Canadian, Victoria

Canadian Ballarat,  Victoria
A view over the suburb of Canadian from the Sovereign Hill open air museum's poppet head.
Canadian
Coordinates	37°34′34″S143°52′37″E / 37.576°S 143.877°E / -37.576; 143.877
Population	4,098 (2021 census) [1]
• Density	532/km2 (1,378/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	3350
Area	7.7 km2 (3.0 sq mi)
Location	4 km (2 mi) SE of Ballarat
LGA(s)	City of Ballarat
State electorate(s)	Eureka
Federal division(s)	Ballarat
Suburbs around Canadian: Ballarat East Ballarat East Warrenheip Golden Point, Mount Pleasant Canadian Navigators Magpie, Mount Clear Mount Clear, Mount Helen Navigators

Canadian is a residential suburb in Ballarat, Victoria, located 3km south-east of Ballarat Central. At the 2021 census, Canadian had a population of 4,098. ^[1]

A small gold rush at Canadian Gully occurred in September 1852, during the period known as the Victorian gold rush. The discoveries of three large gold nuggets in January 1853—including the Canadian, then the largest recorded nugget ever—led to another gold rush which lasted for several years. Canadian became its own suburb. A post office opened in 1886 and closed in 1988. Urban settlement had spread to Canadian by the 1980s.

It is primarily a residential area, but has a school, a small shopping area, and several parks and reserves including Canadian Lake and also Sparrow Ground, which has been the subject of much community debate^{[ why? ]}.

Geography

Canadian is a residential suburb located approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south-east of Ballarat Central. The suburb's residential part is located along the Ballarat-Buninyong Road. ^[2]

History

Victorian gold rush

Main article: Canadian Gully

The Victorian gold rush began in 1851. ^[3] During the 1850s and 1860s, the Ballarat goldfields attracted numerous miners hoping to become wealthy, including hundreds of Canadian immigrants. Ballarat was known for its leads (/liːds/), buried gold-bearing riverbeds. Canadian Lead was the first to be discovered. It was located beneath Canadian Gully, ^{[lower-alpha 1]} which was named for a successful Canadian digger known as Canadian Swift. ^{[3] [4]} The Canadian Lead ran south, ^{[lower-alpha 2]} east of where Canadian Creek crosses Buninyong Road, and divided into smaller leads as it passed by Sovereign Hill. Its richest part was near where Ellsworth Street is now. The lead gives its name to the present suburb of Canadian. ^[2] Gold was first found at the surface of Canadian Gully on 20 September 1851. Many diggers began to leave the Ballarat goldfields. In March 1852, David Ham's party found the first gold nugget at the gully. While rains in autumn forced the diggers to drier ground, digging at the gully resumed in July. ^[3]

In September, another party found three nuggets within 6 inches (15 cm) of the surface, causing a gold rush at Canadian Gully. Within two days, seventy tents had been set up at the gully. All of the diggers were successful. During January 1853, three large nuggets were discovered: the Sarah Sands (1,117 oz gross including quartz), an unnamed nugget (1,012 oz gross) and the Canadian (1,619 oz gross, 1,319 oz gold). ^{[lower-alpha 3]} As the Canadian was the largest recorded nugget up to then, it was widely covered in the press. The three discoveries attracted even more diggers to Canadian Gully. The ensuring gold rush was probably the greatest up to then, surpassing even the original Ballarat rush, and diggers spread across the wider Ballarat area. Many large nuggets were discovered on the Canadian Lead, especially at its junction with the Prince Regent Lead. The Lady Hotham (1,118 oz), a nugget discovered in September 1854, was one of the last major yields of the Canadian Lead; by 1855, it was being reworked by Chinese miners. ^[3]

After the gold rush

Canadian Post Office opened on 1 March 1886 and closed in 1988. ^[5] A railway station at Cardigan was part of the Buninyong railway line, which existed from 1889 to 1947. ^[2]

Ellsworth Street became the boundary between the City of Ballarat and the now non-existent Shire of Buninyong, putting Canadian in both municipalities. The suburb was not well-regarded, because Buninyong Road sometimes became marsh, and there was a lepers' camp nearby in southern Golden Point. ^[2]

By the 1980s, urban settlement had spread to Canadian. ^[2] Canadian Lakes, an exclusively residential area was developed in early 2000. This development is built around the Canadian Lake.^{[ citation needed ]}

Parks

Canadian is also the location of Lake Esmond, which was formerly a quarry for Eureka Tile Works until 1982, and later converted into a lake and recreational area that opened on 6 June 1988. Lake Esmond is often used by various Rotary Clubs, and is maintained by the City of Ballarat, and the Rotary Club of East Ballarat. ^[6]

Education

Historically, the suburb lacked a school and children were sent to the Eureka Street, Golden Point, and Richards Street Primary Schools. In 1997, Canadian Lead Primary School was formed from the amalgamation of these three schools, as well as the school in Millbrook. It is located in the suburb's north, beside Pennyweight Gully Creek. ^[2] Canadian does not have a high school, and parts of the suburb are either zoned for Woodmans Hill Secondary College or Mount Clear College. ^[7]

Notes

1. Canadian Gully was located north of the junction of Elsworth Street and Main Road, within the southern boundary of what is now Sovereign Hill. ^[3]
2. Writing in the Journal of Australasian Mining History, Peter McCarthy said the Canadian Lead ran "east-west" of the Canadian Gully. ^[3]
3. For more information on the diggers, their discoveries, and the aftermath, see McCarthy (2022).

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Canadian (State Suburb)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
2. "Canadian". Victorian Places. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
3. McCarthy, Peter (October 2022). "The 1853 Canadian Gully nuggets, Ballarat, Victoria" (PDF). Journal of Australasian Mining History. 20: 73–85.
4. "Immigration History from Canada to Victoria". Origins. Museums Victoria . Retrieved 27 September 2023.
5. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List" . Retrieved 11 April 2008.
6. "Lake Esmond - City of Ballarat". Archived from the original on 4 July 2007.
7. "Find my School". www.findmyschool.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 27 September 2023.