In 1837, under pressure of a bad drought, Thomas Learmonth and a group of squatters explored the area to the north of their settlement near Geelong in search of better watered regions. On this journey they reached and climbed Mt. Bonan Yowing (now Buninyong) and were thus the first to see the Ballarat area. In March 1838, two squatters, Yuille and Anderson, settled with their flocks on the banks of an area known as Black Swamp, now Lake Wendouree.

During the next 13 years, shepherds and their flocks roamed in the area with Buninyong becoming the service township for the settlers. The peace and tranquillity of the district was shattered soon after the discovery of gold in the area in August 1851.

Gold was discovered at Poverty Point in 1851 by John Dunlop and James Regan who found a few ounces while panning in the Canadian Creek. By the following year there were around 20,000 diggers searching in the shafts of the Ballarat Goldfields. Due to this population explosion, Ballarat was proclaimed a town in 1852. By 1855, Ballarat was a municipality, a borough by 1863 and a city in 1870.

By the early 1850's, the Government in Melbourne had set up a system of Gold Licences to allow miners to search for gold on a specified piece of land. The Licence fee was paid regardless if the miner found gold or not. If found without a licence, the digger was forced to pay a fine of £10 or be chained to a log until the fine was paid. The diggers became frustrated over the frequency and corrupt manner of how the Goldfields Police went about their Licence checks. Due to a shortage of manpower, many of the police were ex-convicts. The Government gave them the power to undertake checks, and many, because of their background went about their duty in a ruthless manner. The diggers had no say as they had no representation in Parliament.

By 1854, the Police ordered twice weekly licence checks due to the lack of co-operation from miners. This caused more resentment around the goldfields. On October 7 1854, James Scobie was murdered at Bentley's Eureka Hotel. On October 12, after a riot by miners, Bentley's Hotel was burned to the ground in protest of Bentley's acquittal of murdering James Scobie. Three miners were arrested and sent to prison. A retrial followed later and Bentley and two others were found guilty of the manslaughter of James Scobie and sent to prison. On November 11, the Ballarat Reform League was formed with the view of abolishing licences and having the miners released. Due to the lack of response to these demands and set up a stockade on the Eureka Lead. Led by Peter Lalor, on by authorities and the miners increasing frustration, the miners burned their licences the 3rd December 1854, the miners went into battle after Government soldiers unexpectedly stormed the stockade early that morning. The battle lasted for around fifteen minutes and in that time up to thirty miners and six Government troopers were killed. One hundred and fourteen miners were taken prisoner.

Within six months, legislation was passed to give miners a fairer deal. The monthly Gold Tax was abolished and miners were given the right to vote., Installed was a miners right costing £2 per year later reduced to £1. People could now see the injustice of the whole situation. All miners arrested after the rebellion and those sentenced for the burning of Bentley's Eureka Hotel were released. Peter Lalor, who had been in hiding since the uprising came out of hiding. He became the first member for Ballarat West to be represented in the Legislative Assembly and later became Speaker of the House.

In the year 1858 the second largest gold nugget ever found in Australia, the "Welcome Nugget" was found at Bakery Hill, Ballarat. By the 1860's, the prospect of finding gold in Ballarat East had nearly diminished. By this time, many of the alluvial mines in that area had declined and companies were formed to start much deeper mining in the West and South of Ballarat. To establish these mines, heavy equipment was needed. Foundries such as the Phoenix Foundry were established to cope with this demand. By now, the town was supported by industries such as flour mills and agriculture related companies. When the rail came through in 1862, it opened many more opportunities such as shops and markets, trades like blacksmiths had been established many years earlier to expand both towards Melbourne and the Wimmera. When the last mine closed in 1918, Ballarat had enough industry and service bases to support it for many years to come.

Source: Ballarat Tourism Directory

Photos of Ballarat During the 1940's and 1970's showing the development of Ballarat over time.

  Ballarat's Sturt Street in the 1940's

Ballarat's Sturt Street in the 1970's

Photo Source: Central Highlands Regional Library