve; Buried Rivers of Gold

Thursday 22 January

Venue: Planning Panels Victoria, Hearing Room 1 (Ground Floor, 1 Spring Street, Melbourne

10.05am
KDPA represented by community members covering the following topics: Agriculture, Social impact; Tourism; Land use. Closing submission.

Monday 2 February

Venue: Mercure Ballarat Hotel and Conference Centre, Eureka Ballroom (613 Main Road, Ballarat)

11.40am
Kingston, Friends of the Avenue Inc. represented by Julie Baulch.

Site visits
The IAC intends to undertake further accompanied inspections in February and has written to various
submitters to make arrangements for the inspections. The IAC will also be undertaking unaccompanied inspections of various sites and areas.

An Inquiry and Advisory Committee is collecting submissions to consider the environmental effects of the proposed Western Renewables Link Project.