PROFILE
The municipal district of the City of Ballarat is part of an area of land under the traditional custodianship of the Wathaurong people and comprises the city of Ballarat, which is one of Australias largest inland cities and the third largest city in Victoria, and the townships of Learmonth, Buninyong, Miners Rest and Cardigan Village. In all the City of Ballarat has an area of 740 square kilometres and an estimated population of 88,437 (2006).
The City is located in western Victoria, surrounded by the municipalities of the Shires of Hepburn, Pyrenees, Golden Plains and Moorabool.
Ballarat is in a key strategic position at the centre of some of Victorias most important freight, tourist and commuter transport routes. The four main highways radiating from Ballarat - the Western, the Midland, the Glenelg and the Sunraysia - connect it to Industrial centres such as Melbourne, Adelaide, Geelong and Portland; regional locations like Bendigo and Mildura; and agricultural areas in the Mallee and Wimmera.
The City of Ballarat lies within a gently undulating section of the midland plains, which stretches from Creswick in the north to Rokewood in the south, and from Lal Lal in the south-east to Pittong in the west. These plains are made up of alluvial sediment and volcanic flows, and contain large areas of rich agricultural soils.
The region has a variety of landscape types, being:
* North-south Ranges - This landscape is of Ordovician origin with relatively poor and stony soils. It encompasses major public land blocks, nearly all uncleared private land and most indigenous roadside vegetation.
* Basalt Plains - Generally flat to undulating land dominated by volcanic cones comprising high quality agricultural land. Most native vegetation has been cleared. Significant features include Lakes Burrumbeet and Learmonth, and Cockpit Lagoon.
* Undulating Volcanic - Significant features include Mount Buninyong and Mount Warrenheip, the Bungal (Lal Lal) and Moorabool Dams and Lal Lal Falls in the adjoining Moorabool Shire. This landscape is characterised by high to very high quality agricultural land and consequently it has been extensively cleared. The remaining indigenous vegetation forms valuable corridors between more substantially forested areas.
* Granite Outcrops - The granitic Mount Beckworth (just over the border in Hepburn Shire) and Mount Bolton, remnants of a land surface older than the lava flows, protrude through the plains as prominent vegetated landscape features contrasting with the more denuded surrounding landscape.
The City of Ballarat is also located within the upper-most portions of three major river basins. These are known as the Barwon, Hopkins and Loddon River catchments with each being managed by the Corangamite, Glenelg Hopkins and North Centre Catchment Management Authorities respectively. From these, water flows into the ocean at Barwon Heads, Warrnambool and Goolwa in South Australia (via the Murray River) respectively.
Ballarat has traditionally been a city that prospered on mineral and agricultural based resources, however this has changed. Manufacturing, tourism, health and community services, education and retailing are now the key industries in the city. These industries, along with the banking and finance sector and government services are strengthening Ballarats role as a regional service provider.
Victoria is experiencing strong growth in the information and communication technologies industry. While Melbourne is becoming the centre for managerial functions in the industry, data processing services and some research and development are dispersing to regional centres such as Ballarat. The partnerships developed with the Greenhill Enterprise Centre and University of Ballarat are helping Ballarat develop more towards a knowledge-based city. The 'Learning City' program is encouraging continuous lifelong learning for all of Ballarats residents. In being a 'learning city' Ballarat will find and maintain its place in the global economy by challenging what we are doing and how we can do it better.
The information technology sector is emerging to become a significant industry within the region. The municipality hosts a modern communications network that provides easy data exchange worldwide. Strategic partnerships with the locally growing information technology sector and tertiary institutions are adding to Ballarats increasing importance as a knowledge centre within Victoria. Ballarat is also developing as a televillage through which the percentage of Ballarat homes that are online and the number of business transactions undertaken by e-commerce will increase.
The municipality incorporates land which is part of a broader high quality farming area. Agricultural production within the City of Ballarat in 1997 was valued at almost $27.5 million with pigs, potatoes and wool being the highest valued commodities. Ballarat is also home to almost 200 manufacturing business producing a wide range of products for local and international markets.
Ballarat is one of Victorias premier tourist destinations attracting visitors for our gold and architectural heritage, parks and gardens, art and cultural activities and as a gateway to western Victoria. Approximately 1.8 million domestic day trip visitors come to Ballarat each year, contributing $139 million to the local economy. Of the 1.1 million overseas visitors that come to Victoria annually at least 13% visit Ballarat. Overall, 4.8 million day trippers and 2.2 million overnight visitors toured the Goldfields region (of which Ballarat is a part) in 2000.
Ballarat is a major regional retail centre with approximately 186,000m of retail floorspace. This figure is expected to increase to 232,930m by 2021.
Ballarat is well known for its schools and hospitals which service a wide area. Its recreation facilities are also an important community asset. Ballarat businesses offer a broad range of products which includes catering for the rural communitys needs. It has a diverse range of community groups, service clubs, sporting clubs and arts based societies and groups catering for a full spectrum of people and interests. Major events such as the Begonia Festival, the Royal South Street Competition and sporting events involve both local people and participants from a large catchment.
As Ballarat is a central inland city, it provides a regional hub for the states bus and rail transport network. The completion of the fast rail project is anticipated to reduce the current 80 minute rail trip between Ballarat and Melbourne to close to 60 minutes. Melbourne International Airport and the ports of Melbourne and Geelong are also within one hours travel time.
Ballarat has a well developed transport network with a hierarchy of roads providing for the local, intra and inter-state movement of people and freight. As Ballarat grows this road hierarchy will need to expand and adapt so as to fully service new urban areas and to ensure that existing roads can accommodate increasing numbers of traffic movements.
Ballarat has a public transport network connecting all residential areas of the city through the Central Business District. Recent additions to the traditional radial network have seen cross town routes allow direct access for residents of the south-west and north-east to Wendouree Village without having to travel through the Central Business District. Like the road hierarchy, the public transport network will need to expand and adapt to meet the changing needs of the expanding Ballarat population.
Transport improvements are fuelling increased levels of population growth in areas between Melbourne and Ballarat. The Ballarat population is expected to grow by over 6000 people by 2021. Projects such as the Ballarat-Melbourne fast train development are expected to double commuter numbers and are likely to bring new residents to Ballarat and its environs.
Like the rest of Victoria Ballarats population is aging with the number of people over the age of 65 projected to grow by 60% over the next 20 years. This has significant implications for services, jobs, the type of residential accommodation which is being provided and Ballarats social mix.
Natural resource management is a key issue for the municipality as the economic and social well being of the region is dependent upon the sustainable management of natural resources. This is particularly important given the location of the municipality within a region that is highly dependent on natural resources for economic and social well being.