Ballarat icons named

By Kim Quinlan
Updated November 2 2012 - 4:54pm, first published June 13 2011 - 2:42pm
Icon: Lake Wendouree. Picture: Lachlan Bence.
Icon: Lake Wendouree. Picture: Lachlan Bence.

BALLARAT:Population: almost 100,000; Height above sea level: 440m; Latitude: 37.34.00;Longitude: 143.51.00;Location: 106km west of Melbourne;These may be the geographical statistics of Ballarat. The who, what, why, where, when and how. But what really makes Ballarat Ballarat?The answer to this would probably differ if you asked 1000 Ballaratians the same question.Is it Ballarat’s weather? Because that’s what everyone talks about when someone mentions they’re from Ballarat. The typical statement is: “Ballarat. Geez ... it’s cold there, isn’t it?”Is it Sovereign Hill, the award-winning tourist museum which focuses on Ballarat’s gold rush heritage? Is the 1850s gold rush itself that stirs up emotions and thoughts of Ballarat?Or maybe it’s Lake Wendouree, described by many as the jewel in Ballarat’s crown, with its surrounds including the botanical gardens and the Robert Clark Conservatory, home to the begonias, the namesake of the annual Ballarat Begonia Festival?Today, The Courier highlights what it believes are 16 iconic symbols of Ballarat, which, put together, help make Ballarat the city it is today.Included in the list of Ballarat icons are historic buildings like the Town Hall, Craig’s Royal Hotel and Her Majesty’s Theatre; landmark structures like the Arch of Victory, the Lydiard Street railway gates and old cemetery; the city’s historic streetscapes; even the city’s weather and the number of pubs which originally graced almost every corner of Ballarat more than a century ago.The Courier has also asked some of our community leaders, including politicians and sporting identities, to consider their favourite Ballarat icon and what, in fact, makes Ballarat tick.Our top 16 icons...1. Her Majesty’s TheatreHer Majesty’s Theatre in Lydiard Street South first opened its doors in 1875 and has been continuously used as Ballarat’s home of live performance ever since.The theatre was first known as the Academy of Music and had a flag floored auditorium suitable for dances and dinner, as well as a fully-equipped stage.The Ballarat Fine Art Gallery Society ran the gallery from the academy between 1884 and 1890. Eight years later, on the death of Sir William Clarke, who initiated the building, it was bought by a local consortium and transformed into a theatrical space we know today.The new owners commissioned leading theatre architect, William Pitt, to remodel the interior. The present layout of the auditorium, with sloping floors and double balconies, was Pitt’s creation. The dome of the theatre, which depicts a carnival scene, was restored in 1990.In 1965, Her Majesty’s became the home of the Royal South Street Society’s annual competitions. In 1987, the society gifted the theatre to the City of Ballarat, reserving the right to hold their competitions at the Lydiard Street building each year between August and November.2. Lake WendoureeEuropean settlement began in the early 1830s after a group of squatters, led by William Yuille, camped in the area of the black swamp, which would later become Lake Wendouree.The lake, which was the site for rowing events for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, recently refilled after enduring more than a decade of drought.As the water returned, so too did a variety of wildlife. Today, Lake Wendouree is again a popular recreation area for residents and visitors alike.3. Ballarat Botanical Gardens and begoniasThe 40-hectare botanical gardens on the western shore of Lake Wendouree were once the home of Ballarat police horses.Converted into gardens in the late 1850s and developed and expanded ever since, the gardens include the quaint home of Australian poet Adam Lindsay Gordon and the Prime Ministers Avenue, which includes the busts of our nation’s former PMs.Visitors to the Robert Clark Conservatory in the gardens can see more than 700 tuberous begonias and 100 species of begonias. These blooms are celebrated annually with the Ballarat Begonia Festival.4. Arch of Victory/Avenue of HonourBallarat’s Avenue of Honour is the oldest, longest and most famous avenue of its kind in Australia.Workers at the clothing and textile factory, E Lucas and Co, were responsible for the avenue’s existence, with the idea for the company’s 500 employees to plant trees coming from its director and executive, Tilly Thompson.In 1917, the planting of 1000 trees took place, followed by another 3771 in 1919 along both sides of the Western Highway for the 22 kilometres between Ballarat and Burrumbeet. Each tree represents a Ballarat serviceman or nurse who enlisted in World War I, with a bronze plaque listing the person’s name, battalion and tree number.The Lucas factory workers also decided to provide a suitable entrance