|
| Statue of
Queen Victoria in front of the Town Hall
|
Ballarat
Historic gold mining city of great elegance
and charm.
The blue-and-white Southern Cross flags which
flutter throughout Ballarat symbolise the strong
association of the city with the Eureka
Rebellion - an event with great resonance in
Australian history - and thus with its
goldmining past.
Ballarat is a very major provincial centre
located 110 km west of Melbourne via the Western
Freeway and 441 metres above sea-level. The
current population is 83 000, making it
Victoria's largest inland city. Tourism, retail,
manufacturing and community services are now the
city's major industries.
Visually, Ballarat creates an impression of
stateliness and grandeur by virtue of its
magnificent wide thoroughfare, the Victorian and
Edwardian architecture, tree-lined avenues,
parks, gardens and statuary, and its substantial
educational institutions.
The town's name derives from the indigenous
occupants of the area (said to be the
Wathawurung) who called it 'Balla-arat' which is
said to mean 'a good resting place'. This is
thought to be a reference to the fact that they
formed a camp here by Lake Wendouree (then a
swamp).
In the severe drought of 1837 a group of
Scottish squatters left the Geelong area and
headed north in search of superior sheep and
cattle pastures. They became the first white men
to see the land on which the town would emerge.
One of the party, William Cross Yuille, camped
adjacent Black Swamp (now Lake Wendouree) and
established the 'Ballaarat' station in March
1838 around present day Ballarat and Sebastopol.
A settlement developed at Buninyong and it
was there, on August 8, 1851, that blacksmith
Thomas Hiscock, found the first gold of the
Ballarat goldfields. The small rush that
followed brought John Dunlop and James Regan who
started prospecting on the Ballarat Station. On
21 August they struck gold at the location which
became known as Poverty Point in the White Horse
Range and, by mid-October, there were over 2000
diggers combing the area. On August 25, the
diggers heard that the government was to impose
a 30-shilling monthly licence fee and they
organised a meeting to oppose the tax. On
September 21 the licence impost led to a
confrontation, thereby looking forward to the
events of the Eureka Stockade in 1854.
Despite the shift of the goldfields
administration from Buninyong to Ballarat on
November 7, the Poverty Point site was soon
worked out and the area was virtually deserted
by the end of the year for the Mt Alexander
diggings. Nonetheless, in December, Ballarat was
surveyed and a plan drawn up for the
establishment of a town. Another rush occurred
there the following year and experienced and
skilled British miners arrived, sinking shafts
into the flats at the foot of the hills.
Numerous gold-rich quartz reefs, such as the
Eureka, Gravel Pits and Canadian leads, were
located.
By 1853 there were some 20 000 prospectors
working the field. In that year alone 9926 kg of
gold were shipped out on the police-protected
gold escort to Melbourne with another 77 700 kg
transported from 1854 to 1857. The first gold
battery in Australia was established at Ballarat
in 1854.
The major single find of these years was the
Welcome Nugget which, at almost 69 kg (99% of it
pure gold), was the second-largest solid gold
nugget to be found in the world. A cairn, on the
corner of Mair and Humffray Streets, marks the
spot of the find.
In the meantime the settlement of Ballarat
(originally spelled 'Ballaarat') had begun to
emerge as a service centre to the diggings.
Ballarat West was proclaimed a township in 1852
and the first town land sale occurred that year.
Initially a 5-km stretch of canvas tents, it
began to develop more substantial buildings with
the addition of a proper hotel in 1853, an
official post office building in 1854, the
commencement of work on Christ Church Anglican
Cathedral that same year, the erection of two
churches in 1855, and a gaol and hospital in
1856.
Ballarat became a municipality in 1855. At
that time, between one-sixth and one-quarter of
the population was Chinese although they were
forced into six separate protectorates or
villages from 1855. Ballarat East became a
municipality in 1857 and both were declared
boroughs in 1863. The area prospered due to the
demand for goods, services, administration and
mining machinery. The arrival of the railway
from Geelong (Australia's first country railway)
in 1862 further enhanced marketing, commercial
and social possibilities.
|
| A fountain in
the centre of Sturt Street
|
Meanwhile, back on the goldfield, the
alluvial material was soon exhausted and
small-scale shaft mining was gradually replaced
by more ambitious deep-lead mining enterprises,
particularly under the Sebastopol Plateau to the
west which, between the late 1850s and 1875
(when the mines there started to close),
produced far more gold than the Ballarat East
fields.
However, there were major obstacles such as
floods, huge inflows of sand and four layers of
basalt. This type of mining necessitated capital
investment and large companies emerged,
establishing famous mines such as the Township
Group and the Band of Hope Mine. Just one shaft
of the latter yielded 9700 kg of gold and, in
1868, the population of the Ballarat goldfield
peaked at around 64 000. 1870 saw the formation
of the Sebastapol Miners' Union which was the
first in the state. That same year there were
said to be 477 hotels, 56 churches and 3 town
halls. Ballarat West was declared a city in 1870
and Ballarat East followed suit in 1872 (they
were merged in 1921).
In the late 1860s some 300 mining companies
were working the fields and the Ballarat Stock
Exchange was set up to facilitate the marketing
of shares in mining ventures. Subterranean
operations also required heavy machinery and
infrastructure, thereby fostering the
development of local foundries such as Cowley's
Eureka Iron Works and the Phoenix. The latter,
established in 1855, supplied batteries,
engines, boilers and mining equipment throughout
Australia and New Zealand. Other forms of
industry appeared, including woollen mills
(1872), flour mills, tanneries, boot-making
enterprises, meat-preservation works and
breweries such as the Ballarat Brewing Company
which made the famous 'Ballarat Bertie' brew
(the company was taken over by Carlton & United
Breweries in 1959). Mixed farming also began to
emerge to the west with the Land Act of 1861
which enabled selectors to obtain small
allotments.
