ballarat

Ballarat

city, central Victoria, Australia, on the Yarrowee River. The area was first settled in 1838 by sheepherders and developed rapidly after the discovery of rich alluvial gold deposits in 1851. In 1854, two years after its founding, Ballarat (its name was derived from two Aboriginal words meaning "resting place") was the scene of an armed rebellion known as Eureka Stockade, in which about 25 miners, demanding political reform and the abolition of licenses, were shot down by the military; the incident is commemorated by a memorial and the Eureka Stockade Centre. Ballarat became a municipality in 1855, a borough in 1863, and a city in 1870.

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