to the avenue and raised funds for the Arch of Victory, which was officially opened by the Prince of Wales on June 3, 1920.The Lucas company and its employees continued to maintain the avenue with community support until 1931, when a committee was formed to take care of its future, including the periodic replacement of trees.5. Ballarat Town HallLand at the south-west corner of Sturt and Armstrong streets was reserved for a town hall following the establishment of the Borough of Ballarat West in December 1855.The first council meeting was held at what is now Craig’s Royal Hotel before the construction of temporary chambers in 1856. The council’s first chambers were a simple timber hall built on the Town Hall reserve, but the building was destroyed by fire in 1859.An architectural competition was held shortly after the fire for the design of new buildings on the site comprising a town hall, a district police court, public library and museum. However, the winning scheme designed by Charles D Cuthburt was deemed too expensive and only the courthouse was initially built.In 1868, another competition was held for the design of a new town hall complex. The second prize winner, Percy Oakden, was appointed borough architect and instructed to combine the winning plan by Henry Caselli with the elevations designed by another entrant, J T Lorenz.Completed in 1872, the ground floor comprised the police court in the east wing, a main central entrance from Sturt Street, Commercial Bank premises in the west wing. A grand central stairway provided access to the upper level. At first floor, a large rectangular assembly room (Hall B) occupied the west wing, while a supper room was in the east.After the police court was relocated in 1904, alterations were made to the Town Hall. Further alternations were made in 1911-14, with the construction of Hall A and an open plan office area was constructed in 1972-74.In 1995, further alternations were carried out, including a new entrance into the building on the south side.6. Craig’s Royal HotelThe grand Craig’s Royal Hotel in Lydiard Street South was first known as The Ballarat Hotel when it was opened by Thomas Bath in 1853. The following year, the establishment’s name was changed to Bath’s Hotel, which became the venue for the Eureka Stockade Royal Commission in 1855.It became the temporary home of the Ballarat Council chamber in 1856.Ten years after the hotel was bought by Walter Craig, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred, visited Ballarat and was hosted at Craig’s Prince’s room, which was specially prepared for the royal. In 1881, Prince Albert Victor and his younger brother George visited Craig’s and the goldfields.Another famous visitor to the hotel was author Mark Twain in 1890, who stayed there during his world speaking tour. And in 1908, opera singer Dame Nellie Melba performed from the balcony of Craig’s Reading Room.In 1901, the hotel underwent extensive alterations and every room was redecorated in an ornate fashion. Last year the hotel was completely restored and fully reopened with 41 rooms, five banquet and meeting rooms, historic bar, coffee shop, and courtyard atrium bistro.7. Ballarat BertieFor just under a century, Ballarat Bertie has been one of Australia’s best-known beer emblems, the distinctive blue and white label with Bertie holding a foaming pot of beer.The Ballarat Brewing Company beer division was bought out by CUB in the late 1980s.In December 2006, following a request by the crew of the HMAS Ballarat, a limited run of the beer was made. An initial 4800 slabs of the iconic beer sold out within days of release. This was followed by a second run of 50 pallets.8. Ballarat’s weatherBallarat is synonymous for its changeable weather, one of the many reasons people love this city.While there are extremes of temperatures in the summer, it is the cold winters that most people think of when they think of Ballarat.The drought meant there were no good rainfalls for more than a decade, but the weather over the last 18 months has seen the city’s traditional wintry conditions return.Ballarat does not suffer from the extreme cold, like those in the Northern Hemisphere, but the winter temperatures have been known to fall to almost minus five degrees.9. Sovereign HillThe award-winning outdoor museum, which recently celebrated its 40th birthday, depicts the story of the first 10 years of Ballarat’s development after the 1851 discovery of gold.Costumed staff work in businesses at Sovereign Hill, which are based on businesses originally found in the Ballarat area.The Ballarat Apex Club first mooted the park idea in the 1960s and a public meeting was held in 1965, followed by a fundraising appeal.The Ballarat Historical Park Association was formed in 1966, construction of the park started two years later and it was officially opened on November 29, 1970. Eight years later the Gold