Ballarat East, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Ballarat East, is a suburb of Ballarat
in Victoria
, Australia
. Ballarat East covers a large area east (and also north) of the CBD. It is the oldest area in Ballarat and was once also a municipality known as the Ballarat East Town Council between 1859 and 1921. The population of Ballarat East at the 2006 census
was 4,995 making it the fifth most populated in the Ballarat urban area.
The Ballarat East goldfield, which consisted of three distinct areas known as Ballarat East, Ballarat West and Nerrina, produced over 1.9 million ounces of gold from vein systems and over 16 million ounces from adjacent alluvial deposits. At the turn of the twentieth century, these alluvial goldfields were the richest ever opened. As these surface deposits were exhausted, the quartz reefs at deep levels were exploited and several mines worked at depths exceeding 600 metres.
Main Street developed into the principal commercial area in the Ballarat district. Its mostly tents and timber buildings were destroyed by a series of fires during the 1860s and the commercial area shifted to the planned area of Ballarat West, specifically Sturt and Lydiard Streets.
Ballarat East had its own railway station in the 1860s (only the goods sheds remain), built shortly after Ballarat West's station. It became an important junction for branch lines before being closed in the 1960s and its platforms demolished.
The East Ballarat Town Council was amalgamated with Ballarat West Town Council in 1920-1921 to become the City of Ballarat. After this time there was indecision as to how to use the old hall. In 1927 the Ballarat Teachers College moved there however during the great depression the town hall was mostly unused and was finally demolished in 1936 after years of speculation of its use as a girls school or headquarters for the Ballarat Historical Society. The gates to the Town Hall's once extensive gardens remain.
and cricket
matches. The stadium is home to the East Point Football Club
of the Ballarat Football League
and also the Golden Point Cricket Club and has also been mooted as a potential Australian Football League
venue. The recreational facility also includes netball
courts and clubs and the lawn bowls club, Ballarat East Bowling Club.
Golfers play at the course of the Mount Xavier Golf Club on Fortune Street.
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Ballarat East covers a large area east (and also north) of the CBD. It is the oldest area in Ballarat and was once also a municipality known as the Ballarat East Town Council between 1859 and 1921. The population of Ballarat East at the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
was 4,995 making it the fifth most populated in the Ballarat urban area.
History
The discovery of goldfields in 1851 led to heavy immigration. In 1854, in their resistance of an arbitrary tax, gold miners in the area came into armed conflict with the authorities. A commission was appointed to investigate their grievances and a charter was granted to the town in 1855. Ballarat East Post Office opened on 1 December 1857 and was replaced by the Bakery Hill office in 1992.The Ballarat East goldfield, which consisted of three distinct areas known as Ballarat East, Ballarat West and Nerrina, produced over 1.9 million ounces of gold from vein systems and over 16 million ounces from adjacent alluvial deposits. At the turn of the twentieth century, these alluvial goldfields were the richest ever opened. As these surface deposits were exhausted, the quartz reefs at deep levels were exploited and several mines worked at depths exceeding 600 metres.
Main Street developed into the principal commercial area in the Ballarat district. Its mostly tents and timber buildings were destroyed by a series of fires during the 1860s and the commercial area shifted to the planned area of Ballarat West, specifically Sturt and Lydiard Streets.
Municipal status, Town Hall and Civic Centre
Ballarat East was one of the first areas of Ballarat to gain municipal status. In 1859 the newly formed Ballarat East Town Council acquisioned land in what was to become the Barkly Street civic area and in 1861 Dec 26 the foundation stone was laid for the Ballarat East Town Hall which was built in a Renaissance Revival architecture style and set in formal gardens. It was completed the following year along with the Ballarat East Free Library next door and the Ballarat fire station, a new headquarters for the fire brigade formed in 1856) was erected a few years later in 1864.Ballarat East had its own railway station in the 1860s (only the goods sheds remain), built shortly after Ballarat West's station. It became an important junction for branch lines before being closed in the 1960s and its platforms demolished.
The East Ballarat Town Council was amalgamated with Ballarat West Town Council in 1920-1921 to become the City of Ballarat. After this time there was indecision as to how to use the old hall. In 1927 the Ballarat Teachers College moved there however during the great depression the town hall was mostly unused and was finally demolished in 1936 after years of speculation of its use as a girls school or headquarters for the Ballarat Historical Society. The gates to the Town Hall's once extensive gardens remain.
Sport
At its furthest west point, East Ballarat is home to the Eastern Oval, one of Ballarat's oldest and largest enclosed stadiums which hosts Australian rules footballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
matches. The stadium is home to the East Point Football Club
East Point Football Club
The East Point Football Club are an Australian rules football club which compete in the Ballarat Football League.East Point was formed by a merger between East Ballarat and Golden Point....
of the Ballarat Football League
Ballarat Football League
The Ballarat Football League is an Australian rules football competition that operates in the Ballarat region of Victoria, Australia.The competition formed in 1893 as the Ballarat Football Association and was renamed Ballarat Football League in 1908 and was briefly known as the Ballarat-Wimmera...
and also the Golden Point Cricket Club and has also been mooted as a potential Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
venue. The recreational facility also includes netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
courts and clubs and the lawn bowls club, Ballarat East Bowling Club.
Golfers play at the course of the Mount Xavier Golf Club on Fortune Street.
See also
- Electoral district of Ballarat EastElectoral district of Ballarat EastBallarat East is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. It is a 3,323 km² part-urban and part-rural electorate covering areas to the east of the regional centre of Ballarat...
- BallaratBallarat, VictoriaBallarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...