Saigon Allee is a Vietnamese Restaurant located at 30 Armstrong Street. It is an open design with a large door, level street entry and a spacious interior. Seating is moveable providing a choice of seating options. There are no accessible toilets available at the restaurant, the nearest being at Zambrero, Hop Temple or the George Hotel.
Designated disabled parking bays are provided in front of the main building. The public bus network, which is equipped with low floor buses stops adjacent to the disabled parking bays. Entry to the main building and ticket office is via a ramp in front of the building. From an overall accessibility point of view, it must be remembered that Sovereign Hill is built on the side of a hill and is a recreation of life in a gold mining town of the 1850’s. All of the road and pathways through the site are gravel. The surface is relatively fine with aggregate less than 13 mm and is relatively hard packed throughout the site. All of the paths are step free. Main Street is a relatively gentle slope until the red brick chimney at the mine tour office where the slope increases. On the edges of main street are bluestone gutters. A boardwalk is in front of the shops on both sides of the road. Wooden bridges give access to the boardwalk between each set of steps. Most of the museum shops have wide level doorways allowing access. Accessible toilets are located at: behind the photographic studio, in the United States Hotel, next to the Fire Brigade, next to the main theatre in the guest services building and at the cafe. The underground mine tour is accessible for visitors using wheelchairs. Access is direct to the mine entrance via a pathway from the Chinese Camp as the trolley is not wheelchair accessible. Once inside the mine, the pathways are wide and smooth. The gold panning area is best accessed from the lower end adjacent to the Chinese Camp. Wheelchair access is available right to the edge of the creek. The Gold Pour has wheelchair access to both the ground level and the upper level of the display area. The main theatre in the guest services building is accessed via elevator and ramp. There are wheelchair positions within the theatre and an adjacent disabled toilet facility. The main guest cafe is located off Main Street behind the Post Office. It overlooks the Post Office Lake. The Rotunda on the edge of the lake is wheelchair accessible as are the paths around the lake. The surface is fine hard packed gravel. In front of the cafe is a playground that tells the story of a typical miners journey to the gold fields, from the journey aboard a ship, stagecoach to Ballarat and life on the diggings. The playground is ramped throughout and relies on a visual interpretation. A ramp leads to the cafe which is air-conditioned and has a spacious layout. The servery is easy to navigate with low counter heights. Trays are available for easy transport of food and drink. An accessible toilet is located at the back of the cafe. There are tables on the veranda overlooking the playground that are of an opened design allowing wheelchair users to sit under the table. Sovereign Hill has a comprehensive accessibility information page on its web site. In addition to the mobility issues described above, both the Secret Chamber Underground Mine Tour and the Gold Pour are available as OpenAccess tours for deaf or hearing impaired visitors using Auslan translation and captions. Some iPads are available from guest services or they can be accessed on a visitors device from either the App Store or the Google Play Store prior to arrival. A series of social scripts have been prepared to aid visitors on the Autism Spectrum. They can be downloaded in PDF format and are designed to be tailored to meet individual needs. Service dogs are welcome at Sovereign Hill. Wheelchairs are available for loan from guest services. These are a rugged design with larger front wheels. Three of the chairs have power assist drive wheels. A downloadable map of the site includes the location of the accessible toilets and a recommended route for wheelchairs and prams. There are no gradients marked on the map.
The Boatshed is located over the water on Lake Wendouree. Both the internal and outside dining areas are open with ample room. The tables and chairs in both locations are accessible for wheelchair users and people using mobility devices. Toilet facilities are limited with a male and female non-accessible facility. The nearest accessible toilet is a public facility in front of the canoe club in the adjacent building. This facility is old with rudimentary grab rails and a toilet seat height of 38cm. There is no rear rail and the seat is 45cm from the rear wall with no backrest. The hand basin has a standard tap.
The Forge is a traditional Pizzeria. Entry from the sidewalk is through a wide level door. The interior is spacious allowing easy navigation for users or mobility devices or parents with prams. The furniture is movable allowing a choice of seating location. There is also a curbside dining space with level access and movable furniture. The restaurant has full table service. At the rear of the restaurant is an accessible toilet with side and rear handrails. There is no backrest. The hand basin has a lever mixer tap and a sloping mirror.
A wide doorway leads through to the Housey Housey function space. This space is an open area with furniture arranged as required. It has an integrated sound and light system that allows control of both sound volume and lighting by zone. The main entry to the space is through full-width sliding doors directly off the street. The accessible toilet of the Forge is shared by this function space.
