Ararat
In this section
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Town information
Region
Ararat Rural City CouncilPopulation
7,170Distance from Melbourne
203km / 126 miles and 2.5 hours travelling time from MelbourneRoad access
Western Highway
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Places of interest
Former Aradale Mental Hospital
One Tree Hill
Mount Cole
Mount Langi Ghiran
Green Hill Lake
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Accommodation
20 establishments with approximately 400 bed spaces. For accommodation bookings phone Ararat Visitor Information Centre toll free 1800 657 158.
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Overview
Boasting captivating heritage and café chic, Ararat characterises the energy and diversity of the region with an incredible blend of iconic Victorian-era architecture, notably the Ararat Town Hall and Pyrenees House, and classic examples of art deco buildings and structures. With a population of 7170, Ararat has a picturesque outlook to the east over Mt Langi Ghiran and the Pyrenees ranges, while the immense Grampians National Park is just 30 minutes to the west.
Ararat is home to the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre, one of the few examples of a traditional Chinese Pagoda building within Australia and boasts everything from café culture to boutique shops and a diversity of sporting and education facilities. Other unique attractions include the chilling J Ward, the imposing bluestone jail that was home to the State’s criminally insane from 1859 to 1991 and is now a major tourist attraction, the former Aradale Mental Asylum, and Ararat Regional Art Gallery which houses one of two major contemporary fibre and textile art collections in regional Australia. Ararat is also the hub of a thriving wine industry and agriculture continues to be an important economic driver in the region with significant farm enterprises in cropping and wool growing.
History
Ararat boasts a fascinating history as the only town in Australia to be founded by Chinese, who discovered gold at the Canton Lead in 1857, triggering a gold rush that saw 30,000 people descend on the town in a matter of weeks.
The Tjapwurong Aborigines inhabited the Ararat district long before the arrival of white men. The townsite was known to them as 'Butingitch'.
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. The borough became a town in 1934 and a city in 1950.
