Pre-european settlement

Prior to pastoral settlement in 1837 Aboriginal people inhabited the land in the area which was to become known as Ballarat. This word is of native origin from "Balla" and "Arat" meaning 'resting place'. It was a camp ground or meeting place where groups gathered.

In 1837 these two words were first recorded by the squatter Archibald Yuille as "Ballaarat" who no doubt accentuated the vowels in his Scottish brogue. He chose this name for his sheep run on the Yarrowee River.

When surveyor William Swan Urquhart camped on the new goldfield in the summer of 1851-52, he used native names for places on his surveys. For example: "Wendouree" for the swamp, "Yarrowee" for the river and Ballaarat East and Ballaarat West for the localities on either side of the watercourse.

The official spelling of the City of Ballaarat had a double 'a' from the time of the proclamation of the township in 1852, the incorporation of the municipality in 1855, the creation of a borough in 1863 and the declaration of a city in 1870. It remained that way for 143 years until local government amalgamation in 1994, when the spelling was changed to the City of Ballarat to signify the incorporation of districts from an area greater than the pre-1994 city.

The nostalgic home town song which begins B, A, double L, double A, R, A, T, was written by Reginald Stoneham and Will A Bevan for a Home Coming to Ballarat in 1927.

Prior to pastoral settlement in 1837 Aboriginal people inhabited the land in the area which was to become known as Ballarat. This word is of native origin from "Balla" and "Arat" meaning 'resting place'. It was a camp ground or meeting place where groups gathered.

In 1837 these two words were first recorded by the squatter Archibald Yuille as "Ballaarat" who no doubt accentuated the vowels in his Scottish brogue. He chose this name for his sheep run on the Yarrowee River.

When surveyor William Swan Urquhart camped on the new goldfield in the summer of 1851-52, he used native names for places on his surveys. For example: "Wendouree" for the swamp, "Yarrowee" for the river and Ballaarat East and Ballaarat West for the localities on either side of the watercourse.

The official spelling of the City of Ballaarat had a double 'a' from the time of the proclamation of the township in 1852, the incorporation of the municipality in 1855, the creation of a borough in 1863 and the declaration of a city in 1870. It remained that way for 143 years until local government amalgamation in 1994, when the spelling was changed to the City of Ballarat to signify the incorporation of districts from an area greater than the pre-1994 city.

• 1838 - 1859
• 1860 - 1869
• 1870 - 1889
• 1890 - 1909
• 1910 - 1979
• 1980 - 1988

This pandemic which swept the world at the end of the Great War came to Australia by troops returning from Europe. How was this crisis met within Ballarat 100 years ago? By issuing warnings, isolation, bed rest, and nursing care.

On Saturday 23 November 1918, The Ballarat Star published Municipal Notices on the Spanish Influenza for the City of Ballarat and the Town of Ballarat East.

This was a list of DO's and DON'Ts, such as protect yourself and others, isolate patients, get treatment at once, and obey doctor's orders, even if irksome.

The DON'Ts were much the same: do not delay treatment, don't visit the afflicted, don't touch their belongings, don't allow old people and children especially, to go near patients, and do not kiss anyone about whom you have the slightest doubt of influenza.

From February to September 1919, the Exhibition Building was transformed into a hospital as Melbourne hospitals were unable to cope. Female patient beds were placed between the concert platform and the dome and male patients were accommodated in the great space beyond. Nursing staff slept onsite in re-purposed adjoining rooms, the western verandah, or a nearby school, while the basement became the morgue.

In Ballarat, the former army quarters at the showgrounds became an influenza quarantine camp for people who could not be kept in isolation at home. Many feared committal to the public fever camps or the cost of hospitalisation. Food deliveries were organised for stricken residents in private homes where whole families could be isolated for weeks on end. This is evidenced by a letter dated 12 July 1919 to Brigadier General Williams, City Clerk, signed by Honorary Red Cross Secretary Beccie McDonald, Central Workroom and Depot, City Hall, Ballarat, regarding the Ballarat Red Cross kitchen which supplied 3500 meals during the influenza epidemic. This was a continuation of the sterling work of the Home Front volunteers in preparing parcels for the comfort of soldiers in the trenches. Just another year of self-sacrifice for them after four long years of hardship brought on by the war.

