Ballarat Travel Guide
Ballarat accommodation, Ballarat activities and attractions, Ballarat maps, transportation to and around Ballarat - the ALL NEW Jasons Ballarat Destination Travel Guide is your complete visitor guide for Ballarat.
Ballarat is
Victoria's largest inland city, situated in the Central Highlands. Formerly one of
Australia's richest goldfields, it retains much of its original charm, and boasts many fine examples of Victorian architecture with distinctive iron lacework, one of the country's best provincial art galleries, and
Sovereign Hill, a reconstructed goldmining town.
Ballarat is the Aboriginal word for 'resting place', and the original inhabitants of the area were members of the Wathurung tribe, who camped on the banks of Lake Wendouree. European settlers arrived in 1837, and until 1851, when its rich alluvial goldfields were discovered, Ballarat was just a small rural town. Within two years it had a population of over 40,000. It is best known as the site of Australia's only civil battle, the Eureka Stockade. Miners refused to pay government licence fees and on 3 December 1854, under a flag adorned with the Southern Cross, stood and fought with over 300 police and troops.
Today Ballarat is a bustling city featuring many galleries, museums and antique and craft shops. It has excellent recreational facilities, gardens and parks. Ballarat is famous for its begonias, and celebrates their importance with the annual Begonia Festival.