When a recession hit the mining industry in
1870 the population dropped quite dramatically
but the manufactories, together with the nascent
agricultural sector, provided an economic base
which ensured the town's survival beyond the
fortunes of the goldfields. The Phoenix foundry,
for example, found a new lease of life when it
won the contract to manufacture locomotives for
the state government, producing 350 steam
engines before it closed in 1906. Another local
enterprise to emerge was Eleanor Lucas's
lingerie factory which started as a cottage
industry in 1888 (this factory was eventually
taken over by Courtaulds in 1969). Moreover, the
town became a significant rail centre with the
lines to Maryborough and Ararat opening in 1875.
The last gold mine closed down at Ballarat in
1918 although some tailings dumps were retreated
in the desperate years of the Great Depression.
In all, the local fields yielded some 230
million pounds worth of gold which, between 1851
and 1960, amounted to 27% of the state's total
production.
Throughout the twentieth century Ballarat has
prospered as a major administrative,
manufacturing and commercial service centre.
|
| The recreated
Eureka Stockade |
The Eureka Rebellion
Wherever a goldrush occurred in Victoria, a gold
commissioner was appointed to the area to
provide law and order but also to collect, from
the miners, a monthly licence fee. Contention
over this fee was but one of several grievances
felt by miners throughout the goldfields.
However, at Ballarat, these resentments became
highly focused when they were entangled with a
series of local incidents which culminated in
the Eureka Rebellion: one of the most famous
events in the history of colonial Australia.
The licensing system was introduced in 1851
and it entailed a payment of one and a half
pounds a month (reduced, in December 1853, to
one pound a month or two pounds for three
months) for the right to dig for gold, whether
precious metal was found or not. A perception of
unfairness was compounded by the fact that the
gold at Ballarat was increasingly to be found in
subterranean lodes which it could take months of
work to reach, if at all.
Failure to pay for a licence entailed a
five-pound fine for a first offence and up to
six months in gaol for a second. Universal
resentment was intensified by the means of
enforcement. Police raids were conducted and
anyone without a licence on their person was
liable to arrest and fines. Moreover, many of
the police were ex-convicts from Tasmania who
received half of each fine.
When Sir Charles Hotham became lieutenant
governor of Victoria in June 1854 he noted that
only 70% of the fees were being collected and
ordered strict enforcement. In September 1854 he
stepped up inspections from a monthly to a
twice-weekly basis. The perception of injustice
was exacerbated by the absence of voting rights,
of political representation in the legislative
assembly, and of land for settlement.
It was against this background that the
Scobie incident occurred. On 6 October, 1854, a
digger named James Scobie was kicked to death
shortly after entering the Eureka Hotel. The
owner of the hotel (James Bentley) and three
other men, were charged with the murder. The
case was heard by the stipendiary magistrate,
the goldfields commissioner (Robert Rede) and
the assistant commissioner. The evidence was
strong and the public expected a guilty verdict
but the four men were honourably discharged,
despite the dissent of the assistant
commissioner.
Consequently, a public meeting was called
and, on October 17, several thousand miners
gathered, denounced the finding and initiated a
fund to provide reward money for further
evidence. Afterwards, the men began to gather
about the Eureka Hotel. The police were in
attendance but hostility welled up and boiled
over, culminating in the burning down of the
hotel and Bentley's escape on horseback.
Relations with the authorities were further
damaged when three miners were given short
prison sentences for their part in the riot
(there seems to be some suggestion that they
were innocent men, being randomly chosen to set
an example).
Another major meeting was held on 11
November, at Bakery Hill and there the Ballarat
Reform League was established. Inspired by
Chartist aims, the miners sought universal
suffrage, voting by ballot, annual parliaments,
the payment of political representatives, the
abolition of the licensing system, revision of
laws relating to crown land and changes to the
administration of the goldfields.
On 27 November a miners' deputation to
Lieutenant-Governor Hotham requested the release
of the three imprisoned miners. He declined but
supported their desire for enfranchisement,
reminded them that constitutional moves were
afoot to achieve this outcome, said he would
appoint their chosen representative to the
legislative assembly and told them they could
voice their grievances about the licensing
system at a proposed commission of inquiry into
the matter.
Another mass meeting was planned for the 29th
so that the delegation could report back to the
miners. Hotham was told by Commissioner Rede
that he expected trouble and troops were
dispatched to the area. Ominously, there was a
skirmish as they entered Ballaarat on the
evening of the 28th.
The delegation reported favourably about
their meeting with Hotham but the miners decided
to burn their licences at a public bonfire on
Bakery Hill and to protect anyone facing arrest
for being without one. That day the diggers,
probably for the first time, sported their now
famous blue flag adorned with the stars of the
Southern Cross.
On the 30th Rede ordered a licence check. The
police were rebuffed with stones and shots were
fired. Rede called on the military and arrests
were made. The miners elected Peter Lalor, a
prominent figure of the Reform League, as their
commander-in-chief. About 500 men took an oath
to 'fight to defend our rights and liberties'
and set about erecting a stockade on the Eureka
claim.
At any rate, Commissioner Rede and the
infantry captain garnered information about the
defences, including the fact that the numbers
had dwindled to 150 untrained men as some had
left and many were out scouting for food and
ammunition. The size of the encampment suggests
that the diggers felt no urgency to remain
vigilant and in constant attendance, indicating
that they did not expect to be attacked.
