Canadian, Victoria
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Canadian is a residential
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
in
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...
, Victoria, located 3km south-east of
Ballarat Central Ballarat Central (known as the Central Business Area by the City of Ballarat and sometimes simply as "Ballarat") is the central locality of Ballarat, Greater Ballarat in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The population of Ballarat Centra ...
. At the , Canadian had a population of 4,098. 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 1853including the Canadian, then the largest recorded nugget everled 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.


Geography

Canadian is a residential
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
located approximately south-east of
Ballarat Central Ballarat Central (known as the Central Business Area by the City of Ballarat and sometimes simply as "Ballarat") is the central locality of Ballarat, Greater Ballarat in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The population of Ballarat Centra ...
. The suburb's residential part is located along the Ballarat-Buninyong Road.


History

During the first years of the Victorian gold rush, Canadian Gully became one of the most prominent diggings on the
Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...
goldfields. January 1853 marked the discoveries of three gold nuggets each weighing over including the Canadian, then the largest recorded nugget ever and brought a gold rush to Ballarat greater than the original rush at
Golden Point The golden point, a sudden death overtime system, is used to resolve drawn matches in a number of sports. The term is borrowed from soccer's now-defunct golden goal. Rugby league Australia The golden point is used to determine a winner (where a ...
in 1851. The
gully A gully is a landform A landform is a land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. They may be natural or may be anthropogenic (caused or influenced by human activity). Landforms together make up a given ter ...
and the Canadian deep lead (buried gold-bearing riverbed) below it were extremely rich, and one area known as the "Jewellers' Shop" yielded over a ton of gold. However, the rush ended within several years and the nuggets found there were surpassed both in size and in public memory by later discoveries, such as the
Welcome Stranger Welcome Stranger is the name of the largest alluvial gold nugget ever discovered. It was unearthed by Cornwall, Cornish miners John Deason and Richard Oates on 5February 1869 in Moliagul, 9 miles north-west of Dunolly, Victoria, Dunolly in Vi ...
. The Canadian Gully and Canadian Lead give their name to the existing suburb of Canadian. The gully itself were named after a digger known as Canadian Swift. A
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...
opened on 1 March 1886 and closed in 1988, while a railway station at Canadian was part of the Buninyong railway line, which existed from 1889 to 1947. 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 historically not well-regarded, because Buninyong Road sometimes became
marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...
, and there was a lepers' camp nearby in southern
Golden Point The golden point, a sudden death overtime system, is used to resolve drawn matches in a number of sports. The term is borrowed from soccer's now-defunct golden goal. Rugby league Australia The golden point is used to determine a winner (where a ...
. By the 1980s, urban settlement had spread to Canadian.


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.


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. Canadian does not have a high school, and parts of the suburb are either zoned for Woodmans Hill Secondary College or Mount Clear College.


Notes


References

Suburbs of Ballarat {{GrampiansAU-geo-stub