Ballarat Central
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Ballarat Central (known as the Central Business Area by the City of Ballarat and sometimes simply as "Ballarat") is the central locality of Greater Ballarat in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The population of Ballarat Central at the was 5,378, making it the sixth most populous in the urban area. It is the administrative headquarters for the
City of Ballarat The City of Ballarat is a local government area in the west of the state of Victoria, Australia. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 107,325. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is primarily urban with the v ...
as well as the
Ballarat Base Hospital The Ballarat Base Hospital is a hospital located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. It is a public hospital operated by Ballarat Health Services. Ballarat Health Services employs approximately 4000 staff at the Base Hospital, the Queen Elizabe ...
and health services and home to the city's major religious institutions and a major retail, commercial and
inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...
residential area. It is the third oldest settlement in Greater Ballarat (after the
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...
settlements of Ballarat East and
Golden Point The golden point, a sudden death overtime system, is used to resolve drawn football matches. The term is borrowed from soccer's now-defunct golden goal. Rugby league Australia The golden point is used to determine a winner (where applicable, see ...
). Planned as a permanent settlement shortly following the initial gold rush, it was formerly known as Ballaarat West or the new township of Ballaarat. The boundaries are Lexton, Drummond, Talbot and Pleasant Street to the west; Sebastopol, Hill, Hummfray and Steinford Street to the south; Peel Street to the east and
Serviceton Railway Line The Serviceton railway line (also known in Victoria, Australia as the Western line) is part of the Melbourne–Adelaide rail corridor. It serves the west of Victoria, linking the state capital of Melbourne to the cities of Ballarat and Ararat. ...
to the north. Ballarat Central is important historically to the development of the city as well as for its Victorian era architecture and much of its area is covered by
Heritage Overlay A Heritage Overlay or HO is one of a number of planning scheme overlays contained in the Victorian Planning Provisions, for use in planning schemes in Victoria, Australia. The heritage overlay schedule of each local government planning scheme li ...
s.


History


Toponymy

While the original name for Ballarat Central was Ballaarat and later Ballarat West, the current name originates from the Central Division, a mining lead in the 1870s. Several sporting teams used the name, as well as the local primary school as early as the 1880s. It was officially gazetted "Ballarat Central" sometime after the 1980s although it is still marked simply "Ballarat" on some maps.


Settlement

The settlement of Ballarat West was established during the
Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capit ...
. It was surveyed by William Urquhart as early as October 1851. By 1852 his grid plan and wide streets were prepared for the first land sales in the new township of West Ballarat. As the city grew, Ballarat West became home to the city's middle class, bankers and wealthy professionals establishing businesses around Lydiard Street and institutions along Sturt and Drummond Streets.


Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 5,328 people in Ballarat Central. 82.0% of people were born in Australia and 86.3% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 40.1% and Catholic 24.8%.


Urban form and planning

Ballarat Central is laid out in grid plan. The tallest buildings in the central city area is the seven storey Henry Bolte wing of the Ballarat Base Hospital (erected 1994); the Law Court (now Arts Academy) tower (erected 1941) on Camp Street; Lydiard House on Lydiard Street Nth; and the MLC tower Lydiard Street Sth, (erected 1957) at five storeys. Planning approval was granted in 2010 for a six storey building on Mair Street. The Ballarat City Council approved a Central Business District Strategy for the development of buildings, development sites, transport and streetscape for the next 20 – 25 years in late 2010. It aims to secure funding and private and government interest in the ongoing development of Ballarat's CBD. The draft proposal identifies Mair Street as an alternate East-West traffic route with the potential for hi-rise mixed use development and possibilities for the creation of a 'Civic Heart' for the city where public events can be conducted on a regular basis.


Retail

Ballarat Central contains the main retail area of Ballarat, however in recent decades it has been challenged by
Wendouree Wendouree () is a large suburb on the north western rural-urban fringe of the city of Ballarat, in Victoria, Australia. It is the second most populated suburb in the City of Ballarat with a total of 10,376 inhabitants at the . It is named af ...
. Ballarat's main
pedestrian mall Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
is Bridge Mall which occupies a section of Bridge Street between Grenville Street and Humffray Street. The largest indoor
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
is Central Square Shopping Centre (built 1988) opposite the town hall which includes the major department stores of
Myer Myer (stylised MYER, sometimes known as Myers) is an Australia, Australian mid-range to upscale department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of ...
and
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...
. Other shopping malls in the CBD include Norwich Plaza built in the 1970s and the City Arcade built in the 1980s. In the CBD there are several supermarkets including two Coles, a Woolworths, an
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
and a
Big W Big W (stylized as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of Woolworths Group and as at 2019 operated 176 stores, with around 22,000 employee ...
as well as large specialty stores including The Good Guys,
JB Hi-Fi JB Hi-Fi Limited is an Australian consumer electronics and home appliances retail company. It is publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its headquarters are located in Southbank, Melbourne, Victoria. The company has 316 store ...
,
Dick Smith Electronics Dick Smith Holdings Limited (formerly Dick Smith, Dick Smith Electronics or DSE) was an Australian chain of retail stores that sold consumer electronics goods, hobbyist electronic components, and electronic project kits. The chain expanded succ ...
and branches of the big four retail banks. Bridge Mall, Sturt Street, Armstrong and Mair Street are the major retail streets in the CBD.


Parks and open space

With the exception of Sturt Street Gardens, and small squares at Civic Hall, Camp Street, Bridge Mall and church grounds there is very little accessible recreational space in Ballarat Central. There are just two sports ovals on the Western Oval on the western fringe and Hickman Street Oval on the southern fringe.


Transport

Several busy roads pass through Ballarat Central, they include Lydiard Street (north-south and the historic business street); Mair Street (east west - commercial and future business area); Sturt Street/Bridge Mall (east-west - main retail area); Armstrong Street (north-south); Doveton Street and Drummond Street (the hospital precinct). Car parking is a major problem in Ballarat Central, with restricted parking times (
parking meters A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street par ...
). While there are several parking lots, including a multi-storey facility on Dana Street owned by the council, parking spaces are heavily used.Rayner, Meg
Ballarat City Council to probe lack of parking
The Courier. 13 Dec 2010
Ballarat is the hub of the Ballarat Transit bus network, with major terminals at Ballarat railway station and Little Bridge Street.
Ballarat railway station Ballarat railway station is located on the Serviceton line in Victoria, Australia. It serves the city of Ballarat, and it opened on 11 April 1862 as Ballarat West. It was renamed Ballarat in 1865.
is the main railway station for Ballarat Central and also the urban area.


References


See also

*
Electoral district of Ballarat East Ballarat East (initially spelt Ballaarat East ) was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. Prior to its abolition, it was a 3,323 km² part-urban and part-rural electorate covering areas to ...
*
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...
{{Ballarat_suburbs Suburbs of Ballarat