In the early hours of 3 December, 152
infantry, 30 cavalry men and their officers, and
100 police approached the stockade by a
surreptitious route. They charged the camp,
where many still slept, and overcame resistance
within about 15 minutes. It seems clear the
troops employed excessive force and gratuitous
violence, needlessly destroying property and
tents. This may be to do with the fact that six
of their number were killed. Peter Lalor claimed
22 miners died and another 12 later recovered
from substantial wounds. 120 prisoners were
taken, although some of the leaders escaped,
including Lalor who went into hiding until a
general amnesty was declared (he later became a
Victorian MP). Most were released but 13 were
accused of high treason. Of these 12 would later
be acquitted and proceedings were dropped
against the 13th. The editor of the Ballarat
Times received a six-month prison sentence for
three counts of seditious libel.
Lieutenant-Governor Hotham appointed the
promised commission of inquiry into the gold
fields on 7 December. In March 1855 it
recommended the abolition of the licensing fee
and the establishment of a Miner's Right
document which cost one pound per annum and
which gave prospectors the title deed to their
claim. It also advocated the opening of crown
land to small landowners and an export duty on
gold. All recommendations were eventually
adopted and the upshot was the greater
democratisation of the polity.
Ballarat Identities
19th-century poet and politician Adam Lindsay
Gordon moved to Ballarat with his family in
October 1867. A keen horseman, he operated a
livery stable behind Craig's Hotel. However, his
stay was a most unhappy one. The stables burned
down, he was injured when he fell from his horse
and his 11-month-old daughter died. He left town
in October 1868 and committed suicide in 1870.
Distinguished public figures who started
their lives at Ballarat were Prime Minister of
Australia James Scullin, Premier of Victoria Sir
Henry Bolte, distinguished long-distance runner
Steve Moneghetti and one of Victoria's first
female poets, 'Jennings Carmichael'.
Poet Bernard O'Dowd, who grew up in Ballarat,
was publishing his material in the Ballarat
Evening Post by the time he was 16. He taught at
St Alipius' School but was replaced owing to his
growing religious skepticism.
Ballarat was also the setting for Australia
Felix (1917) - the first volume of Henry Handel
Richardson's famous literary trilogy: The
Fortunes of Richard Mahoney. Henry Lawson, 'Rolf
Boldrewood', Norman Lindsay and Peter Carey have
also used the city as a setting or subject in
their literary works and Eugene von Guerard
(1811-1901) took to painting the early
goldfields and landscapes. American writer Mark
Twain visited Ballarat in the 1890s and gave
lectures in the Mechanics Institute in Sturt
Street. He too used the city as a setting in his
works, while future US president, Herbert
Hoover, made an unsuccessful search for gold to
the north of Ballarat in 1905.
A man with a less salubrious reputation who
also had associations with the city and district
was bushranger Captain Moonlite (Andrew Scott).
Born in Ireland, Scott arrived in Sydney in
1867, claiming a colourful past with Garibaldi's
red shirts in Italy, in New Zealand's Maori Wars
and in the Union Army during the USA's Civil
War. Well educated and the son of an Anglican
clergyman, he befriended famous churchman John
Dunmore Lang and, in 1868 or 1869, was appointed
as a lay preacher at Egerton, a goldmining
settlement 30 km east of Ballarat (near Gordon).
On 8 May 1869 Ludwig Brunn, the local agent
for the London Chartered Bank, was bailed up by
a masked man with a pistol at the banking
chamber in the main street. Brunn immediately
deduced, from the voice, that it was Preacher
Scott. After 697 pounds in bank notes and a cake
of gold worth 500 pounds were taken, Brunn was
forced to write a note which stated he had done
his best to defend the bank's property and was
forced at gunpoint to comply. The letter was
signed by the thief under the nom de plume
'Captain Moonlite'.
The next day the police informed Scott he was
accused by Brunn. Scott suggested the signature
resembled that of James Simpson, the
superintendent of Scott's Sunday School, at
whose house Brunn was boarding. Brunn and
Simpson were subsequently charged with the theft
although the case against them later collapsed.
Scott went to Sydney where he lived
prodigally and presented himself as a squatter.
He was arrested for fraud and forgery while
setting sail for Fiji in a private yacht and,
despite a brilliant self-defence in court, was
sentenced to 18 months. Upon his release he was
arrested and extradited to Ballarat as new
evidence had arisen over the Egerton robbery
(the sale of the cake of gold was traced back to
him). His arrival at Ballarat caused
considerable excitement and crowds turned up at
the railway station for a glimpse. However,
Scott soon escaped from the newly-built gaol.
He was recaptured two months later and
re-secured at Ballarat Gaol. Although he again
defended himself with considerable flair and
always proclaimed his innocence, he was found
guilty and sentenced by Sir Redmond Barry (who
later sentenced Ned Kelly to death) to 10 years
in prison. After his early release for good
behaviour he gave public lectures on prison
reform issues but, as his fortunes declined, he
became a bushranger (see entry on Wagga Wagga).
Another goldfields visitor was the famous
Lola Montez who danced her 'sensational' Spider
Dance at Ballarat in 1855. For this she was
denounced by Ballarat newspaper editor Harry
Seekamp, prompting her to attack him with a
whip.
Things to see:
![[Top of page]](smlArrow.gif)
Tourist Information
The Ballarat Visitor Information Centre is
located at 39 Sturt St (on the corner with
Albert St). It is an excellent facility and is
open daily. There you can enquire about the
precise dates of local events and obtain
pamphlets detailing the attractions of the
Botanical Gardens and the Ballaarat Old
Cemetery: tel: (03) 5320 5741, or ring toll-free
on (1800) 446 633.
Heritage Buildings
Ballarat is a beautiful and historic city with
wide, tree-lined streets that are replete with
elegant heritage buildings. Thankfully the
Tourist Information Centre have put together a
detailed and excellent self-guided Heritage Walk
which covers the history of the inner city's
streets, buildings and sites. It is not to be
missed.
