New Road Name Proposed for Ballarat Airport Precinct

The City of Ballarat intends to name the ten roadways within the Ballarat Airport precinct located at Airport Road MITCHELL PARK VIC 3355.

Why is this necessary?

The unnamed roads are all located within the Ballarat Airport precinct and provide access to the various occupancies. The current Council addressing for each occupancy utilises a unique building reference number, however this addressing format is insufficient and ambiguous given the number of occupancies that operate in the precinct on various roadways.


Proposed Names

The proposed names being recommended have been compiled in conjunction with the Airport Manager, Ballarat Airport Stakeholder Reference Group and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. Each name has been chosen for its relevance and/or historical significance to the Ballarat Airport in addition to conforming with the Naming rules for places in Victoria – Statutory requirements for naming roads, features and localities 2022.

  1. Consolidated Road – a type of heavy American bombers that frequented the aerodrome for crew training in the early 1940’s.
  2. Kitty Hawk Road – a well-known single seat aircraft that was the only effective RAAF fighters throughout the fighting at Port Moresby and Milne Bay in 1942 when the Japanese advance towards Australia was stopped[1].
  3. Winmaling Circuit (pronounced Win-mar-ling) – the Wadawurrung word for ‘wind’ as supported by Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation
  4. Terminal Road – an appropriate name for an access road to terminal buildings at an airport.
  5. Fairbairn Road - Wing Commander Charles Osborne Fairbairn served as a fighter pilot in the Royal Flying Corps in World War 1 and afterwards in the Royal Air Force, where he was awarded the Air Force Cross. He served as the Commanding Officer of No 1 Wireless Air Gunners School and transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve of Officers in 1944. He was responsible for the training schools’ daily operations and the welfare of the trainees as well as fostering positive relations between the base and the Ballarat Community[2].
  6. Cheetah Road - designed by Armstrong Siddeley in 1930 and had evolved from the 7-cylinder Lynx radial of 1920. Primarily used on pre-war British military aircraft, including the Arvo Anson monoplane bomber which in 1935 was Britain’s’ first twin engine aircraft with retractable undercarriage[3].
  7. Wireless Drive – the Wireless Air Gunners School was based at the Ballarat Airport during World War 2.
  8. Empire Drive – the Empire Air Training Scheme as it was known when it was operated by the Royal Australian Air Force and reason for being listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
  9. Petch Drive – Flying Officer Francis Noel Miller Petch was born and educated in Ballarat, wanting to join the air force from a young age. He enlisted in the Royal Australia Air Force in 1942 and was posted to the No 1 Wireless Air Gunners School. Frank was discharged from the Royal Australia Air Force in 1945 with the rank of Flying Officer[4].
  10. Gunners Drive – the Wireless Air Gunners School was based at the Ballarat Airport during World War 2.


Working with the Traditional Owners

City of Ballarat is committed to reconciliation, working positively today and into the future with the Wadawurrung (Traditional Owners) and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members to learn, acknowledge and move forward together. In continuing this commitment, it is proposed that the unnamed roadway within the Ballarat Airport Precinct be named Winmaling Circuit (prounounced Win-mar-ling) is the Wadawurrung word for ‘wind’, as supported by Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.


Community Engagement 

As part of our legislative requirements for road naming, we seek feedback on the proposed name change. Interested parties are encouraged to make submissions, whether for or against a proposal.

Please note that any proposed names must conform with the Naming rules for places in Victoria – Statutory requirements for naming roads, features and localities 2022, a document it included in the Document Library on this page. Further information on the naming guidelines is provided by the State Government at Place Naming - Naming Rules.

How to have your say

Submissions can be made via survey, email or post. In your submission, please indicate if you support the proposed name and briefly discuss why and/or demonstrate how the proposal does not conform to the Naming rules for places in Victoria – Statutory requirements for naming roads, features and localities 2022.

  • Survey: an online survey is provided below.
  • Email: info@ballarat.vic.gov.au with NP235 – BALLARAT AIRPORT PRECINCT in the subject line.
  • Post: Letter addressed to the Manager Revenue and Procurement Services and can be mailed to Post Office Box 655 BALLARAT VIC 3353 quoting then reference NP235 – BALLARAT AIRPORT PRECINCT .

Submissions on the proposed name are invited and will be received by Council until 5pm Friday 13 January 2023.

If no submissions are made it will be assumed that there are no objections and Council will proceed with the road naming process.