Ballarat, Victoria
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Ballarat Victoria |
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Ballarat East and Eureka from Sovereign Hill. |
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Population: | 85,197 (2006) [1] |
• Density: | 1220/km² (3159.8/sq mi) |
Established: | 1838 |
Postcode: | 3350 |
Elevation: | 441 m (1,447 ft) AHD |
Area: | 740 km² (285.7sq mi) |
Time zone:
• Summer (DST) |
AEST (UTC+10)
AEDT (UTC+11) |
LGA: | City of Ballarat |
State District: | Ballarat East, Ballarat West |
Federal Division: | Ballarat |
Ballarat is a city in central Victoria, Australia. Nearly 90,200 people live there, which makes it the third biggest city in Victoria, after Melbourne and Geelong. It is also the biggest city that is not on the coast in Victoria. It is about 105 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. The city area is 740 square kilometres big and 75 square kilometres are used by the city itself.
[change] History
Tribes of Australian Aborigines, the Wathaurang and the Borneghurk[2], used to rest here, and called it "Balla-arat" meaning "elbow-place."
The first people from Europe came to Ballarat in 1837 to be sheep farmers. They took over large areas of land, with some farms more than 400 square kilometres. By 1840 there were more than 20 farms with 1000's of sheep in the Ballarat area. The city area was a farm owned by William Cross Yuille and Henry Anderson who arrived in 1838.
Gold was discovered at Ballarat in late August 1851, by James Regan and John Dunlop[3] and within three weeks there were nearly 1000 people digging in the area looking for gold. In 2 days the Cavanagh brothers dug up 27.2 kilograms of gold from a hole less than 2 metres deep[4]. This area is now called "Golden Point". Within a year there were 20,000 people living in Ballarat.
[change] References
- ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Ballarat (VIC) (Statistical District). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 27 September 2007.
- ↑ http://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au/art/research.htm
- ↑ Weston Bate (1978). Lucky City: The First Generation at Ballarat, 1851 - 1901, pg 7.
- ↑ Weston Bate (1978). Lucky City: The First Generation at Ballarat, 1851 - 1901, pg 11.