Ulumbarra Theatre Bendigo

The City of Greater Bendigo and Bendigo Senior Secondary College are proud to announce the name of the latest addition to Bendigo’s thriving arts and cultural sector, Ulumbarra Theatre.

After extensive community consultation, the name Ulumbarra, meaning ‘gather together’ and ‘meeting place’ in the language of the Dja Dja Wurrung people, has been decided upon for the new state-of-the-art 1000 seat theatre currently under construction at the site of the former Bendigo Gaol.

Representing not only the use of the site as a community theatre for all to gather and enjoy the performances of local and international talent, the name reflects the original indigenous use of the site as a lookout and meeting place. The name is also representative of the multi-disciplinary nature of the performing arts and learning complex, which will result in the gathering of a variety of spaces on the site.

The adaptive reuse of the unique heritage site will result in:

- A new state-of-the-art 1,000 seat theatre with a fully equipped fly tower
- Music, dance and drama studios
- Learning kitchens
- General learning areas
- Outdoor alfresco area for BSSC students

The $25.8M project is being funded by:

- $12.3M from the Australian Government’s Regional Development Australia Fund;
- $7.5M from the Victorian Government’s Department of Education and Early Childhood Development;
- $3M from City of Greater Bendigo; and
- $3M from the Victorian Government’s Regional Development Victoria – Regional Growth Fund

*Ulumbara is also an acceptable spelling of the word.