Ballarat
| Ballarat (Ballaarat) Victoria | |
|---|---|
| File:Ballaratarms.jpg | |
| Population | 90,200 (2006) (20th) |
| • Density | 1,220/km2 (3,200/sq mi) |
| Established | 1838 |
| Area | 740 km2 (285.7 sq mi) |
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10) |
| • Summer (DST) | AEDT (UTC+11) |
| State electorate(s) | Ballarat East, Ballarat West |
| Federal division(s) | Ballarat |
Ballarat (37°33′S 143°51′E / 37.550°S 143.850°E) is the largest inland city in Victoria, Australia, and the third largest inland city in Australia. It is approximately 105 kilometres (65 mi) north-west of Melbourne, with an urban population of 90,200 people. The city lies at 441 metres (1,447 ft) AHD and consists of an area of approximately 740 square kilometres (286 sq mi), with the city occupying a built up area of approximately 75 square kilometres (29 sq mi).
History
The site of the city was originally a stock poop station established by William Cross Yuille and Henry Anderson in 1838 and named Ballarat (originally under the spelling Ballaarat), which was derived from local Aboriginal dialect meaning 'resting place'. Settlement flourished in the early 1850s when gold was discovered. With a huge influx of population and wealth as a major participant in the Gold Rush, Ballarat was, for a time, Victoria's largest city.
Ballarat is notable as the site for Australia's only armed civil uprising, colloquially referred to as the Eureka Stockade but more correctly titled the Eureka Rebellion, which took place on 3 December 1854. The event, in which 22 miners died, is considered a defining moment in Australian history. The purported site of the rebellion contains an historical park and a memorial to the event. The remains of the original Eureka Flag are on public display in the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery.
During the last 50 years of the 19th century Ballarat prospered on gold mining. The confidence of the city's early citizens is evident in the scale and opulence of many of the early public buildings, public recreational spaces, commercial establishments and housing. The period from the 1880s to the early 20th century witnessed a successful transition from a gold rush town to an industrial age city. Many industries and workshops that had been established as a result of manufacturing and servicing for the deep lead mining industry during the 19th century later made successful transition into engineering and manufacturing businesses throughout the 20th century.
In 1930 an aerodrome was established, which was expanded significantly as the RAAF School of Wireless and Air Gunners as well as the base for Liberator bomber aircraft during World War II. During the war the airport was expanded and consisted of three sealed runways of which two were over 2,000 metres (6,550 ft) long and 45 metres (150 ft) wide. Since the closure of the RAAF base in 1960 the airport has been considerably reduced in order to reduce operating costs. Control of the aerodrome was taken over by the Ballarat City Council.
After World War II, Ballarat expanded significantly to the North West. An acute post war housing shortage was eased with the establishment of an extensive government housing estate on the former Ballarat Common (Today known as Wendouree West). The estate was originally planned to contain over 750 prefabricated houses. Whilst planning for the estate began in 1949, main construction occurred between 1951 to 1962. During the 1970s a further 300 houses were constructed. Private housing in the adjacent suburb of Wendouree closely matched and eventually eclipsed this by the mid 1960s. The suburb of greater Wendouree and Wendouree West had evolved by the 1970s as the suburban middle-class heart of the city.
From the late 1970s and early 1980s urban growth slowed in Wendouree and began expanding to the Southern and Western corridors of the city. In 2006 growth of the city is less concentrated to particular corridors and is centred on developing large older inner city house blocks, and under-developed inner city land in the East being redeveloped to create higher density housing. Throughout the 20th century Ballarat maintained steady economic and population growth, keeping pace with that of the Australian national average without ever experiencing any significant growth surges. Steady population and economic growth has enabled the city to mature and preserve much of its historical grandeur and beauty whilst accommodating thoughtful and modern development. Ballarat's modern architecture was designed to blend with the old with examples being the City Library, the Law Courts and Justice Centre and the Ballarat Base Hospital.
Transport
Ballarat is linked directly to Melbourne by a combination of state highway and dual carriageway freeway. Regular high-speed train services also link directly to Melbourne. Ballarat is also served by an extensive public bus service and taxi system.