The fine facade of Her Majesty's Theatre
(1875), at 17 Lydiard St, now fronts the town's
performing arts centre. The theatre was
initially known as the Academy of Music to evade
the negative moral connotations attached to
theatres.
Craig's Hotel, in Lydiard Street South,
evolved from Bath's Hotel which was built in
1853 by Thomas Bath who received the first hotel
licence of the Victorian diggings. The Members
of the Eureka Stockade Royal Commission of
Enquiry opened their commission at Bath's Hotel
shortly after the Eureka Rebellion.
Walter Craig bought the hotel in 1857. He
added the present three-storey Lydiard St brick
facade in 1862, the corner tower and
three-storey western section in 1890 and the
portico in 1891. In 1867 the hotel was made the
headquarters of the visiting Duke of Edinburgh.
Noted Australian poet Adam Lindsay Gordon ran
Craig's Livery Stables in 1867-68.
In 1865, during the American Civil War,
Australia was visited by the Confederate
warship, the Shenandoah. A group of officers
visited Ballarat on February 10 and a ball was
held in Craig's Hotel to celebrate the occasion.
American writer Mark Twain also stayed at
Craig's Hotel during a visit in the 1890s.
The Eureka Trail
The Eureka Trail was developed in 1996. It is a
3.5-km walk which retraces the route taken by
the police and soldiers from the government camp
to the Eureka Stockade in 1854. The intention
was to take the miners by surprise so they
followed an indirect path through gullies,
rivers and hills which is now denoted by
directional bollards and interpretive signs. It
takes in the fine Victorian architecture of
Lydiard St (the site of the original government
camp), the Eastern Oval, bluestone channels, the
banks of the Yarrowee River, the Black Hill
Lookout and Reserve and old miners' cottages in
Ballarat East and it provides linkages with the
Yarrowee River Trail and the Great Dividing
Trail. The trail starts at the post office in
Lydiard St and concludes at the Eureka Stockade
Centre. For further information contact the
Information Centre, the Eureka Stockade Centre
(03 5333 1854)or ring (03) 5320 5500.
Ballarat Gold Heritage Trail
This trail unites 15 sites of significance
relating to the discovery of gold at Ballarat.
Interpretive information is provided. See the
information centre for details.
Gold Monument
Out the front of the centre is the 'Gold
Monument' which commemorates the first gold
strike in the area on 21 August 1851, at Poverty
Point. It notes record yields at local mines and
record nuggets. Indeed there is a replica of the
Welcome Nugget which, at almost 69 kg (99% of it
pure gold), was the second-largest solid gold
nugget to be found in the world. The Cornish
miners who found it in June 1858 christened it
with a bottle of beer, loaded it on a
wheelbarrow and took it to the Ballarat
Treasury. After it was sold for 10 500 pounds it
was put on display with the entrance fee going
to charity. From there it journeyed to Melbourne
and on to London where crowds paid to see it at
the Crystal Palace before it was minted.
The Ballarat Fine Art Gallery
Close by the information centre, at 40 Lydiard
St, Ballarat North, is the Ballarat Fine Art
Gallery. Established in 1884, it is Australia's
largest and oldest purpose-built provincial
gallery. The early collection was displayed in
rented premises until the foundation stone of
the present building was laid to commemorate
Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.
Today it boasts a major collection covering
the history of Australian art, from colonial to
contemporary, with a special goldfields
collection that includes works by Eugene Von
Guerard who painted the local fields in the
early 1850s. There are particularly strong
collections of material from the Heidelberg
School and the Lindsay family.
The Lindsay Gallery features a reconstruction
of the sitting room from the Lindsay family home
at Creswick, complete with original furnishings
and objets d'art gathered when the home was
demolished in 1966. There are also paintings,
drawings and woodcuts by Norman Lindsay and
other members of that talented family, along
with the painting 'Ajax and Cassandra' which
Norman Lindsay cited as one of the greatest
influences on his work. Other artists in the
gallery include Tom Roberts, Walter Wither, E.
Phillips Fox, William Dobell, James Gleeson, Ian
Fairweather, Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale and
Fred Williams.
Since 1895 the gallery has also possessed an
original Eureka Flag which flew over the
stockade until it was attacked by government
forces. The troopers took the flag and damaged
it at a celebratory victory party. It remained
in the possession of trooper John King until
1895 when his widow donated it to the gallery.
Considered the first truly Australian flag, it
is still regarded as a potent symbol of
democracy and working-class causes today (for
example, it could clearly be seen at the 70
000-strong protest against the government's
industrial relations legislation held in
Melbourne in August 1999).
The gallery also houses fine collections of
prints and drawings (including material from
Captain Cook's voyage), together with costumes,
sculpture, furniture, ceramics, an unusual
selection of medieval and Renaissance
manuscripts, oriental rugs, together with some
English and European paintings and decorative
arts from the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries. There is an admission fee which
includes a free daily tour at 2 p.m. The Gallery
is open daily from 10.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. , tel:
(03) 5331 5622. There is also a 24-hour free
info-line, tel: (1900) 937 425.
|
| Panning for
gold in the creek which runs through
Sovereign Hill |
Sovereign Hill
Sovereign Hill is the town's primary tourist
attraction, drawing over 500 000 visitors a
year. It is a 35-acre open-air museum
established in 1970 near the site of the first
gold strike at Ballarat and on the site of the
Sovereign Quartz Mining Company which sank a
shaft of 216 metres near the summit of this
hill.
This non-profit organisation seeks to
recreate aspects of Ballarat as it was in the
goldmining heyday of the 1850s. Thus each of the
60 buildings is a duplicate of an original
structure, as photographed, drawn or painted at
the time. 250 actors in authentic costumes
populate the historical park on a rostered
basis. They engage in activities appropriate to
the era, employ 1850s technology and bespeak
contemporary social values and attitudes. Even
the sounds of Sovereign Hill are what you might
have expected to hear at the time - working
steam engines, stamper batteries, horses'
hooves, passenger coaches etc.
