Ararat - Culture and History

The Tjapwurong Aborigines inhabited the Ararat district long before the arrival of white men. The townsite was known to them as 'Butingitch'. The first Europeans in the district were the party of explorer Thomas Mitchell on their expedition through 'Australia Felix'. Mitchell's positive report on the land east of the Grampians encouraged squatters to move into the district.

The first was Horatio Wills, the stepson of Robert Howe who established Sydney's first newspaper. Together with his family and some stockmen, Wills drove 500 cattle and 5000 sheep from the Murrumbidgee in 1839. The following year they camped on a hill one day shy of their destination. Wills named the hill Mount Ararat 'for like the Ark we have rested here'.

Gold was first discovered in the vicinity at Pinky Point, 6 km west of present-day Ararat, in 1854. Other leads followed and there were soon 9000 people strewn about the area known as 'Cathcart' after a popular actress of the day. One such prospector was escapee bushranger 'Gipsy' Smith who killed Sergeant John McNally during an attempted arrest at the Cathcart goldfields in 1856 (Smith was soon caught and executed).

The strike which established the town came about, indirectly, as a result of racial strife on the Victorian goldfields. As a result of anti-Asian sentiment, the state government, in 1855, placed a £20 poll tax on every Chinese person entering Victorian ports. Consequently, ships from China began landing at South Australia leaving the immigrants a walk of 500 km or more to the Victorian goldfields, often in winter with few opportunities to renew supplies or water and with unreliable guides. Thus one party of 700 Chinese miners came to rest on the future townsite while en route to Clunes. One member discovered alluvial gold in a stream and thus the Canton Lead was established. Within two weeks, the population was allegedly 20 000. With the assistance of the Chinese Protector, the Chinese miners survived violent attempts from whites to oust them from their claims. 93 kg of gold were shipped out in the first three weeks and 3 tons were officially escorted from town in the first three months.

Ararat's first newspaper was published in 1857. The town was named after the nearby mountain and declared a municipality almost immediately (in 1858). Work on a hospital, water supply, cemetery, botanical gardens, mechanics institute, church and courthouse began the following year. A gaol was completed in 1861 and a post office in 1862.

Ararat was advanced to the status of a borough in 1863 but, by that time, the gold had already begun to dwindle. However, the town survived as a service centre to the old pastoral properties and as a regional administrative centre. Moreover, from 1862, the process of breaking up the old squatter's estates began. Selectors gained a foothold and farming commenced. When the railway arrived in 1875 Ararat became a major rail junction.

The Mafeking goldrush at Mt William in 1900 saw a revival of gold fever and a resurgence of Ararat's population. Other goldmines contributed to the local economy from 1909 to 1920. The borough became a town in 1934 and a city in 1950.

E.J. Banfield, who made Dunk Island famous, trained as a journalist at the local newspaper before heading north.

The ten-day Golden Gateway Festival, held in October, is the major social event on the calender. There is also the One Act Play Festival in August.