Ararat, Victoria

Infobox Australian Place | type = city
name = Ararat
state = vic

---

caption = The main street, looking west
lga = Rural City of Ararat
postcode = 3377
est = 1857
pop = 8215 (2006)Census 2006 AUS | id = SSC25029 | name = Ararat (State Suburb) | accessdate = 2007-10-01 | quick = on]
area = 12.6
propval = [http://www.domain.com.au/public/suburbprofile.aspx?suburb=Ararat&postcode=3377 $145,500] (2006)
stategov =
fedgov = Wannon
dist1 = 205
location1= Melbourne

Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, approximately 205 kilometres west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway. Is the largest town in the local government area known as the Rural City of Ararat and is in the federal Division of Wannon. The town is set between mountain ranges and surrounded by fertile grazing country and has a population of approximately 8220.

History

Europeans first settled in the Grampians region in the 1840s after surveyor Thomas Mitchell passed through the area in 1836. In 1841, Horatio Wills, on his way to selecting country further south, wrote in his diary, "like the Ark we rested" and named a nearby hill Mt Ararat. It is from this entry and the nearby Mount that the town takes its name.

The Post Office opened February 1, 1856 although known as Cathcart until August 31, 1857.Citation
last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocd.w?
access-date = 2008-04-11 ] In 1857, a party of Chinese miners en route to the Central Victorian gold fields struck gold at the Canton Lead which marked the beginning of great growth in Ararat. With the connection continuing to grow today through a sister city relationship with Taishan, China. Vines were planted in 1863 by French settlers.

Economy

Primary industries in the region include wool, beef and wine. A regional campus of the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE is located in Ararat. The town has a regional airport YARA (ARY).

Tourism

Ararat is an ideal base for exploring the regions many natural attractions including the Grampians National Park, Mt Langi Ghiran, Mt Cole, Mt Buangor, Ararat Hills Regional Park and the Pyrenees Ranges. Ararat is also the gateway to the Grampians Wine Region .

Tourist attractions include:
*J Ward, a lunatic asylum for criminally insane closed in 1991 and now a museum taking tours daily.
* [http://www.gumsan.com.au/ Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre]
*Ararat Regional Art Gallery
*Ararat Railway Heritage Museum
*Langi Morgala Museum
*Numerous local wineries
*The Golden Gateway Festival
*Jailhouse Rock Festival
*Challicum Hills Wind Farm

Trivia

Two Royal Australian Navy ships have been named after this town. HMAS "Ararat" (K 34), a Bathurst class corvette, and HMAS "Ararat" (ACPB 89), an Armidale class patrol boat.

Transport

The city is located on the Western Highway. Ararat station is serviced by V/Line with coaches and trains running daily to and from Melbourne, as well as The Overland service from Melbourne to Adelaide. Since 2008 the Ararat Transit bus service has operated around the city 5 days a week, providing 86 services on three routes, connecting with train services. Before this time it operated three days per week and offered 30 services. [cite web
url=http://ararat.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/ararat-transit-launched/768940.aspx
title=Ararat transit launched
work=Ararat Advertiser
date=13/05/2008
publisher=yourguide.com.au
accessdate=2008-08-01]

port

Ararat has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Wimmera Football League. Citation | last = Full Points Footy | title = Ararat | url = http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/Ararat.htm | accessdate = 2008-07-25 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AS/7/Ararat.html FallingRain Map - elevation = 301m (Red dots are railways)]

* Ararat is located at (coord|37|17|S|142|55|E|region:AU-VIC_type:city)
* [http://www.ararat.vic.gov.au Ararat Online]