Ballarat (pop. 105,348) is the largest inland city in Victoria, Australia. The city was a center of the Australian gold rushes of the 1800’s.
The official spelling of the city’s name is Ballaarat, from two Aboriginal words meaning resting place. Ballarat lies about 70 miles (112 kilometers) west of Melbourne and is an important road and railway junction for the state of Victoria.
Farmers seeking pastures for their flocks settled the Ballarat area in the late 1830’s. The first gold find at Ballarat was made by Thomas Regan in August 1851. By September, gold licenses were being issued, and by 1853, more than 20,000 miners of all nationalities worked the diggings.
Ballarat was the scene of the Eureka Stockade, Australia’s only civil insurrection. The repressive license fees and lack of parliamentary representation fueled miners’ resentment. On Dec. 3, 1854, miners clashed with police and troops. About 30 miners and 6 soldiers died as a result, and many more were wounded. As a consequence of the rebellion, reforms demanded by the miners were passed. The rebel leader, Peter Lalor, was elected to Parliament by Ballarat in 1855.
In 1870, wild speculation caused a recession and collapse of the mining industry and the population decreased by more than 40 percent. The last mine closed in 1918, and industries dependent on mining were adapted to other kinds of manufacturing.
