Read all about it here at Ballarat's Mechanics Institute (c 1859), where you can browse every single edition of the Ballarat Courier newspaper since the 1850s – a fascinating insight into the gold-rush era. Tours of the handsome building are also possible. The excellent Minerva's Bookstore out the front has a heap of local history.
'Ballaarat' was the original spelling of the town's name. It's an Aboriginal word meaning 'resting place'.
