Australia’s only armed rebellion at the Eureka Stockade on Sovereign Hill occurred in 1854, the location is now a museum and tourist centre and recreates the event called “Blood on the Southern Cross”. Try your hand at gold panning and relive the lives and stories of our early gold miners at the Eureka Stockade Centre.

Once you’ve explored Ballarat’s past and present, there’s a whole region to discover. The city lies close to the Great Ocean Road and to the heart of some of Victoria’s finest attractions, the spectacular Grampians, wineries of the Pyrenees and historic mining towns abound.

Ballarat is host to a number of festivals during the year including the Ballarat Heritage Festival, Buninyong Gold King Festival, Ballarat Cup Carnival, Ballarat Begonia Festival and many more.

Other attractions of interest include the Avenue of Prime Ministers located in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens and the Avenue of Honour, a 22 km long avenue dedicated to Ballarat’s World War I heroes.

For additional information drop into the local tourist visitor centre, where the friendly staff and volunteers will assist you with any questions. For Ballarat accommodation click here.

One of the most often asked question is ‘do you spell Ballarat with four a’s or three a’s?’

It is generally accepted that the origin of the name ‘Balla-Arat’ came from two aboriginal words of the Wathaurong people, signifying a camping or resting place - ‘Balla’ meaning elbow or reclining on the elbow and ‘Arat’ meaning place, together forming ‘balla-arat’ meaning ‘resting place’. It made reference to the favourite camping areas around Lake Wendouree, which was once a wetland.¹

It was generally always ‘double a’ until the local government amalgamations of 1994, forming the new City of Ballarat. The ‘double a’ spelling is used less now, but many local organisations like the Crafts Council and the Astronomical Society still stick to tradition by continuing with the original spelling².