Editing Ballarat (section)

===Architecture===
[[File:Lydiard Street South.JPG|thumb|Victorian era buildings]]
Ballarat is renowned for its Victorian architectural heritage. In 2003 Ballarat was the first of two Australian cities to be registered as a member of the International League of Historical Cities and in 2006 hosted the 10th World [[League of Historical Cities]] Congress.<ref>[http://www.leaguehistoricalcities-ballarat.com/ League of Historical Cities Conference 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415194813/http://www.leaguehistoricalcities-ballarat.com/ |date=15 April 2011 }}. Leaguehistoricalcities-ballarat.com. Retrieved 18 August 2011.</ref> The city's history is a major focus of the [[Collaborative Research Centre in Australian History]], part of [[Federation University Australia]], and is located at old [[Ballarat Gaol]].

The legacy of the wealth generated during Ballarat's gold boom is still visible in a large number of fine stone buildings in and around the city, especially in the Lydiard Street area. This precinct contains some of Victoria's finest examples of [[Victorian era]] buildings, many of which are on the [[Victorian Heritage Register]] or classified by the [[National Trust of Australia]]. Notable civic buildings include the Town Hall (1870–72), the former Post Office (1864), the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery (1887), the [[Mechanics' Institutes|Mechanics' Institute]] (1860, 1869), the Queen Victoria Wards of the Ballarat Base Hospital (1890s) and the [[Ballarat railway station]] (1862, 1877, 1888). Other historic buildings include the Provincial Hotel (1909), Reid's [[Coffee Palace]] (1886), Craig's Royal Hotel (1862–1890) and Her Majesty's Theatre (1875), the oldest intact and operating lyric theatre in Australia<ref name="ReferenceA"/> and Ballarat Fire Station (1864, 1911) one of Victoria's oldest fire fighting structures<ref>{{cite news|title=The Tower|work=Royal Auto|date=May 2010|page=7|author=Brown, Jenny|publisher=RACV Public Affairs}}</ref> and the Jewish synagogue (1861) the oldest surviving synagogue on the Australian mainland.<ref>[http://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/admin/file/content2/c7/ballarat_synagogue.pdf Heritage Victoria – Ballarat Synagogue] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018082843/http://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/admin/file/content2/c7/ballarat_synagogue.pdf |date=18 October 2009 }}. (PDF). Retrieved 18 August 2011.</ref>

[[File:VictorianBuilding0003.jpg|thumb|Streetscape with the former Post Office at the rear]]
[[File:BallaratEastFireBrigade.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ballarat East Fire Station]], the oldest continually operating fire station in the Southern Hemisphere, and the site of the first operational telephone, made by [[Henry Sutton (inventor)|Henry Sutton]].]]
Restoration of historic buildings is encouraged including a low interest council Heritage Loans Scheme.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/heritage/help--advice-for-owners-of-heritage-places-in-ballarat/heritage-restoration-loan.aspx|title=Heritage Restoration Loan|publisher=Ballarat.vic.gov.au|date=1 June 2010|access-date=18 August 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022015246/http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/heritage/help--advice-for-owners-of-heritage-places-in-ballarat/heritage-restoration-loan.aspx|archive-date=22 October 2010}}</ref> and the prevention of demolition by neglect discouraged by council policies.<ref>[http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/ballarat-city-council-plan-to-preserve-heritage/1813142.aspx Ballarat City Council Plan to Preserve Heritage] by Marcus Power for The Courier. 26 April 2010.</ref> Since the 1970s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/building-and-planning/statutory-planning/heritage-protection.aspx|title=Heritage Protection|publisher=Ballarat.vic.gov.au|date=1 June 2010|access-date=18 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324070646/http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/building-and-planning/statutory-planning/heritage-protection.aspx|archive-date=24 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> the local council has become increasingly aware of the economic and social value of heritage preservation.<ref>[http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/publications/strategy/pubs/economics-value-ballarat.pdf The Economics of Heritage – The value of heritage to the City of Ballarat] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317064908/http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/publications/strategy/pubs/economics-value-ballarat.pdf |date=17 March 2011 }} from environment.gov.au</ref> This is in stark contrast to the 1950s and 60s when Ballarat followed Melbourne in encouraging the removal of Victorian buildings, verandahs in particular. Recent restoration projects funded by the Ballarat include the reconstruction of significant cast iron lace verandahs including the Mining Exchange, Art Gallery (2007), Mechanics institute (2005–)<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/955cbeae7df9460dca256c8c00152d2b/d9871d74f940d93cca2570b100826472!OpenDocument|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111195400/http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/955cbeae7df9460dca256c8c00152d2b/d9871d74f940d93cca2570b100826472%21OpenDocument|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2012|title=Ballaarat Mechanics Institute to get $1.5 Million Restoration|publisher=Legislation.vic.gov.au|date=4 November 2005|access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref> on Lydiard Street and in 2010 the restoration of the Town Hall and the long neglected Unicorn Hotel façade on Sturt Street.<ref>[http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/restoration-work-to-start-at-unicorn-hotel-after-permits-approved/1471127.aspx Restoration work to start at Unicorn Hotel after permits approved] by Marcus Power for The Courier. 27 March 2009.</ref>

