Ballarat, Victoria

Ballarat (pronounced /ˈbæləˌræt/; formerly spelt "Ballaarat") is a regional city in Victoria, Australia, and Victoria's largest inland city. It is well-known for its history and heritage and is a major regional centre in the Goldfields region of Victoria.

It is approximately 105 kilometres (65 mi) north-west of the state capital Melbourne. The Ballarat area had a measured population of 85,197 at the 2006 Census. At 30 June 2008 the estimated resident population for the same area was 91,787. The city lies at 441 metres (1,450 ft) AHD and consists of an area of approximately 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi), with the city occupying a built up area of approximately 75 square kilometres (29 sq mi).

Gold was discovered near Ballarat in 1851, and the influx of over 10,000 miners in less than a year transformed it from a pastoral town into Victoria's largest settlement. The Victorian gold rush occurred throughout the 1850s and 1860s whilst gold could be readily extracted from the surface. The city's growth slowed after the 1880s and Melbourne quickly overshadowed it in importance. However, Ballarat has endured as a major inland regional centre and tourist destination, having retained much of its Victorian era heritage, a unique culture, and is highly regarded for its grand heritage listed public and private buildings, monuments, statues and expansive gardens.

Statues and monuments

The city also has the greatest concentration of public statuary in any Australian city with many parks and streets featuring sculptures and statues dating from the 1860s to the present day.

Some of the other unique memorials located in the Sturt Street Gardens in the middle of Ballarat's main boulevard include a bandstand situated in the heart of the city that was funded and built by the City of Ballarat Band in 1913 as a tribute to the bandsmen of the RMS Titanic, a fountain dedicated to the early explorers Burke and Wills, and those dedicated to Monarchs and those who have played pivotal roles in the development of the city and its rich social fabric. The most recent memorial is dedicated to a war hero Sir Albert Ernest Coates. Sir Albert Ernest Coates was a soldier and a surgeon born at Mt Pleasant in Ballarat who served as a medical orderly at Gallipoli, trained as a doctor on his return and was worked tirelessly with minimal resources to save countless lives in Prisoner of War camps during World War II.

In late 2006, the Ballarat "Big Miner" was erected at the eastern entrance to Ballarat. The larger-than-life statue of a miner holding a pick and pan greets visitors as they approach the city from the east.

Parks and gardens

The Ballarat Botanical Gardens until recently were amongst the finest Botanical Gardens in Australia with extensive varieties of native and introduced species of plants and trees. The Gardens have been stressed and significantly underplanted by the caretakers due to stesses imposed by an enduring drought that has affected the region for 13 years. The gardens are also home to many heritage listed trees and contains a mostly non-native, European mix of trees some planted many years ago.

Lake Wendouree hosted the rowing events for the 1956 Summer Olympics, and is normally a large recreational lake that was created out of former wetlands. The Lake has also recently been stressed by the drought and plans are well advanced to address water supply issues with a permanent solution. The gardens are home to the annual Ballarat Begonia Festival, and feature a modern glasshouse and horticultural centre. Also of note is the Prime Minister's Avenue which features bronze busts of every Australian Prime Minister.

The town is also home to the award-winning tourist park Sovereign Hill, a recreated 1850s gold mining settlement that is rated amongst one of the best tourism theme parks in the world.

Ballarat Wildlife Park a popular tourist attraction covers 32 acres (130,000 m²) and includes a large reptile collection.

Source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballarat,_Victoria