Ballarat, city in southeastern Australia, in the state of Victoria, on the Yarrowee River. It is a commercial, manufacturing, and transportation center. Products include machinery, chemicals, processed food, and paper goods. Sovereign Hill, a re-creation of a gold-mining town of the mid-1800s, is a popular tourist attraction in Ballarat. Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals are also here. Ballarat was founded in 1852 after rich alluvial gold deposits were discovered nearby. Population (1999 estimate) 81,100.
