Soldiers Hill, Victoria
Encyclopedia
Soldiers Hill is a suburb of Ballarat, Victoria
, Australia
located directly north of the CBD. It is one of the few original suburbs of Ballarat that was established during the Victorian gold rush
days. At the 2006 census
, Soldiers Hill had a population of 2,858.
Soldiers Hill is a relatively small suburban area bounded by the Mildura Railway Line to the west, the Serviceton Railway Line to the south, Havelock Street to the east and Howitt Street to the north.
Soldiers Hill is almost entirely residential in nature and almost entirely covered by a City of Ballarat
Heritage Overlay
, many of the homes date to the Victorian era
and feature an abundance of decorative cast iron ornament.
The hill which the suburb takes its name from was called soldiers hill due to it being where the military's 40th Regiment
were stationed prior to the battle of the Eureka Stockade
.
north of the steep escarpment and Yarrowee River gully with deep narrow blocks and laneways providing rear access to houses.
The oldest homes date back to the 1850s and the North Star Hotel and Huff Bakery were among the earliest buildings.
In the 1880s the suburb was heavily subdivided as it became a favoured place of residence for Ballarat's middle and upper classes with the city readily accessed by tramway. Large mansions congregated at the highest point of the hill and near the railway station while the elaborate iron laced narrow cottages of the middle class filled the lower streets.
The main roads connecting Soldiers Hill to the Ballarat CBD are Doveton Street, Armstrong Street, Lydiard Street North and Peel Street.
Several bus routes run down the main spine of Lydiard Street North as well as Seymour-Nolan Street.
There are few bicycle facilities in Soldiers Hill. A short stretch of segregated bicycle facilities runs along the railway reserve at Doveton Crescent. Doveton Street is the only on road marked bicycle lane. Ballarat Railway station has a secure bicycle parking cage.
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
located directly north of the CBD. It is one of the few original suburbs of Ballarat that was established during the Victorian gold rush
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
days. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Soldiers Hill had a population of 2,858.
Soldiers Hill is a relatively small suburban area bounded by the Mildura Railway Line to the west, the Serviceton Railway Line to the south, Havelock Street to the east and Howitt Street to the north.
Soldiers Hill is almost entirely residential in nature and almost entirely covered by a City of Ballarat
City of Ballarat
The City of Ballarat is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia around Ballarat. It is located in the western part of the state. It has an area of 740 square kilometres. In 2001 it had a population of 81,000...
Heritage Overlay
Heritage Overlay
A Heritage Overlay or HO is one of a number of planning scheme overlays contained in the Victorian Planning Provisions, for use in planning schemes in Victoria, Australia...
, many of the homes date to the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and feature an abundance of decorative cast iron ornament.
The hill which the suburb takes its name from was called soldiers hill due to it being where the military's 40th Regiment
40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot
The 40th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1717 and amalgamated into The Prince of Wales's Volunteers in 1881.-Formation:...
were stationed prior to the battle of the Eureka Stockade
Eureka Stockade
The Eureka Rebellion of 1854 was an organised rebellion by gold miners which occurred at Eureka Lead in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The Battle of Eureka Stockade was fought on 3 December 1854 and named for the stockade structure erected by miners during the conflict...
.
History
Soldiers Hill was an early planned suburb included in the plans of surveyor Urquart, like much of Ballarat Central and also inner Melbourne, it was laid out in a grid planGrid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
north of the steep escarpment and Yarrowee River gully with deep narrow blocks and laneways providing rear access to houses.
The oldest homes date back to the 1850s and the North Star Hotel and Huff Bakery were among the earliest buildings.
In the 1880s the suburb was heavily subdivided as it became a favoured place of residence for Ballarat's middle and upper classes with the city readily accessed by tramway. Large mansions congregated at the highest point of the hill and near the railway station while the elaborate iron laced narrow cottages of the middle class filled the lower streets.
Hotels
Victorian era Soldiers Hill was historically home to numerous hotels, however just a handful continue usually also operating as motel style accommodation. These include Seymours (formerly North Star), North Britain Hotel and The Miller's Arms.Education
Schools include the Macarthur Street Primary School and St Columba's Catholic Primary School.Places of worship
There are some significant old church buildings in Soldiers Hill, including Anglican, Uniting, Catholic and Scots Presbyterian halls.Transport
At the southern end of Soldiers Hill is the Ballarat railway station.The main roads connecting Soldiers Hill to the Ballarat CBD are Doveton Street, Armstrong Street, Lydiard Street North and Peel Street.
Several bus routes run down the main spine of Lydiard Street North as well as Seymour-Nolan Street.
There are few bicycle facilities in Soldiers Hill. A short stretch of segregated bicycle facilities runs along the railway reserve at Doveton Crescent. Doveton Street is the only on road marked bicycle lane. Ballarat Railway station has a secure bicycle parking cage.