Lucas site
DID you know the Ballarat suburb of Sebastopol was named after a famous Crimean War battleground?
Or that Wendouree is aboriginal for “be gone”?
Other suburb origins are more mundane and obvious: Ballarat North, Wendouree West, East Ballarat.
But with the recent announcement the Ballarat West Precinct Structure Plan has been fast tracked, what should Ballarat’s three new suburbs be named?
State Planning Minister Matthew Guy’s decision to bring the Ballarat West PSP forward will create 18,000 new homes over the next three to four decades.
Currently, the 1290 hectares south of Alfredton and west of Delacombe and Sebastopol are informally known as Greenhalghs, Bonshaw and Carngham, but the newly elected Ballarat City Council will dictate how the new names are chosen.
Councillor Judy Verlin, who moved Ballarat’s newest suburb be named after the Lucas girls who created the iconic Avenue of Honour, said the name was chosen after extensive community consultation.
“With Lucas, it was the suburb with the potential interface to the Avenue of Honour so it fitted in really well,” Cr Verlin said.
“With the new suburbs, everyone will come from a different angle and the new council will come from a different angle too.”
But Cr Verlin said she was very pleased the Ballarat West PSP had been fast tracked.
“The council wanted to stay ahead of population growth.
“There has been so much work gone on and it’s this council’s strong legacy that Ballarat will meet the challenges ahead and maximise the opportunity for population growth.”
She also said the Ballarat West Development Contributions Plan would be vital to infrastructure funding.
“The council will work with government and the private sector to make sure there is equity in the roll-out of the infrastructure.”
Cr Verlin also said the incoming council would determine how the new suburb names were chosen but they would be put out for formal community consultation before any decision was made.
She also said she hadn’t heard any suggestions at all yet.
So how were some of Ballarat’s other suburbs named?
Black Hill is clearly named after its main geographical feature but Brown Hill is actually a corruption of its original title, Brownbill’s Hill after prospector William Brownbill.
Soldiers Hill is where the Colonial Forces of Australia’s 40th regiment were stationed prior to Eureka Stockade.
Sebastopol is named after the Ukraine’s Sevastopol, while neighbouring Redan is called after the fortifications used during that Crimean War battle.
And Alfredton’s name was changed from Cardigan when Prince Alfred visited in 1867.
fiona.henderson@thecourier.com.au