The Western Hotel is located at 1221 Sturt Street Ballarat.
It has a traditional bar, a sports bar, outside undercover Pavilion Bar with open fire and a bistro. It is also a live band venue. The layout throughout the venue is very open with easily movable chairs given a wide range of seating options. An accessible toilet is available. There is an accessible car park located in the private car park at the rear of the hotel next to the entry into the Pavilion.
The Victoria Park Inclusive Playspace was opened in 2016. It was a community partnership with the City of Ballarat and the Touched by Olivia Foundation. Since its opening, it has become a major attraction with over 170,000 people visiting the site annually. The site was designed as a hub where families of all abilities could come and play together. It features sealed pathways throughout, ramps to play equipment, a variety of activities for all abilities including a large range of play panels for children with cognitive disabilities. The playground includes both accessible toilet facilities and a full “Changing Places” adult change room with full-service hoist. The picnic facilities includes accessible picnic tables throughout and there are accessible drinking fountains across the play area.
The Windmill Playground on the shoreline of Lake Wendouree is an older style wooden structure that is a great example of an accessible playspace. It is ramped throughout and has made provision for children using wheelchairs on most of its activities. Rubberized surfaces have been used allowing children and parents with a disability to access all areas. The playground also contains a variety of play activities to suit children with cognitive disabilities. Adjacent to the playground is a Liberty Swing. The picnic area next to the playground had accessible picnic tables and a lower height BBQ. Disabled parking was available in front of the playground.
Ballarat Primavera is private accommodation that can be rented as a whole house or by individual room. It is 8 minutes by car from the centre of Ballarat.
The house consists of four spacious rooms each with an ensuite. There is a purpose built bathroom for guests with a disability that consists of and accessible toilet with handrails at the side and back as well as a padded backrest. The bathroom is large with ample wheelchair turning space.. The handbasin has a lever mixer tap and clear space below it. The shower is equipped with a fold down shower seat and easy to reach lever mixer controls. The accessible bathroom is accessible from the bedroom or the main hall and can be locked off from either so it can be used as a private ensuite or as a communal accessible bathroom for the entire house. This feature makes the house suitable for a group of disabled guests with a common bathroom.
The other three bedrooms are all very spacious and all have large bathrooms. They are not equipped with toilet bars or shower chairs but may be suitable for some people with a disability. The house does have three portable shower chairs that are available on request.
The living areas are large and consist of a kitchen/dining area and a lounge and second dining area.
The property also features and indoor lap pool, gymnasium, lock up garage and an outdoor dining area.
The property provides direct access to the Yarrowee Trail. The Ballarat Visitors Information centre has a Trailrider which can be borrowed for the duration of a stay.
The Sovereign Hill Hotel sits above and adjacent to Sovereign Hill Museum. There is a designated disabled parking space at reception, to the left next to the brown building. A brick path/ramp leads to reception. The cafe/restaurant area is behind the reception counter which has a lower height bench with knee clearance at the side. Off the servery is an accessible toilet. Double doors lead out to the veranda.
Disabled parking is available outside the accommodation wing. The hotel has two accessible units with full roll-in shower. There is a third unit with the same facilities but it also has an adjoining room for a carer or family members. The toilets have side and rear rails with a padded backrest. Each unit has a private outdoor deck with ramped access.
Ramped brick pathways give access to the full hotel site.
There is a rear gate that gives access to the Sovereign Hill museum site. Note that the hotel sites at the top of the hill and the roadway down into the main museum area is steep. Easiest access to the museum is gained by driving down to the main entry and parking in the disabled parking bays provided.
he George Hotel is the second oldest licensed hotel in Ballarat.
Accessible entry to the hotel is via the laneway.
The Lane Cafe is open with a variety of seating options. The floor is tile and polished concrete.
The public areas are all accessible with one accessible toilet located on the ground floor. The toilet is right-hand transfer with side and back rails with a padded backrest. The bar and main dining areas are also spacious and easy to move around with a variety of seating options.
The hotel has one accessible room with a queen and single bed configuration with a roll-in shower and a fixed shower seat. Both beds provide under bed clearance for a patient hoist.
The Heritage also has an accessible room with a queen bed. Clearance under the bed is provided and the room has a roll-in shower and fixed shower seat. There is a lounge area and a writing desk that provides knee clearance.
