About Ballarat

Ballarat was founded during the gold rush of the early 1850's. So explosive was its initial population growth that in one year it grew from a couple of camp sites to 20,000 and was therefore proclaimed a town.

One of the most historic events that has occurred in Ballarat is the uprising of the local gold miners in the mid 1850's. They were protesting against the gold licences they were required to posses to search for gold on a specific piece of land. This uprising culminated in the miners setting up a stockade and burning their licences. Government soldiers stormed the stockade on the 3rd of December 1854 during which six troopers were killed and one hundred and fourteen miners arrested. Six months later, legislation passed to give the miners a fairer deal. The site of this uprising, know as the Eureka Stockade, is now tourist attraction and the newly built Eureka Centre allows visitors to experience this historic event.

Today Ballarat is Victoria's largest inland city, and home to companies such as Mars Confectionery, McCains Foods, Bendix Mintex, Timken and Selkirk Bricks. Gold is still a primary industry, as well as potatoes, wool and meat.

Population

Ballarat is now home to some 84,500 people.

Climate

The average temperature for Ballarat ranges from 24.9 degrees (c) in January to 10.0 degrees (c) in July. Because of its elevation above sea level (450m), temperatures are about 2-3 degrees (c) below that of the Victorian capital city of Melbourne.