Ararat, Victoria
Ararat is a city in the southwest of the Australian state of Victoria. It is located about 205 km west of Melbourne on the Western Highway, on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills in the valley of Cemetery Creek. At the 2006 census, 8,215 inhabitants were determined.
Ararat is the largest settlement in the Local Government Area Ararat Rural City and its administrative center.
The discovery of gold in 1857, during the Victorian gold rush, made from Ararat a boomtown that grew up to the beginning of the 20th century and flourished. After that, the population declined steadily. On May 24, 1950 Ararat became a town, but to this day, the population continued to decline.
The city was named after Mount Ararat west 10 km away. This, in turn, was named in 1841 by Horatio Wills.
- 8.1 traffic
- 8.2 Health Care
- 8.3 Water Supply
History
Before the European colonization of the land of Ararat today was inhabited by Aboriginesstamm the Tjapwurong.
In the 1840s the first Europeans settled in the Grampians, after the discoverer Thomas Livingstone Mitchell in 1836 moved through the area. 1841 Horatio Wills wrote on his country search further south in his diary: "like in the Ark we rested " ( We camped on how Noah's Ark ). Therefore he named the nearby hill Mount Ararat. After the mountain the city was named later.
The first post office was opened on February 1, 1856, but was called up to August 31, 1857 Cathcart.
In 1857 a group of Chinese miners on their way to the Goldfledern in the center of Victoria at the then '' Canton Vein '' said authority gold. Thus began the immense growth of Ararat. The Chinese community in Ararat was very large. The Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre preserves their memory.
Rapid population growth has produced a church that was registered on September 24, 1858 as a suburb.
Ararat was the city of the asylums. J Ward, an institution for mentally ill offenders, was opened in 1859 there. 1865 opened with the Aradale Mental Hospital is a large hospital for the treatment of the mentally ill. Both facilities were closed again, but remain to this day memorabilia of the city's role as a center for the treatment of mentally ill patients.
1863 French settlers planted to vines.
Economy
The economy of Ararat essentially comprises various branches of agriculture, such as breeding of sheep for wool, cattle for meat and the wine in the Grampians. There are also in de area a number of wind farms, such as feed into the Challicum Hills, the large amounts of renewable energy into the electricity grid.
In the city there are also a number of service providers in the health sector and in administration. It is also a regional trading center. The Hopkins Correctional Centre (Jail ) is located in Ararat.
The tourism in the neighboring Grampians National Park and the wineries in the Grampians is a small but important sector with 150 jobs, the AU $ 8 million generated annually. Even more important is the impact on the economy of the area, where tourists spend annually AU $ 270 million.
Geography
Ararat is in the middle between different mountain ranges, such as the Grampians, Mount Langi Ghiran, Mount Cole, Mount Buanger, the Ararat Hills and the Pyrenees Ranges. The Cemetery Creek, the main waterway of the valley, flows through the northern neighborhoods and the Green Hills Lake is located on the eastern outskirts.
Demography
88 % of the population Ararat were born in Australia and 62 % are Christians, Catholic and Anglican denominations are represented on an equal strak with 18% each.
Management
In the city there is the city administration and the management of the LGA Rural City of Ararat Ararat .. is represented by the Division of Wannon in the Australian Parliament.
Ararat has a single police station a magistrate court and a juvenile court, all in Barkly Street.
Schools and educational institutions
Ararat has four elementary schools, the Ararat Primary School, the Ararat West Primary School, the Ararat North Primary School and St Mary's Catholic Primary School. In addition, there are a number of kindergartens in the city. There are two colleges, the Ararat Community College and Marian College, a Catholic educational institution. In Ararat to find local offices of the University of Ballarat and the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE.
Culture
Art
Ararat former town hall, which was built in 1899 by Molloy and Smith and included in the national list of monuments, is now home to the Ararat Regional Art Gallery and the Ararat Performing Arts Centre.
Sports
Australian Football is a popular sport in Ararat. The Ararat Football Club (founded 1871) was a founding member of the Wimmera Football League, in which he still plays today, and most recently in 2001 won the championship. A second club, the Ararat Eagles Football Club, was founded in 2000 and plays in the Lexton Plains Football League. How many football clubs in the country, also offer the in Ararat Netball for women. The Ararat Council represented the town in the Wimmera Netball Association.
The horse racing club, the Wimmera Racing Club, directed in five contests in Ararat from, including the Ararat Cup in November.
The Trotting Club of Ararat bears on the racetrack the city also regularly contests.
Golfers playing in Aradale Golf Club at the Grano Street or in Chalambar Golf Club on Golf Links Road
Motocross became a popular sport in the region and the Ararat Motorcycle Club conducts regular competitions, even up to federal level through.
Football is played in youth teams; the competition is the Ararat and Grampians YMCA School Competition for children in grades 8-12.
Festivals
The most important local festival is the Golden Gateway Festival, which has been conducted since 1958. At that time it was held for the 100 - year anniversary of the city.
The Jailhouse Rock Festival, a 1950s revival festival, is held twice a year since 1994 in Ararat.
Ships
Two ships of the Royal Australian Navy named after the city, HMAS Ararat (K 34 ), a corvette of the Bathurst - class, and the HMAS Ararat ' ( ACPB 89) Patroullienboot de Armidale class.
Infrastructure
Traffic
The main mode of transport in Ararat is the car. According to the 2006 census 88 % of the population drive motor vehicles to work, the vast majority of it by car. Ararat is located at the intersection of many major roads, such as the Western Highway ( on the High Street, east to Ballarat and Melbourne and west to Horsham and Adelaide ), the Pyrenees Highway (via Vincent Street, east to Avoca and Maryborough ) Ararat Pomonal Road ( on the Barkly Street west to Halls Gap ) and the Mortlake Ararat Road ( on the Vincent Street to the south with connecting West ( Hamilton), South ( Warrnambool ) and East ( Geelong ) ). Ararat downtown streets are designed according to the Hippodamian scheme. Ararat Transit carries 120 bus trips through three routes six days a week. The routes are also harmonized with the railway line. According to the 2006 census, only four people took the bus to the work site. Ararat Cabs offers since November 2010, six ordinary taxis and Wheelchair bus (for two wheelchairs or ten normal passengers).
On the railways, there are both passenger and freight transport in Ararat. The station is located on the same railway line and is also the terminus of the Ararat V / Line rail service. Twice a day go Vlocity trains to Ballarat (journey time: 53 minutes ) and on to Melbourne (travel time: 133-143 minutes ), some trains also stop at other stations on the line. The Ararat railway station is the hub of the WESTERN STANDARD GAUGE railway line and the railway line to Avoca. The Overland operates three times per week to Melbourne (travel time: 140 minutes ) and it is also a trip to Adelaide (travel time: 16 hours) possible.
Ararat also has a regional airport ( YARA ( ARY ) ) five kilometers south of the Innenstadtam Western Highway.
Health care
The Ararat & District Hospital ( founded in 1850 ) is a major regional hospital and is operated by East Grampians Health Service and from Ararat Medical Centre.
Water supply
Ararat receives its drinking water from the Langi - Ghiran Reservoir and the Picnic - Road Reservoir, both in Langi Ghiran State Park and operated by the Ararat Rural City Council. The Oliver Gully Reservoir is another source of water supply if the other two are not available.
Famous people
- Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger was born on 18 May 1904 in Ararat.
- Shane Kelly, Olympic cyclist and medal winner, also from Ararat.