Editing Ballarat (section)

=== 20th century ===
[[File:Sturt and lydiard streets in 1899.jpg|thumb|right|The intersection of Lydiard and Sturt streets, c. 1905, shows a bustling city of trams, horses and pedestrians.]]
[[File:Ballarat North Workshops.jpg|thumb|Development of the Ballarat North Workshops was a major initiative to capitalise on the city's burgeoning role as a railway town and transition from a declining gold mining industry.]]
Local [[boosterism|boosters]] at the start of the 20th century adopted the nickname "[[Athens]] of Australia", first used to describe Ballarat by the jurist and politician [[John Madden (jurist)|Sir John Madden]].<ref>THE ATHENS OF AUSTRALIA, Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11988, 3 November 1909, p. 7 [http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=PBH19091103.2.86&e=-------10--1----2-- Papers Past – Poverty Bay Herald – 3 November 1909 – "The Athens of Australia."]</ref><ref>Douglas Pike, Geoffrey Serle: Australian dictionary of biography, Vol. 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983</ref><ref>Frederic C. (Frederic Chambers) Spurr : Five years under the Southern Cross; experiences and impressions [http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/frederic-c-frederic-chambers-spurr/five-years-under-the-southern-cross-experiences-and-impressions-ala/page-10-five-years-under-the-southern-cross-experiences-and-impressions-ala.shtml Read the ebook Five years under the Southern Cross; experiences and impressions by Frederic C. (Frederic Chambers) Spurr] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012042738/http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/frederic-c-frederic-chambers-spurr/five-years-under-the-southern-cross-experiences-and-impressions-ala/page-10-five-years-under-the-southern-cross-experiences-and-impressions-ala.shtml |date=12 October 2012 }}</ref><ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10742486 The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848–1954), Saturday 23 October 1909]. Trove.nla.gov.au (23 October 1909). Retrieved 18 August 2011.</ref> The first electricity supply was completed in 1901, and that year a bluestone power station was built at the corner of Ripon Street and Wendouree Parade with the main aim of electrifying the city's tramway network.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite news|first=Julia|last=Balderstone|title=SEC offers historic lake property for sale|date=20 February 1993|work=The Courier}}</ref> Despite such advancements, mining activity slowed at this time and Ballarat's growth all but stopped, leading to a decades-long period of decline. The [[Sunshine rail disaster]] in 1908 resulted in the death of dozens of Ballarat residents,<ref name=age>{{Cite news|title=Terrible railway disaster|newspaper=The Age|location=Melbourne|publisher=David Syme & Co|date=21 August 1908}}</ref> and in August 1909, a great storm lashed the city, resulting in the death of one person and the injury of seven others, as well as the destruction of numerous homes.<ref>"The Ballarat Tornado" p6. The Mercury. 25 August 1909.</ref><ref>"Furious Storm at Ballarat – several houses demolished, woman crushed to death, several persons injured" p5. The West Australian. 23 August 1909.</ref>

Ballarat's significant representation in [[World War I]] resulted in heavy human loss. Around this time, it was overtaken in population by the port city of [[Geelong]], further diminishing its provincial status.<ref>Progressive Geelong – Industrial Expansion. Development of the Harbour. [[The Argus, Melbourne]] 14 October 1921 p 8</ref> In response, local lobbyists continually pushed the Victorian government for [[decentralisation]], the greatest success being the [[Victorian Railways]] opening the [[Ballarat North Workshops]] in April 1917.<ref name="lee144">{{cite book|author=Lee, Robert|author2=Rosemary Annable|author3=Donald Stuart Garden|title=The Railways of Victoria 1854–2004|date=1 August 2007|publisher=Melbourne University Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-0-522-85134-2|page=144}}</ref> The [[Great Depression]] proved a further setback for Ballarat, with the closure of many institutions and causing the worst unemployment in the city's history, with over a thousand people in the dole queue.<ref name="Speak Out Boldly"/>{{rp|38}}

The city's two municipalities, Ballarat East and West Town Councils, finally amalgamated in 1921 to form the City of Ballarat.<ref name="Speak Out Boldly"/>{{rp|32}}

While deep, the depression was also brief. The interwar period proved a period of recovery for Ballarat with a number of major infrastructure projects well underway including a new sewerage system. In 1930, [[Ballarat Airport]] was established. By 1931, Ballarat's economy and population was recovering strongly with further diversification of industry, although in 1936 Geelong displaced it as the state's second largest city.<ref>Geelong Ousts Ballarat. Population Surprises. ''The Argus'' (Melbourne), 28 April 1936, p. 10.</ref> During World War II an expanded Ballarat airport was the base of the [[RAAF]] Wireless Air Gunners' School as well as the base for [[USAAF]] Liberator bomber squadrons. In 1942, Ballarat became connected to the state electricity grid by a 66,000 kV line.<ref name="autogenerated2"/> Prior to this, power supply was generated locally.