The complex is essentially divided into four
parts - the Diggings 1851-1855, the Township
1854-1861, the Chinese Village 1859, and the
Sovereign Quartz Mine, covering the period1861
to 1918.
The Red Hill Gully Diggings reflect the
earliest days when prospectors arrived from
around the world to garner the alluvial gold.
You can see the simple dwellings they lived in,
the types of goldmining machinery they employed
and the gold commissioner's camp. Visitors are
encouraged to pan for gold in the creek. Gold
can be purchased at the Waterloo Store and the
Lemonade Tent sells old-fashioned lemonade on
Sundays and on holidays in the summer.
The Township is a recreation of the emerging
city indicating the support services that
emerged with the influx of people to the
goldfields. The shops of Main St sell the types
of goods that would have been available in the
1850s - ironware, tin and brassware, saddlery,
pottery, woodworks, confectioneries, printed
material, draperies and various grocery and
toiletry items.
You can take a ride on a coach from 10.30
a.m. daily, watch craftsmen working at
traditional pursuits (such as sweet-making,
baking, horse-shoeing, pill-rolling, coach-wheel
making and wood-turning) with period tools, have
your photograph taken in period dress at the Red
Hill Photographic Rooms, and visit the stables,
newspaper office, apothecaries, a period
cottage, a slab hut, the tentmaker, the watch
and clockmakers, the timber merchants, bank,
gold office, mechanics' institute and free
library, foundry, furniture warehouse and fire
station. There are also free shows in the
theatre on most days.
|
| People
outside the pub in the main street,
Sovereign Hill |
At this time, between one-sixth and
one-quarter of the population was Chinese
although they were forced into six separate
protectorates or villages from 1855 due to the
hostility of the Europeans. Especially appointed
government protectors determined that this was
the best way to avoid the kind of conflict which
generated the Lambing Flat riots (see entry on
Young).
As the Chinese were forbidden from camping
within 250 metres of a European dwelling the
Chinese Village (a recreation of the original
Golden Point Village) is at a remove from the
main street of the complex. There is a Chinese
store, a scribe, a herbalist, miners' tents and
a Joss House (temple).
TheSovereign Quartz Mine reflects the period
when mining shifted from small-scale alluvial
and shaft mining to corporate deep-lead mining
aimed at extracting the gold which was buried
deep underground in quartz reefs (c.1860-1918).
The dominant feature is the enormous poppet head
and opposite is a Mine Information Centre which
can shed light on the fine collection of working
steam-driven machinery such as the stamper
battery, the engine house, the winder and the
Cornish beam pump. You can also take a tour
below ground through a 600-metre shaft. Here you
will see displays and dioramas illustrating the
chronological development of quartz mining
technology and the conditions under which miners
worked. When the underground tunnel was being
dug the workings of the North Normanby mine were
discovered and incorporated into the present
mine display. The Secret Chamber offers a
multimedia 10-minute special effects
presentation to tell the story of the Chinese on
Ballarat's goldfields (also available in
Mandarin and Cantonese) and, at the Sovereign
Quartz Mining Company Gold Smelting Works,
visitors can witness molten gold being poured
into a bar or ingot.
Another attraction is the automated
sound-and-light show called 'Blood on the
Southern Cross' which takes place across the
whole complex each evening. It recreates the
sights and sounds associated with the Eureka
Stockade Rebellion, including the burning of the
Eureka Hotel. Bookings are essential, tel: (03)
5333 5777.
Moderately-priced accommodation is available
for those who wish to stay overnight. It is
located on the hill overlooking the town in
recreations of buildings from the Government
Camp (military barracks, courthouse, officers'
quarters, superintendent's quarters and The
Residence) with tents for the more adventurous.
The complex includes a proper post office, a
licensed hotel, a kiosk, a restaurant, a gift
shop in the main car park and a bookshop in the
entrance building that specialises in
Australiana and Victoriana.
There are several places to eat on Main St
(the New York and Hope bakeries, the United
States Hotel, the Universal Transit Office and
the Refreshment Building). There is also a
picnic area with barbecue facilities beside the
post office dam and you can get a pass-out to
visit Sovereign Hill Lookout where there are
fine views and more picnic facilities.
Guided tours are available of the Quartz
Mine, the Diggings and the Chinese Village, and
there are demonstrations of musket firing,
sweet-making, horse-shoeing, working horses,
gold-mining machinery, pill-rolling,
wood-turning, blasting and a pouring of molten
gold worth $50 000. Another attraction is the
arrival of the 40th Regiment in Main Street.
Aside from the standard daily entry fee you
can purchase a Welcome Pass which provides
unlimited access over two days to Sovereign
Hill, the Gold Museum, the Eureka Stockade
Centre and the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery (see
separate entries).
Throughout the Victorian school holidays,
Sovereign Hill offers free family activities,
such as a pantomime at 2 p.m. in the Victoria
Theatre. The complex is located in Bradshaw St,
just south of the city centre, adjacent Geelong
Rd. It is open daily from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00
p.m., tel: (03) 5331 1944.
Gold Museum
Opposite Sovereign Hill, in Bradshaw St, is the
Gold Museum which comprises the Gold Pavilion,
The Historical Pavilion and the Buckland
Gallery. The Gold Pavilion came about when a
local, Paul Simon, sought both to display his
personal collection of gold coins (ducats,
denarii, doubloons etc), nuggets and alluvial
samples (garnered from local creeks) and to set
up a display examining the history of gold in
relation to Ballarat and human society
generally. Another section deals with the
presence of the Chinese on the local goldfields
and features bronze and porcelain ware,
watercolours, jewellery and clothing.
