The Series has been brought to you to highlight local country towns in the South of Victoria.

Ballan

Ballan is a town in the state of Victoria, Australia, located on the Werribee River, 78 kilometres northwest of Melbourne. At the 2011 census, Ballan had a population of 2,774. It is the main administrative centre for the Shire of Moorabool local government area.

The area around Ballan was part of the tribal area of the Wathaurong people, part of the Kulin Nation. The area was rich in fauna, including kangaroos, kangaroo rats, bandicoots, dingos, and two species of native cat. Many species had vanished by the end of the 19th century, with European settlement.

The first European settlers crossed Bass Strait landing near Geelong and worked their way up the Moorabool River with their sheep flocks. Robert von Steiglitz first settled the area in 1838; he named the area after Ballan in Ireland. Other early settler names included Cowie, Stead, Wallace and Egerton. During the Victorian Gold Rush, it became an important staging point for coaches travelling to the Ballarat goldfields.

Source: Wikipedia