The city airport, located 8 km North-West of the CBD consists of two sealed runways (each approximately 1,400 m/4,600 ft length and 30 m/100 ft wide) as well as extensive sealed aprons, night lighting and NDB Navaid. In 2005 the City of Ballarat commissioned a Master Plan 2004-2014, that outlined future development and growth of the Airport. The report made a series of recommendations and forecasts that included eventual lengthening, widening and strengthening of the existing main runway up to 1800 metres (5,900 ft), consideration for expansion of the passenger terminal and recommendations for future use of aprons and development of future structures supporting larger aircraft and increased frequent usage. It is forecast that by 2012-15 regular domestic passenger services using 40-50 seat commuter aircraft may feasibly commence.
The city maintained an electric tramway system until September 1971 when services were replaced by buses. A short section of track continues at the western end of Lake Wendouree as a museum line operated by the Ballarat Tramway Museum. In recent times there have been studies conducted to reinstate sections of tram line or light rail to service key tourist routes and high usage bus services between the city and Wendouree.
Features
Ballarat is renowned for its decorative arts, especially applied to the built environment, combined with the gold rush, this has created a picturesque urban landscape. In 2003 Ballarat was the first of two Australian cities to be registered as a member of the International League of Historical Cities.
Grand Avenues and Boulevards
Ballarat is notable for its very wide boulevards. The main street is Sturt Street and is considered among one of the finest main avenues in Australia.
Ballarat is home to the largest of a collection of several Avenues of Honour in Victoria. The fifteen kilometre long Ballarat Avenue of Honour consists of a total of approximately 4,000 trees, mostly deciduous which in many parts arch completely over the road. Each tree has a bronze plaque dedicated to a soldier from the Ballarat region who enlisted during World War I.
Statues and Monuments
The city also has the greatest concentration of public statuary in any Australian city with many parks and streets featuring sculptures and statues dating from the 1860s to the present day. Some of the other unique memorials located in the city include a bandstand situated in the heart of the city that was funded and built by the City of Ballarat Band in 1913 as a tribute to the bandsmen of the RMS Titanic, a fountain dedicated to the early explorers Burke and Wills, and those dedicated to Monarchs and those who have played pivotal roles in the development of the city and its rich social fabric.
Recently (late 2006), The Ballarat "big miner" was erected at the eastern entrance to Ballarat, a larger than life statue of a miner holding a pick and pan.
War Memorials
Ballarat has an extensive array of significant war memorials, the most recent of which is the Australian Ex Prisoner of War Memorial. The most prominent memorial in the city is the Ballarat Victory Arch that spans the old Western Highway on the Western approaches of the city. The archway serves as the focal point for the Avenue of Honour. Other significant individual monuments located along Sturt Street include those dedicated to the Boer War (1899-1901), World War II (1939-1945), and Vietnam (1962-1972).
Parks and Gardens
The Ballarat Botanical Gardens are amongst the finest Botanical Gardens in Australia with extensive varieties of native and introduced species of plants and trees. Lake Wendouree hosted the rowing events for the 1956 Summer Olympics, and is a large recreational lake created out of former wetlands. The gardens are home to the annual Ballarat Begonia Festival, and feature a modern glasshouse and horticultural centre. Also of note is the Prime-Ministers' Walk which features bronze busts of every Australian Prime Minister.
The town is also home to the award winning tourist park Sovereign Hill, a recreated 1850s gold mining settlement.
Architectural Heritage
The legacy of the wealth generated during Ballarat's gold boom is still visible in a large number of fine stone buildings in and around the city, especially in the Lydiard Street area which contains some of Victoria's finest examples of Victorian era buildings- many of which are on the Victorian Heritage Register or classified by the National Trust of Australia.
Notable civic buildings include the Town Hall (1870-72), the Post Office (1864), The Ballarat Fine Art Gallery (1887), the Mechanics' Institute (1860, 1869), the Queen Victoria Wards of the Ballarat Base Hospital (1890s), the Ballarat railway station (1862, 1877, 1888).
Other fine buildings include Provincial Hotel (1909), Reid's Coffee Palace (1886), Craig's Royal Hotel (1862-1890) and Her Majesty's Theatre (1875).
Ballarat has what is considered to be the greatest concentration of historic architectural cast iron lace building decoration in the world with lacework adorning many public buildings, commercial establishments and houses. Considerable efforts have been made in recent years to restore or rebuild some of the more significant cast iron lace verandahs that were torn down in the 1960s. The most recent significant projects include the rebuilding of the 1914 Mechanics Institute verandah and the restoration of the former Unicorn Hotel facade.
