From Navy Charts to Heritage Halls – A Journey of Service and Storytelling

After being medically discharged from the Royal Australian Navy in 2015, Lauren returned to Ballarat seeking purpose and reconnection. “There’s not a huge call for Hydrographic Surveyors inland,” she laughs. “So, I went after my second passion – history.” 

That passion led her on a special trip with her grandmother to Winchelsea, where they visited Barwon Park to see The Dressmaker exhibition. Though it’s a few hours from Ballarat, the visit made a lasting impression. “I was completely drawn in,” Lauren recalls. “The house, the exhibition – and the personal connection. My grandmother is a Batson, the last family to own Barwon Park before it was entrusted to the National Trust. It felt deeply special.” 

By the end of that visit, Lauren had signed on as a volunteer with the National Trust of Australia (Victoria). Her first shift was in February that year and she hasn’t looked back since. 

She had already developed a love of living history. “Before the Navy, I worked at Sovereign Hill,” she explains. “So, the idea of helping people connect with Australian history in immersive, real-world ways was already part of who I am.” 

Since that first shift, Lauren has become a familiar and much-valued presence at Barwon Park and across the Trust’s Geelong region properties. In 2023, she transitioned from volunteer to employee, continuing her hands-on involvement in heritage care and visitor engagement. 

Among her standout experiences? “Being part of the book launch for Barwon Park: People and Place was very moving,” she says. “My grandmother and I both contributed to the publication – it was a real family moment.” 

Lauren has also supported various media activities at Barwon Park, including promotional campaigns with the Surf Coast Shire and a feature for a Channel 9 car review show. But it’s the quiet moments that stay with her most. “Whether it’s restoring a piece of furniture or having a meaningful chat with a visitor – every shift teaches me something.” 

Her time in the Navy also deepened her sense of history and remembrance. Deployed to Papua New Guinea, Lauren spent time at Milne Bay – an area rich in wartime significance. “Listening to locals share their family stories of World War II was incredibly powerful,” she says. “It reminded me of how vital it is to preserve places and memories. We need them to understand where we’ve come from – and where we’re going.” 

The themes of Dedication, Protection, and Connection resonate strongly with Lauren.

“Dedication is showing up to do the work. Protection is about safeguarding our shared past. And connection – that’s why we do it. To link generations together through stories, places, and shared memories.”

Lauren’s journey is a moving reminder that history lives on through people – and that the act of caring for place can be as powerful as the place itself.