During [[World War II]], Ballarat was the location of [[List of RAAF inland aircraft fuel depots|RAAF No.1 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD)]], completed in 1942 in the defence of Australia against a Japanese invasion and decommissioned on 29 August 1944. Usually consisting of four tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the [[RAAF]] and the [[US Army Air Forces]] at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000).<ref>{{Citation|author1=Australia. Royal Australian Air Force. Historical Section|title=Logistics units|year=1995|publisher=AGPS Press|isbn=978-0-644-42798-2}}</ref>

In the [[post-war]] era, Ballarat's growth continued. In response to an acute housing shortage, significant suburban expansion occurred. An extensive [[Housing Commission of Victoria]] estate was built on the former Ballarat Common (today known as [[Wendouree West, Victoria|Wendouree West]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=Wendouree West Profile and History|url=http://www.wendoureewest.com/renewal/wendwest.htm#history|work=Wendouree West Community Renewal|access-date=19 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100709075704/http://www.wendoureewest.com/renewal/wendwest.htm#history|archive-date=9 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The estate was originally planned to contain over 750 prefabricated houses. While planning for the estate began in 1949, main construction occurred between 1951 and 1962.

The 1950s brought a new optimism to the city. On 17 April 1952 it was announced that Lake Wendouree was to be the venue for rowing events of the 1956 Summer Olympics,<ref name="Speak Out Boldly"/> and work soon began on an Olympic village in Gillies Street. A new prefabricted power terminal substation at Norman Street Ballarat North was constructed between 1951 and 1953 by the State Electricity Commission.<ref>Ballarat 'B' Power Station. Ballarat Historical Society – private collection</ref> The first [[Begonia Festival]], a highly successful community celebration, was held in 1953. [[Elizabeth II]] visited on 8 March 1954.<ref name="Speak Out Boldly"/> The Civic Centre, Prince Alfred Hall had burned down suspiciously that year; however a new Civic Hall was constructed and opened in March 1955. On 23 November 1956, the Olympic torch was carried through the city, and the following day the rowing events were held at the lake.<ref name="Speak Out Boldly"/> On 2 March 1958 the [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Mother]] visited Ballarat.

During the following decades, the city saw increased threats to its heritage. In 1964, the Ballarat City Council passed laws banning pillar-supported verandahs in the CBD, which threatened the removal of historic cast iron verandahs in the city. The by-law was met by staunch opposition from the National Trust, which had begun campaigning to protect some of the city's most historic buildings.<ref name="Speak Out Boldly"/>{{rp|58}} By the 1970s, Ballarat began to officially recognise its substantial heritage, and the first heritage controls were recommended to ensure its preservation. With the opening of [[Sovereign Hill]], the city made a rapid shift to become a major cultural tourist destination, visited by thousands each year.

During the 1970s, a further 300 houses were constructed at Wendouree West. Private housing in the adjacent suburb of [[Wendouree, Victoria|Wendouree]] closely matched and eventually eclipsed this by the mid-1960s. The suburb of greater Wendouree and Wendouree West had evolved as the suburban middle-class heart of the city. [[Charles III of the United Kingdom|Charles, Prince of Wales]] visited Ballarat on 28 October 1974 during which he toured Sovereign Hill, the Ballarat College of Advanced Education's new Mt Helen Campus and the White Swan Reservoir and spoke at Civic Hall.<ref>City of Ballarat Mayors Report 1974 – 1975</ref>

Ballarat played an important role in the [[Stolen Generations|Stolen Generation]] throughout the 20th century, where the [[Ballarat Orphanage]] saw Aboriginal children who had been taken from their families. The Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BADAC) was established by members of the Ballarat and district Aboriginal community in 1979. It became a co-operative to deliver health, social, welfare and community development programs to local Aboriginal people. In 2017, local Aboriginal community elder Ted Lovett was awarded the [[Order of Australia Medal]] for services to the indigenous community and for his works in eliminating racism in sports in south-west Victoria. Karen Heap and Ted Lovett were listed on the Victoria's Aboriginal Honour Role both in part for their work at BADAC.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Whelan|first=Melanie|date=2019-11-12|title=Ted Lovett, Karen Heap hope for 'path finders' in fight for equality|url=https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/6487496/ted-lovett-karen-heap-hope-for-path-finders-in-fight-for-equality/|access-date=2021-11-15|website=The Courier|language=en-AU}}</ref>