At the hospital the entire three stories of the Alfred Wing was used to accommodate infectious patients from Ballarat and District. In June of 1919, Pleasant Street State School became a men's ward as cases increased during the second wave of infection. The death toll in Ballarat was uncertain because of the number of deaths at home where the diagnosis was not always confirmed. The Victorian Year Book figure of 91 deaths attributed to the influenza at Ballarat in 1919, was considered to be higher.

In Ballarat and the surrounding shires, it seems that the start of term one in 1919 was delayed by a month and at various stages of the year, especially during the second wave, up to half the students could be absent from school. There was debate about when schools should re-open with the decision being made in the affirmative when it was known that some of the children were now going to other schools. Upon resumption, Head Teachers were instructed to closely watch the children and send home suspicious cases.

The masked staff of the Ballarat Base Hospital with ambulance 1919 [Hyslop p 227]

The State government gave local health officers the power to close places where people could congregate, such as amusement halls, theatres, picture shows and libraries. Some churches refrained from holding services or were reduced to a minimum with the singing of hymns eliminated in the interest of public safety. The police assisted railway authorities to keep the Ballarat East and West station pathways free of crowds. As for masks, the City health officer said, The indiscriminate wearing of masks is to be deprecated. His reason for earnest disapproval was the likelihood of poor construction and lack of proper medical supervision.

As we live through the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown, we are hearing a wide range of opinions as to when restrictions should be relaxed. Back then, just as today, attitudes ranged from fatalistic to great anguish, and there was universal awareness of the need for better public hygiene.

Jennifer Burrell 

References:

Ballarat Council Miscellaneous War Correspondence 1919 VPRS 2500/P1 Unit 117. Letter dated 12 July 1919. Home Front Ballarat WW1 > Image Gallery > Correspondence.

The Ballarat Star - digitised and online for 1919 at Trove, thanks to BDGS. 

Life After Gold Twentieth-Century Ballarat, Weston BATE, 1993, Melbourne University Press 

Sovereign Remedies A history of Ballarat Base Hospital 1850s to 1980s, HYSLOP Anthea, 1989, Allen & Unwin, Sydney. 

Winds of Influence - a short history of the Ballarat grammar school 1911-1971, Ed. M J W BOYLE, 1971, Waller & Chester, Ballarat.

John Valves closed its doors in 2008. More than 130 workers lost their jobs as a result of the closure of the Creswick Road factory. However this business had a long history in Ballarat and employed many people over the years. 

The business started by Morgan B John in Lydiard Street South in 1896 with three men employed. However it grew quickly from a machine shop and foundry to a large complex including offices, a social club, and a pattern shop on the west side of Armstrong street, now the site of Cameron's.

The firm of MB John Ltd was incorporated in 1927. In 1954 MB John moved to a 12-acre site in Creswick Road on the corner of Norman Street and became the large scale manufacturer "John Valves". By 1960, 850 men were employed. The company manufactured industrial valves for use with steam, water, oil, air, gas, and chemicals. They designed and produced an extensive range of valves from raw materials such as bronze, cast iron, cast steel, and alloy steels for both domestic and global markets.

By 1996 around 115 people were employed but John Valves was put into liquidation on the 1st of July 2002. At the time 160 people were employed by the company. Within weeks new contracts were found and 30 employees were once again working on the site. However in November 2008 once again 130 employees found themselves locked out of the factory and the building was marked for demolition.

The Ballarat & District Genealogical Society was contacted and advised that there were employment cards being thrown out and that most had gone to the tip. The demolition company was contacted and said that was correct but there were still a number of cards floating around. We were able to collect a number of these cards, but unfortunately many thousand had already gone. 

These cards yield a history of a major workforce in Ballarat. Over 1200 have been scanned and indexed. Most have where the employee was born and their addresses, which is interesting in itself. Not all have every detail filled in; some having only a name, but many do include, date of birth, parents, previous employment, education, dependents, and some have listed their hobbies and where they were going to when they left the company.

One of these shows a man born in 1883 while others show some born in the 1970s. (Restrictions on later ones will be in place for privacy reasons) 

Carmel Reynen