Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ballaratcity.JPG
Author: Chicken7


Ballarat is a city in Victoria, Australia, to the northwest of Melbourne. With an urban population of 96,000 people (2012 estimate), it is the third largest city in Victoria and the fifth most populous inland city in Australia.

The Ballarat area was inhabited by the Wathaurong tribe of indigenous people prior to European settlement. In 1837 Scottish settlers Archibald Buchanan Yuille and his brother William Cross Yuille established a 10,000-acre sheep run in the area. They named the site Ballaarat, after the Aboriginal word meaning "resting place".

Gold was discovered at Poverty Point in 1851, causing a gold rush in the Ballarat district. An influx of immigrants from Ireland and China descended on the are, creating shanty towns that sprouted up in the creeks and hills. The mix of rough-and-ready miners all desperately seeking quick wealth in gold was a brew for unrest, and in 1854, the one and only civil uprising in Australia took place. Called the Eureka Rebellion, it was a rebellion staged by the gold miners that resulted in the death of over 30 people.

Ballarat grew quickly in the second half of the 19th century, but by the early 20th century, the gold was almost depleted, and this served to check further growth of Ballarat, which was given city status in 1871.

The Old Sheriff Court on Camp Street in Ballarat
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_sheriff_court_Ballarat.JPG
Author: Peterdownunder


Today Ballarat has a well-preserved heritage with fine buildings dating from its "golden" age. These include the Victorian-era historic buildings in its downtown area. The city gears itself towards service industries including tourism and hospitality, as well as some manufacturing, education and information technology.

Visiting Ballarat

To drive to Ballarat from Melbourne, take the Western Freeway (M8) heading northwest.

You can reach Ballarat by train from Melbourne. The Frequent V/Line trains take about an hour and 20 minutes to travel from the Southern Cross Station in Melbourne to the Ballarat Station.

Sovereign Hill, the open-air period museum in Ballarat
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ballarat_dyli%C5%BCans.jpg
Author: Buszmen69

Places of Interest in Ballarat

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