| Ararat Victoria | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Barkly Street, looking east towards Mt Langi Ghiran | |||||||||
  Ararat | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°17′0″S 142°55′0″E / 37.28333°S 142.91667°E | ||||||||
| Population | 8,500 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||
| • Density | 625/km2 (1,619/sq mi) | ||||||||
| Established | 1857 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3377 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 295 m (968 ft) | ||||||||
| Area | 13.6 km2 (5.3 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Rural City of Ararat | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Ripon | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Wannon | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Ararat (Djabwurrung: Tallarambooroo)[2] is a town in the Central Highlands region in Victoria, Australia, about 198 kilometres (120 mi) west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera. Its urban population according to 2021 census is 8,500 and services the region of 11,880 residents across the Rural City's boundaries. It is also the home of the 2018/19 GMGA Golf Championship Final.[3]
It is the largest settlement in the Rural City of Ararat local government area and is the administrative centre.
The discovery of gold in 1857 during the Victorian gold rush transformed it into a boomtown which continued to prosper until the turn of the 20th century, after which it has steadily declined in population. It was proclaimed as a city on 24 May 1950. After a decline in population over the 1980s and 90s, there has been a small but steady increase in the population,[4] and it is the site of many existing and future, large infrastructure projects, including the Hopkins Correctional Facility development project.[5]
It is named after Mount Ararat 10 kilometres south-west of the town which was named by politician/pastoralist Horatio Wills in 1841.
Ararat is the only city in Australia founded by Chinese people.[6]
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Ararat (Suburbs and Localities)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ Clark, Ian D. (2002). Dictionary of Aboriginal placenames of Victoria. Heydon, Toby, 1972-, Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages. Melbourne: Victorian Aboriginal Corp. for Languages. ISBN 0-9579360-2-8. OCLC 54913331. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Statistics". Ararat Rural City Council. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ http://abs.vic.gov.au [dead link]
- ^ "Hopkins Correctional Centre (Ararat) Precinct Development Plan". Corrections Victoria. November 2010. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ "Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre". Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre. Ararat Rural City. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