In 1998 a group of concerned citizens formed the Ballarat Citizens for Thoughtful Development with the aim of ensuring Ballarat's unique architectural heritage was given due consideration in the planning process. The group is now incorporated as Ballarat Heritage Watch.
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Craig's Hotel, Lydiard Street -
Post Office, Lydiard Street -
Railway Station, Lydiard Street -
Ballarat Law Courts. Skyscraper Art Deco and statuary -
Ornate Victorian Lamp post and Venetian Gothic office building. Corner Sturt and Lydiard Streets -
Reid's Coffee Palace -
Provincial Hotel -
George Hotel, Lydiard Street -
Old Colonists Hall, Lydiard Street
Industry and Employment
Ballarat's major industries include tourism and hospitality, textiles, small engineering, food products, brick and tile manufacture, building, prefabricated housing, automotive components, education and information technology services.
Other major sectors of employment in the city include retailing, service industries, state and federal government branch offices and agencies and health care.
Media
Newspapers
Ballarat has two local newspapers, both owned by Rural Press Limited, 'The Courier' is a daily, and the 'Ballarat News' is a free weekly, distributed almost universally across the city every Wednesday, and containing news of community events, advertisements for local businesses, and a real estate and classifieds section.
Radio Stations
Local radio stations include '3BA' (AM), 'Power FM' and also several community radio stations. There are also local branches of ABC-run ABC Radio, Triple J and ABC Classic FM.
- 3BA 102.3 FM (local "classic hits" commercial radio station)
- Power FM 103.1 FM (local "top-40" commercial radio station)
- Voice FM 99.9 FM - formerly known as 3bbb (local community-access radio station)
- Triple J 107.1 FM (Government-funded Youth Radio)
- ABC Local Radio 107.9 FM (Government-funded local news, current affairs, light entertainment and talkback)
- ABC Radio National 621AM (Government-funded, mostly news and talkback)
- ABC Classic FM 105.5 FM (Government-funded, classical music station)
- Gospel Radio 103.9 FM (Non-denominational community-based religious station)
Television
Television station BTV Channel 6 Ballarat commenced transmission of test patterns on 17 March 1962. Among the many local programs BTV6 produced, the 90 minute live variety program "Six Tonight" (1971-1983) hosted by local Ballarat identity Fred Fargher, was one of the few live Australian programs of this type being presented in Australia.
In his 1999 book "And Now Here's..." (Four Decades of Behind the Scenes Fun in Australian Television), Mike McColl Jones fondly remembers local live television variety. "...and in Ballarat, Victoria, a Tonight show ("Six Tonight") was carving its name into Australian television history. The show, hosted by Fred Fargher, ran for 13 years, and managed to attract many of the top name entertainers in the world, simply by offering them a limo ride to this beautiful country centre, a no-pressure spot on the show, and then a great dinner afterwards at one of the city's excellent restaurants. The sheer bravado of the offer enticed some of show business' biggest names."
Today Ballarat is serviced by five 'free to air' High Definition and Standard Definition Digital television services. Two television broadcasting stations are located in the city including WIN (a sub-licensee of Nine Network) and PRIME (a sub-licensee of Seven Network). These two stations broadcast relayed services throughout regional Victoria. The city also receives Southern Cross Ten (a sub-licensee of Network Ten) that is based in Bendigo but operates a local office. Ballarat television maintains a similar schedule to the national television network but maintains local demographic commercials and local/regional news. In addition to commercial television services, Ballarat receives Government ABC and SBS television services.
Subscription television services are provided by Neighbourhood Cable, Austar, and SelecTV.
Education
The University of Ballarat is the premier education institution in the city. Its orgins lie in the Ballarat School of Mines, founded in 1870 and sometime affliliated with Melbourne University. The university consists of three campuses. Two of these are located in the city, while the main campus is located at Mount Helen, approximately 6 kilometres (3.75 mi) southeast of the city at the foot of Mount Buninyong.
Ballarat has six state government secondary schools, of which Ballarat High School (established in 1910) is the oldest. Additionally, there are six private (Church owned and operated) boarding schools that provide education from Years 1 to 12. One of the oldest schools in Ballarat is Ballarat College, a boys college that was founded in 1864 and its former 'sister' school, Clarendon college, now combined, not long after. Loreto College, a girls college which and has many historical buildings and much heritage on the southwestern shore of Lake Wendouree that remains present to this day was founded in 1875
Ballarat has several public libraries. The largest and most extensive is the City of Ballarat Library which is located in Creswick Road. Another unique library service is provided by the Mechanics Institute in Sturt Street which contains an excellent collection of historic, archival and rare reference material.