Ballarat Citizens for Thoughtful Development formed in 1998 and was incorporated as Ballarat Heritage Watch in 2005 to ensure that the city's architectural heritage is given due consideration in the planning process.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ballaratheritagewatch.wordpress.com/|title=Ballarat Heritage Watch|publisher=Ballaratheritagewatch.wordpress.com|access-date=18 August 2010}}</ref>

The [[Ballarat Botanical Gardens]] (established in 1858) are recognised as the finest example of a regional botanical gardens in Australia and are home to many heritage listed exotic tree species and feature a modern glasshouse and horticultural centre and the [[Prime Ministers Avenue]] which features bronze busts of every past Australian Prime Minister.

Ballarat is notable for its very wide boulevards. The main street is Sturt Street with over {{convert|2|km|mi|abbr=off}} of central gardens known as the [[Sturt Street Gardens]] featuring bandstands, fountains, statues, monuments, memorials and lampposts. Ballarat is home to the largest of a collection of [[Avenue of honour|Avenues of Honour]] in Victoria. The {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=off|adj=mid|-long}} Ballarat Avenue of Honour consists of a total of approximately 4,000 trees, mostly [[deciduous]] which in many parts arch completely over the road. Each tree has a bronze plaque dedicated to a soldier from the Ballarat region who enlisted during World War I. The Avenue of Honour and the Arch of Victory are on the [[Victorian Heritage Register]] and are seen by approximately 20,000 visitors each year.

The city also has the greatest concentration of public statuary in any Australian city with many parks and streets featuring sculptures and statues dating from the 1860s to the present. Some of the other notable memorials located in the [[Sturt Street Gardens]] in the middle of Ballarat's main boulevard include a bandstand situated in the heart of the city that was funded and built by the City of Ballarat Band in 1913 as a tribute to the bandsmen of the {{RMS|Titanic}}, a fountain dedicated to the early explorers [[Burke and Wills]], and those dedicated to monarchs and those who have played pivotal roles in the development of the city and its rich social fabric. These include, [[Robert Burns]], [[Peter Lalor]], [[Sir Albert Coates]], [[Harold Elliott (Australian Army officer)|Harold "Pompey" Elliott]], [[William Dunstan]], King [[George V]], [[Queen Victoria]] and more.

Ballarat has an extensive array of significant war memorials, the most recent of which is the Australian [[Ex Prisoner of War Memorial]]. The most prominent memorial in the city is the Ballarat [[Triumphal Arch|Victory Arch]] that spans the old Western Highway on the Western approaches of the city. The archway serves as the focal point for the Avenue of Honour. Other significant individual monuments located along Sturt Street include those dedicated to the Boer War (1899–1901), the World War II (1939–1945) cenotaph, and Vietnam (1962–1972) (located adjacent to the Arch of Victory).