The Historical Pavilion contains changing
displays relating to the history of Ballarat
from pre-colonial to modern times.
The whole is housed within a modern building
with large plate windows which incorporate the
surrounding landscape into the display. The
museum is open daily from 9.30 a.m. to 5.20 p.m.
(hours are extended in school holidays), tel:
(03) 5331 1944. If you have purchased a ticket
for Sovereign Hill it entitles you to entry into
the Gold Museum or, if you do not wish to visit
Sovereign Hill, you can pay for access to the
Museum alone. The Gold Museum is also included
in the Welcome Pass system (see entry to
Sovereign Hill). Group tours can be arranged by
request.
Eureka Stockade Centre
Slightly further along the road, (at the corner
of Eureka St and Stawell St) is the Eureka
Stockade Centre - a striking building, set
amidst fine lawns and gardens, which features an
enormous sail-like Eureka Flag fluttering from a
50-metre mast. It has been erected in the
vicinity of the 1854 Eureka Stockade Rebellion
and its walk-through galleries use
state-of-the-art multimedia technology to
illustrate the Eureka story. There is a cafe and
gift shop. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from
9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. and can be seen with a
Welcome Pass (see entry on Sovereign Hill), tel:
(03) 5333 1854.
The Ballarat Wildlife and Reptile Park
The Ballarat Wildlife Park is located nearby, at
the corner of Fussell and York Sts, in Ballarat
East. It occupies 16 acres of peppermint gum
woodland and features native animals such as
koalas, giant tortoises, over 70 free-range
kangaroos, the largest crocodile and alligator
collection in southern Australia, wombats, a
colony of Tasmanian Devils, goannas, snakes and
such native birds as emus and wedge-tailed
eagles. There are guided educational tours each
day at 11.00 a.m. and koala photo sessions from
10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. daily. Feedings
demonstrations involve crocodiles, wombats and
Tasmanian devils. There is a reptile house, a
giant open-air aviary and the Australian Nature
Education Centre which features an array of
small native creatures (bearded dragons,
blue-tongued lizards and other reptiles, frogs,
spiders and insects such as the giant stick
insect). Facilities include picnic-barbecue
areas, a kiosk and a souvenir shop. It is open
daily from 9.00 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., tel: (03)
5333 5933.
The Ballarat East Locomotive Depot
Situated at the corner of Humffray St North and
Corbett St, this historic railway complex
features a bluestone goods shed (1862), 1890s V
Class passenger rolling-stock, a restored
Phoenix steam locomotive Y 112, and a workshop
and maintenance depot. It is not open to the
public.
Lake Wendouree and Paddlesteamers
Lake Wendouree covers 238 ha with a foreshore
area of 16 ha. It is 6 km in circumference and
has a maximum depth of two metres. Located just
to the north-west of the city centre it was once
a prominent feature of the landscape to the
Wathawurung people who, along with large numbers
of kangaroo and emus, camped on its foreshores.
It was originally known to Europeans as Black
Swamp (as it was dark with dense reed growths)
then Yuilles Swamp (after William Yuille who
took up the first land here in 1838) but was
named Wendouree in the first 1851 survey. Legend
has it that, when Yuille asked an Aboriginal
woman what the swamp was called she replied 'wendaaree'
meaning 'go away'.
In 1851 a dam was built across the lake
outlet and it was sometimes used as a water
supply to the people of Ballarat. Wendouree
Parade was first surveyed as a road reserve in
1855 and 13 hotels were soon located thereon.
Bluestone quarries, flour mills, a lemonade
factory, plant nurseries and four large mining
companies were established around the lake. In
1858 an underground pipeline was laid through to
the waterworks and carters filled their wagons
with lake water then sold it on the goldfields.
In subsequent years the prolific reeds were cut
back, the lake bed was deepened, and the gums
were cut down and replaced by English trees. The
first steamboat on the lake (1865) heralded a
mania for boating.
Today the lake is framed by mature elms,
oaks, pines and willows and encircled by a 6-km
bluestone walking and cycling path (locally born
long-distance runner Steve Moneghetti holds the
record for the fastest lap). It is full of water
birds (166 species) and used for aquatic sports
such as rowing, canoeing, kayaking, sailboarding
and yachting. In fact, in 1956, it was the site
of the Olympic rowing, canoeing and kayaking
events. It is well-stocked with trout and redfin
for the pleasure of anglers but swimming is not
recommended.
A wetland walk incorporates interpretive
signs outlining the fauna and flora of the lake
and foreshore (audio-visual kits of animal and
plant life are available from the Ballarat Field
Naturalist's Club).
There are electric barbecues, a childrens'
playground, the Lake Lodge kiosk and function
centre (1890), the Almieda Pavilion (1907 - a
former penny arcade), boatsheds, a jetty,
rowing, yachting, canoeing and fly-fishing
clubs, the Lake View Hotel (1875), a rockery
(1904), View Point (constructed in 1881) and
toilets.
Ballarat Tramway Museum
Double-decker, horse-drawn trams began carrying
visitors to the Botanical Gardens in 1887 and
the trams were only replaced by buses in
September1971. 15 of the old trams (along with
other memorabilia of the era) can be seen at the
Tramway Museum which is open weekends, public
and school holidays within the Botanic Gardens.
A major tourist attraction is the vintage
electric tramway which offers rides along a
1.3-km track, on board an 80-year-old tram which
winds through the Gardens and around Lake
Wendouree on weekends, and public and school
holidays from midday to 5.00 p.m., tel: (03)
5334 1580. For more information check out
www.btm.org.au.