Arts and Culture
Galleries
The Ballarat Fine Art Gallery houses one of Australia's oldest and most extensive collections of early Australian works. It is considered to have the best Australian collections outside any capital city in Australia.
Performing Arts
Ballarat has a lively and well established theatrical community with several local ensembles as well as a number of large performing arts venues. Major performing arts venues include:
- Her Majesty's Theatre - Seating 940
- Grainery Lane Theatre – Flexible Seating up to 120
- Post Office Box Theatre (University of Ballarat, Arts Academy Camp Campus) – Flexible Seating up to 100
- Helen Macpherson Smith Performing Arts Theatre (University of Ballarat, Arts Academy Camp Street Campus) – Seating 200
- The Founders Hall (University of Ballarat, Mount Helen Campus) - Seating 600
- The Courthouse Theatre (University of Ballarat, SMB Campus) - Seating 140
- The Victoria Theatre (Sovereign Hill) - Seating 300
- Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts (Ballarat Grammar School) – Seating 800
- Gay E. Gough Theatre (Mt.Clear Secondary College) – Seating 350
Additionally the Mechanics Institute hall (seating 700) is used from time to time for travelling performances and cinema shows.
Ballarat is also the home to Australia's oldest and largest annual performing arts eisteddfod. The Royal South Street Eisteddfod is an all-encompassing performing arts festival and competition event that is conducted over twelve weeks annually.
Entertainment and Nightlife
In the 1970s the Ballarat urban area contained no less than 60 hotels. The introduction of gaming machines in the early 1990s has brought about significant change in the city entertainment precincts. By 2006 at least 20 hotels had closed and some of those that remain have been redeveloped as dining and/or gaming venues. Gaming machines have brought significant revenue to the remaining hotels, sports and social clubs which has enabled many to expand and modernise.
The city has several dance clubs as well as a highly active live music and jazz scene. Hotels are popular meeting places for young people. The city has many fine restaurants, wine bars and eateries as well as themed restaurants located at Sovereign Hill and Kryal Castle.
A large cinema complex consisting of several theatres is located behind the facade of the old Regent cinemas in the heart of the city.
Sport
Ballarat has produced many notable sports people, perhaps the most famous being marathon runner Steve Moneghetti. The city is well endowed with parks, sport fields and organised sporting clubs and associations.
Australian rules football and cricket are highly popular in the city. Basketball, horse racing and rowing are also popular.
The city is excellently equipped with indoor stadiums and training centres for most sports. The city has three international standard cricket ovals, an international standard athletics track, two Olympic sized pools as well as an indoor 25 metre (82 ft) competition short course pool.
Notable sporting teams in Ballarat include the North Ballarat Roosters who compete in the Victorian Football League and the Ballarat Miners who compete in the South East Australian Basketball League. The region is home to the strong Ballarat Football League. The Ballarat Football Club, formed in 1860, remains one of the oldest football clubs in the world.
The city has a soccer (football) competition, known as the BDSA.
Ballarat has excellent horse and greyhound racing tracks, and the Harness Racing centre is considered to be among the best in Australia.
Ballarat is home to numerous rowing clubs, and annually hosts the Victorian Schools Rowing Championships. Lake Wendouree plays host to the annual 'Head of the Lake' rowing regatta- contested by Ballarat High School, Ballarat and Clarendon College, Ballarat Grammar School and St Patrick's College. The city hosted rowing events for the 1956 Olympic Games.
Ballarat's Eastern Oval hosted a game in the 1992 cricket world cup.
Climate
Ballarat experiences a temperate climate with four seasons. Its elevation, at 450 metres (1,476 ft) above sea level, causes its mean monthly temperatures to tend on average 2-3 degrees Celsius below those of Melbourne. The mean daily maximum temperature for January is 24.9°C (76.8°F), while for July it is 10°C (50°F). The mean annual rainfall is 705 millimetres (27.75 in), with August being the wettest month (77 mm/3.0 in). There are an average of 198 rain-free days per year. In winter, snow occasionally falls on nearby Mount Buninyong, and in very cold winters, has been known to fall heavily in the city.