Museum was opened.10. Railway Station and gatesThe historic Ballarat Railway Station was built in two phases. The north side was built in 1862, while the southern side and the grand tower was constructed in 1888-89.The types of gates like those working on the Lydiard Street North railway crossing, were, at one time, very common.However, today the Ballarat railway gates are the only automated ones operating in Victoria. The original gates were installed in the 1880s and have been gradually upgraded.11. SwansThe rejuvenation of Lake Wendouree after many years of drought also means the return of the wildlife to the area, including the beloved black swans.The swans and other wildlife use the lake’s reed beds and islands as a sanctuary.Bird watchers and swan lovers alike eagerly wait each year for the first sign of cygnets, and new life around the lake.12. Eureka StockadeThe 1854 Eureka Rebellion, also known as the Eureka Stockade, has been credited with being the key event in the development of our nation’s democracy.The rebellion on December 3, 1854, came about because diggers from the Ballarat goldfields opposed the government’s miners’ licence.Under the leadership of Peter Lalor, a mass burning of licences took place during a meeting on Bakery Hill. Several days later, on the morning of December 3, authorities launched an attack on the stockade, resulting in the deaths of 22 diggers and five troops.In March of the following year, the Goldfields Commission handed down its report into the rebellion and resulted in all the demands of the diggers being met.13. Old CemeteryWhile records show that burials took place from 1848 in the vicinity of the Ballarat Old Cemetery, the city’s first public cemetery was not established until 1856.The site of the old cemetery, at the corner of Creswick Road and Macarthur Street, covers seven hectares and is rich in Ballarat’s history, as many burials were early Chinese and European settlers who came to Ballarat looking for gold in the 1850s.Two monuments to the Eureka uprising in 1854 are situated at the cemetery. The Eureka diggers’ monument was built in 1856 and another in 1879 was erected by the state government in memory of the officers and soldiers who died in the rebellion.A rotunda was constructed in the middle of the cemetery in 1892 and was used as a meeting place before burials. The rotunda has been restored over the years and is now used as the cemetery’s official monogram.Cemetery records show 35,000 interments have taken place since the mid 1850s. Today there are no burial locations available to buy, but there are about 15 interments each year at existing graves.14. Eureka FlagThe iconic symbol of the 1854 Eureka Rebellion, the Eureka Flag, was designed by Canadian miner Henry Ross, a member of the Ballarat Reform League.The central feature of the dark blue flag, which is presently being restored in South Australia, is the Southern Cross. According to historians, Ross was inspired by the design of the Australian Federation Flag and incorporated the eight-star cross, a symbol of the Reform League.Those involved in the Eureka Rebellion swore an oath to the flag as a symbol of defiance, but the flag design gained wider notability when it was adopted in Australian culture as a symbol of democracy and protest.The flag is listed as on the Victorian Heritage Register and was named as a Victorian icon by the National Trust.15. Pubs in BallaratBallarat is renowned for the number of hotels it was once home to.With hotels not allowed on the goldfields during the 1850s gold rush, grog tents, like a bar in a tent, were set up. Sly grog tents were often disguised as coffee shops for fear of getting caught.At the end of the gold rush, came the establishment of permanent hotel buildings. Some, like Craig’s Royal Hotel in Lydiard Street South, remain today.At one stage, Ballarat boasted one of the highest number of licensed establishments per head of population. Today, many of these hotels have disappeared or have been turned into shop fronts, homes or accommodation facilities.16. Lydiard StreetOne of the most historic streetscapes in Ballarat would have to be Lydiard Street.The grandeur of Lydiard Street – on both north and south sides – is enhanced by the splendour of such buildings as The George Hotel, the Mining Exchange, Her Majesty’s Theatre, the Art Gallery of Ballarat and the Ballarat Railway Station.Many of the homes along the northern end of Lydiard Street have been lovingly restored to their former glory, adding to the history of the streetscape.Over the years, businesses in Lydiard Street, near the CBD, have been renovated, but the historic grandeur of the buildings has been kept.Lydiard Street, a highlight of Ballarat’s annual Heritage Festival, is popular with locals and visitors alike who want to capture the historic beauty of the city.

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