Ballarat Botanical Gardens
On the western side of the lake are the
40-hectare Botanical Gardens. They were created
in 1858-59 on what had been the Ballarat police
horse paddock. The soil for the gardens was
carted from what was then Yuilles Swamp.
The Robert Clarke Conservatory is a
state-of-the-art, free-standing, fully-glazed
and unconventionally-designed walk-through
floral conservatory which, from March of each
year, showcases the city's famous tuberous
begonia displays. Six different displays are
mounted each year with the landscaping
completely redesigned for each exhibition. The
Robert Clarke Centre also incorporates the
Gardens Shop, the Interpretative Gallery, a
visitor information service and a function room
which is for hire.
Other horticultural features of the garden
are a fernery, the water lily pond, a nursery,
an azalea garden, a camellia garden, the floral
clock (1953), the enormous trees of
Sequoiadendron Ave (planted from 1863 to 1874),
Horsechestnut Ave, Californian redwoods, the
swamp cypresses on either side of the statue
pavilion, the turkey oak at the entrance of
Prime Ministers Ave, the druid's oak behind Adam
Lindsay Gordon Cottage, a rockery, the sensory
garden with its huge bluegum, the dahlia garden
(in bloom from March to Easter), the weeping
elms near the wishing well, the rose garden,
autumn's chrysanthemums, winter's cyclamen,
spring's schizanthus and spring bulbs, summer's
flower displays and two major floral beddings
created each year by the planting of over 80 000
seedlings (at their peak from March to October).
Another significant aspect of the Gardens is
the statuary. The Prime Ministers Avenue (set
within Horsechestnut Ave), for example, features
bronze busts of all Australian prime ministers.
The Statuary Pavilion contains allegorical
figures donated by Thomas Stoddart and J.
Russell Thomson who made their fortunes on the
local goldfields. Many were collected in Genoa
and made of Carrara marble. A highlight is
Benzoni's Flight from Pompeii.
Other attractions are the childrens'
playgrounds, the Claxton Monument at the
fernery, the intricate cast ironwork of the
Morey Gates which frame a pair of 19th-century
marble lions, and the Craft Cottage.
The latter was in fact the domicile of poet
and politician Adam Lindsay Gordon who had a
most unhappy stay at Ballarat after his arrival
in October 1867. He initially ran a livery
stable to the rear of Craig's Hotel and lived in
the cottage which stood adjacent. In March 1868
the stables burned down and he was injured in a
fall from his horse. The following month his
daughter died at age 11 months. In October 1868
he left town, committing suicide in 1870. The
cottage was relocated in 1934 and now houses a
collection of local crafts. It is open from
10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. daily from October to
April. The rest of the year it open on weekends
and public holidays, tel: (03) 5320 5643.
The Gardens are open daily from 9.00 a.m. to
5.00 p.m. Entry is free but, if you wish to
visit the Robert Clarke complex there is a $3
charge for adults (accompanying children under
14 are free). Guided tours are available on the
second Sunday of the month (at 2.00 p.m.) and
Arts in the Park provides free entertainment on
Sundays from January to March. For further
information ring (03) 5320 7444 or visit the
website which is 'Info@begonia.ballarat.net.au'.
Hymettus Cottage Garden
Close by the park is Hymettus - a lovely formal
private garden featuring geometric flower
arrangements. The house was built in 1900 from
monies gained when the owner laid a successful
bet on 'Hymettus' in the Caulfield Cup. It is
located at 8 Cardigan St which runs off
Wendouree Parade and it is open from 10.00 a.m.
to 6:30 p.m. in November, February and March, on
all holiday long weekends and at other times by
appointment, tel: (03) 5339 4718.
Ballaarat Old Cemetery
Just around the corner (at the intersection of
Macarthur St and Creswick Rd) is the Ballaarat
Old Cemetery. There are special monuments which
denote the resting place of the soldiers and
miners who were killed in the Eureka Stockade
Rebellion. The Eureka Graves Visitors' Centre
features a touch screen computer listing these
burials, along with Chinese interments and the
names of 120 000 people interred at the
crematorium and at both the old and new
cemeteries. There is a display explaining the
significance of the Eureka graves and two
brochures are available: one lists 30 important
graves and the other tells the history of the
Eureka monuments. They can be obtained from the
Tourist Information Centre. The cemetery is open
daily from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Entry is free
though there is a fee for tours, tel: (03) 5332
1469.
Avenue of Honour and Arch of Victory
Established between 1917 and 1919, the Avenue of
Honour is Victoria's oldest and longest known
memorial avenue. This 22-km stretch of road was
originally lined with 3771 (now reduced to 3332)
trees: one for every person that enlisted and
fought overseas in World War I, regardless of
rank. Adjacent each tree is a bronze plaque
bearing one service person's name, together with
their unit and tree number. The Avenue extends
westwards from the Arch of Victory in the
western suburb of Alfredton along the
Ballarat-Burrumbeet Rd to Lake Burrumbeet where
it changes direction and heads north, crossing
the Western Freeway Bypass and continuing along
Avenue Road to Weatherboard-Learmonth Road.
The Arch of Victory is a 17-metre high
structure, floodlit at night, which straddles
Sturt St. It was funded by female employees of
Eleanor Lucas's lingerie factory and was opened
in 1920 by the Prince of Wales. The associated
Temple of Remembrance is situated at the
entrance of the Avenue of Honour. It houses a
Book of Remembrance which contains the names of
every person in whose honour a tree has been
planted.
Ballarat Aviation Museum
The museum houses a collection of vintage,
military and classic aircraft, along with
aviation memorabilia such as radios, uniforms
and engines. It is located at the Ballarat
Airport which is located just off the Sunraysia
Highway at the north-western edge of town and it
is open weekends and public holidays from 1.00
p.m. to 5.00 p.m. or by appointment, tel: (03)
5339 5016.
