Ms Miller is a member of Sebastopol Historical Society, which on Thursday launched its Discover Historic Sebastopol plans in partnership with Ballarat South Neighbourhood Centre, City of Ballarat and the state government.

The project will be based on the Discover Historic Mount Pleasant in branding, signage and walks through what Ms Miller said was an important but largely hidden history.

"One day my friend dropped me off in Talbot and I was reading signs about the town history. I realised every town has its history, only we tend to always go overseas and look at history of other places rather than take a closer look at areas where we live and drive through every day," Ms Miller said.

"People used to ask me where I lived and I would say Redan but then, I'm not really. I'm from Sebas and I'm proud of it...This is good recognition for Sebastopol because for a long time it has not been recognised as a Borough - it got swallowed up - but there was a good quote today asking if actually Ballarat was a suburb of Sebastopol."

Ms Miller's great-great grandfather is the blacksmith G. M. Dilges, whose shop is re-created in Sovereign Hill.

Her mum grew up next door to her dad's aunt and uncle. Ms Miller went to Sebastopol Technical College and was the first student to do the driver education program on the site where Ballarat South Neighbourhood Centre now stands.

She proudly likes to reflect on her family's entwined history with the now Ballarat suburb.

Sebastopol is named after a battle in the Ukraine during the Crimean War in 1855. People living in the goldfields likened the blasting of goldmines underneath Ballarat to the guns at the siege of Sebastopol.

Blue and gold became the colours of the borough, adopted by Sebastopol Football Club in 1922, and will be the colour scheme for Discover Historical Sebastopol signs.

The area remained under its own local government until Victoria's local government amalgamations created City of Ballarat in 1994.

Buninyong state MP Michaela Settle said she was heartbroken to lose the area later this year under changing electoral boundaries with the Victorian election.

Ms Settle said Sebastopol, while now part of Ballarat, had a strong sense of community that at times got left behind as the little brother of Ballarat.

But Ms Settle said Sebastopol people always said they were from Sebastopol first, Ballarat second.

"Sebastopol has so many stories to tell and I don't think a lot of people realise that," Ms Settle said. "This is where it all started for Ballarat. The Yuille brothers had their property in Sebas on the Yarrowee, yet people always associate the Yuille brothers with Lake Wendouree because it was known as Yuille Swamp.

"...I am heartbroken to lose Sebas as its government representative but I walk away proud there are legacy projects like this."

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Ms Settle said the state government's Spotlight on Sebastopol $5 million funding might not be big money but these were important projects. Funding also includes tree planting works, Yarrowee Creek rejuvenation, accessible bike paths and upgrades to MR Power Park.

While road works are dominating Sebastopol's main thoroughfare, Albert Street, Ms Settle said she appreciated it was tough for traders but would be worth the disruptions.

Sebastopol was evolving - Ms Settle pointed to the newly opened, large Coles supermarket as a big investment for the future - but it remained a key link for Ballarat to Buninyong, Geelong and the western district.

City of Ballarat mayor Daniel Moloney echoed this point and said Sebastopol was far more than a residential suburb. Cr Moloney said these key links to other areas were rich and deep right from its gold mining era.

He said Sebastopol really boomed again in the 1950s and 60s, as was evident in a lot of housing still standing in the area but it was becoming a thriving place for young families once more.

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"There is a rich history in Sebastopol and important stories and out of that comes a stronger identity and sense of place," Cr Moloney said. "School kids in Sebastopol can known they're not just part of a thriving suburb but actually part of something more."

A working group has begun to look at historic Sebastopol sites in stories and photos, which will be shared in a quarterly feature article in the Sebastopol community newsletter as well as brochures, posters and exhibitions.

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