Ballan, Victoria

Ballan is a small town in the state of Victoria, Australia located on the Werribee River, 78km northwest of Melbourne. At the, Ballan had a population of 2,985.It is the main administrative centre for the Shire of Moorabool local government area.During the Victorian Gold Rush, it became an important staging point for coaches travelling to the Ballarat goldfields.HistoryThe area around Ballan was part of the tribal area of the Wautharong people, part of the Kulin nation. The area was rich in fauna, including kangaroo, 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.There were clashes between indigenous Australians and white settlers during settlement. Robert von Steiglitz stated in his journal "… it may be questioned by some feather-bed philanthropist whether we had the right to take the country from the blacks but I believe the general rule is that if people cultivate or graze the land they have a claim to it. These creatures did neither …".