It’s been wonderful to have the announcement in April 2017 that $70,000 will be provided through the Heritage Victoria Living Heritage Grants for essential works on the Silver Ball. The application to Heritage Victoria was a collaborative effort between Fletcher Jones owner Dean Montgomery, site manager Troy Kelly, and community members from the FJ Stories Project Team.
"We wanted to show our community's support to Dean Montgomery who has done so much already at FJs and we wanted to show that the Silver Ball belongs to us all. It’s a dream come true to have an owner who sees heritage and community as positives rather than obstacles.
And then we thought wouldn’t it be cool to have the ball lit up on our night skyline as well. We are absolutely thrilled and delighted to announce that A L Lane Foundation and Isobel and David Jones Foundation will each provide $10,000 so that the Silver Ball will shine at night all year round! A small taste of how the Silver Ball might look at night occurred recently when she was lit up blue for Autism Awareness. It’s likely that the lighting design will allow for changing colours and designs – we’d all like it to be something special."
In short, 2017 will be a big year for the Silver Ball. The Fletcher Jones Factory water tower, also known as the ‘Silver Ball’, was erected on the 7th of June 1967. It received State Heritage listing along with other aspects of the Fletcher Jones Pleasant Hill site in 2006. So how great that in 2017 - in the year that marks it’s 50th anniversary - the Silver Ball, arguably Warrnambool’s largest piece of public art, will be given a makeover.
