Ballarat
From World travel guide
Ballarat is a city of 84,000 people, about 110 km (65 miles) north-west of Melbourne in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Australia. Drive time from Melbourne is about 80-90 minutes. Ballarat is most noted as a former goldmining town and the site of the famous miners' strike at the Eureka Stockade, the event celebrating its 150th anniversary in late November - early December 2004.
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Get in
By car
Ballarat is an easy 90 minute drive from Melbourne on the Western Freeway (M8). Alternatively, from Geelong take the southern section of the A300; from Bendigo and Castlemaine take the northern section of the same highway.
By train
Frequent V/Line trains run from Spencer Street Station in Melbourne. The journey lasts some 1.5 hours and Ballarat Station is located in the centre of the city.
Get around
The Ballarat Visitor Information Centre, a short walk from the Station, operates a friendly visitor shuttle bus. This service links to the main tourist attractions as well as to Buninyong Township.
See
- Visitor Information Centre, 39 Sturt Street (cnr Albert St).
- Sovereign Hill [1], Magpie St. Every day except Christmas Day 10am-5pm, till 5:50pm during daylight saving. The “DisneyLand” of Victoria, it is a recreated 1850s goldmining town. $29 adult, $14 child.
- Blood on the Southern Cross. M-Sa evenings and some Sundays. Times vary. An 80-minute sound and light show depicting the Eureka Uprising. $35 adult, $19 child.
- Gold Museum. Every day except Christmas Day 9:30am-5:20pm. Sovereign Hill ticket gives entry to the museum as well.
- Eureka Stockade Centre [2], cnr Eureka St and Rodier St, East Ballarat. Every day 9 am-4:30 pm except Christmas Day. Last entry 4 pm. The 1854 Eureka miners’ rebellion against license fees took place here. The stockade was formerly home to a rather rundown wooden shed with a diorama and recorded explanation, but in recent years it’s been totally modernized and the site now hosts a large multimedia exhibition on the Stockade. $8 adult, $4 child.
- Ballarat Botanical Gardens [3]
- Ballarat Wildlife Park [4]
- Lake Wendouree.
Sleep
- George Hotel, 27 Lydiard St Nth (between Sturt St and Mair St). Bunkroom $30, singles from $50 (tariffs include light breakfast). Nightclub may cause noise in the rooms till 4am F-Sa nights.
- Craig’s Royal Hotel, 10 Lydiard St Sth.
External links
- Visit Ballarat - official city tourism website
- City of Ballarat - official municipal website
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