Kirk and Gong Gong Reservoirs
Five minutes drive from the city centre, along
the Daylesford Rd, is the turnoff into the
gardens of Kirk Reservoir which blend
beautifully with the aquatic elements of the
area. They feature over 100 indigenous species,
some dating back to 1863. There are picnic and
recreational areas with dense areas of fern,
stonewalling and interpretive signs.
A feature of the reservoir is the Water Wise
Garden which is intended to provide information
about effective water usage and planting methods
and, to that end, it features a wide variety of
commonly found plants in various watering and
planting conditions to demonstrate their
response to each variation. Guided tours and
information days are conducted, tel: (03) 5320
3100.
Across the road is Gong Gong Reservoir Park
which features replantings of mostly naturally
occurring natives. There are scenic views,
picnic facilities, toilets, bushwalking areas
and some good fishing (subject to permit).
Kryal Castle
Kryal Castle is a type of medieval theme park
based in a recreated medieval castle (allegedly
the third-largest castle in the world) which is
located 8 km east of Ballarat on the Western
Highway (Forbes Rd) at Warrenheip. It comes
complete with moat, drawbridge, portcullis,
arena, dungeons, 'graveyard' and keep.
There are medieval re-enactments (e.g.,
whippings and hangings), which occur four times
daily on Sundays, school and public holidays,
three times daily on Saturdays and once on
weekdays during the school term. The 'Cocktails
in the Graveyard' theatre restaurant (based on
medieval themes) is held in the Tavern, there
are magic shows and medieval displays (armour,
weapons, heraldry, trophies, tapestries,
taxidermy, the crown jewels, a Magna Carta
display), a maze, stationary models, a
glassblower, a Trojan horse, 'Royal'
accommodation for guests and, for weddings and
functions, a 'baronial banquet hall', 'Gothic
chapel' and honeymoon suite, tel: (03) 5334
7388.
James Egan's Gallery
James Egan's studio-gallery is located within
his cottage residence which is surrounded by
numerous pheasants, peacocks, tropical and
native birds. His works have been exhibited
around the world. To get there take the Bungaree
turnoff from the Western Highway about 9 km east
of the city centre. Once in Bungaree get onto
Lesters Rd where you will find the gallery, tel:
(03) 5334 0307.
Yuulong Lavender Estate
Yuulong is a lavender plantation set on a
hilltop in a bushland setting overlooking the
valley. The lavender flowers in summer and the
farm is open daily from 10.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
in January and from Wednesday to Sunday for the
rest of the year. You can watch the harvesting
by sickle from December to March, inspect the
herb and cottage garden, purchase fresh lavender
in season and dried lavender flowers all year
round. A range of other lavender products are
available, along with cottage plants, skin-care
products, crafts and light refreshments. A
farming and music festival is held annually. It
is located on the Yendon Rd. Head east of
Ballarat along the Western Highway for 20 km
then turn off for Gordon and its 8 km south at
Mt Egerton (or take the Yendon No.2 Road from
the Midland Highway), tel: (03) 5368 9453.
Enfield State Park
Enfield State Park is located about 22 km south
of Ballarat via the Colac Rd (head out of
Ballarat along Albert St). 3 km south of Enfield
is Misery Creek Rd, the point of entry into the
park which is currently recovering from a major
bushfire in 1995. There are fine wildflower
displays in spring and plenty of eastern grey
kangaroos, koalas and echidnae amidst the
stringybark and peppermint gum.
Picnic facilities can be found at Surface
Point - the site of a Chinese mining settlement
in the 1860s. From here there are signposted
walking tracks to Enfield, Long Gully and Bald
Hills.
Lake Burrumbeet
Lake Burrumbeet is 22 km north-west of Ballarat,
adjacent the Western Highway. It is a good spot
for water sports and there are scenic picnic
areas and excellent trout fishing opportunities.
It is also the most significant eel-fishing
ground in the state. The eels spawn in the Coral
Sea, off the North Queensland coast, then head
south and enter the country's lakes and rivers.
Lake Learmonth
Lake Lear month is located 19 km north-west of
Ballarat, just off the Sunraysia Highway. It is
a popular venue for boating, swimming and
fishing in summer.
Trout Farms
Learmonth Trout and Fauna Park is located on the
Sunraysia Hwy at Learmonth (tel: 03 5343 2287)
and Mitchell Park Trout Farm is on Wiggins Rd
near the Ballarat Airport, tel: (03) 5334 6523.
Tours
Ballarat Taxis offer two tours: one of the city
and one which takes in the area's two wineries
(see entry on
Buninyong). They operate any day by
appointment and do pick-ups from the door, tel:
(03) 5331 3355.
Events and Festivals
Ballarat is home to a large array of annual
events and festivals. The Royal South Street
Competition, for example, is Australia's oldest
Eisteddfod competition. It is held from August
to November.
Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields is a series
of musical performances held in historic
churches and buildings around town during
January. The Buninyong Gold King Festival is
held in February and the Ballarat Antique Fair
and Begonia Festival in early March. The latter
focuses on enormous begonia displays at the
Robert Clarke Centre in the Botanical Gardens.
The festivities also include a floral carpet,
made from 80 000 flowers, a street parade, art
shows, music, theatre and fireworks. The
Ballarat Heritage Festival is held in late March
and early April.
Springfest is held around Lake Wendouree in
November. It entails around 1000 stalls selling
local arts, crafts, food, wine, flowers and
plants with plenty of free entertainment - jazz,
vocal and orchestral music, camel, train and
motorbike rides, jumping castles, clowns,
magicians, celebrities etc. The Ballarat Cup
Carnival and Ballarat Show are also held in
November and the Eureka Week Celebrations in
late November and early December.