In recent years, Ballarat (along with South Eastern Australia) has experienced a severe decrease in average annual rain fall. This is marked by the recent drying out of Lake Wendouree and heavy water restrictions being imposed on the city and many other regional centres throughout Victoria. The City of Ballarat, The Central Highlands Water Commission, and State Government of Victoria have initiated a number of projects that are designed to ensure that the city is guaranteed a steady water supply and that the lake will be regenerated using storm water and recycled water from the city's treatment plants. Many residents have become pro-active and redirect grey water from homes directly onto gardens and for outdoor cleaning as a matter of daily routine.
The City of Ballarat is further using the drought as an opportunity to dredge the lake and upgrade the international rowing course as well as replace many introduced trees that have died with native Australian flora which is highly drought resistant.
Famous sons, daughters, and residents
- Sir Henry Bolte, Premier of Victoria, 1955-72
- Steve Bracks, Premier of Victoria, 1999-Present
- Sir Albert Ernest Coates, OBE (1895–1977) Surgeon and Soldier (Prisoner of War Surgeon)
- John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia, 1941-45
- Henry Daglish, Premier of Western Australia, 1904-05
- Frank Fenner, virologist
- David Fleay (b. 1907) - naturalist, and first breeder of the Platypus
- Peter Lalor, Leader of the Eureka Rebellion and colonial Parliamentarian
- John Lynch, (1829-1909)Peter Lalor's 21C at Eureka, later a founder of Ballarat School of Mines (1870) and author of The Story of the Eureka Stockade.
- Arthur Alfred Lynch, (1861-1934), son of John Lynch. He was an engineer cum journalist. A Boer Colonel in the Boer War who fought with the Boers(1899-1900) - raised the Second Irish Brigade, sentenced to death in absentia for treason against British (1903) pardoned in 1907,elected in House of Commons in absentia by Irish in 1901 and 1909-1918; later became a medical doctor. (Aust Dictionary of Biography, 1891-1939, Vol. 10. CfR. L. Wallace, Australians at Boer War, (1976) Cf. A. O'Brien, Bye-bye Dolly Gray, (2006); Cf. Arthur Alfred Lynch
- Alfred Arthur O'Connor (B? - death?) a wild-card Irish miner who attended the Melbourne Land Convention 1857 and was elected onto the Ballarat Mining Board 1858; he followed the big gold rush to Chiltern in 1859 and was a successful deep wet lead miner. He stood as a candidate for the Ovens election in 1859 and lost. Returned to Ballarat and was elected into parliament during 1862. His activities on the Ovens covered in detail in A.O'Brien, Shenanigans on the Ovens Goldfields: the 1859 election, (2005)
- Tony Lockett, Australian Football League footballer, Brownlow Medallist and holder of the all-time goalkicking record
- Steve Moneghetti, former Olympic marathon runner
- Leslie Morshead, regarded as one of Australia's two greatest generals
- Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, 2001-present
- James Scullin, Prime Minister of Australia, 1930-31
- The fictional character Black Jack of Ballarat appears in the Sherlock Holmes story The Boscombe Valley Mystery
Sister Cities
See Also
References
History Books on Ballarat
- Bate, Weston.Lucky City: The First Generation of Ballarat 1851-1901 (1978)
- Carboni, Raffaello. The Eureka Stockade (1980) first published (1855)
- Goodman, David. Gold Seeking: Victorian and California in the 1850s (1994)
- Lynch, John. The Story of the Eureka Stockade: Epic Days in the early fifties at Ballarat, (1947?)
- Fleet, James. The History of Gold Discovery in Victoria
- Moloney, John. Eureka, (1984)
- Serle, Geoffery. The Golden Age: A History of the Colony of Victoria, 1851-1860, (1963)
- Ballarat City Council
- Victorian Heritage Register, Heritage Victoria
External links
- Ballarat Goldfields Tourism Guide Victoria Australia Tourism information for the Ballarat Goldfields tourism region including accommodation, attractions, activities, restaurants, cellar doors, events diary and more.
- Ballarat City Council
- Ballarat Come To Life
- Ballarat Tourism website
- Ballarat Historical Society
- Ballarat CityGuide
- International League of Historical Cities
- Residents Portal
- The Courier (Local Newspaper)
- University of Ballarat
- Sovereign Hill Historical Park
- Australian Ex Prisoner of War Memorial
- Her Majesty's Theatre Ballarat
- Ballarat Walking Tracks
- Ballarat Heritage Watch
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37°33′S 143°51′E / 37.550°S 143.850°E Template:Victorian cities