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The Establishment of Ballarat West 1855 From Gold Field to Municipality: The Establishment of Ballarat West 1855 – 1857 Graeme Cartledge BA (Hons) Federation University This thesis is submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts School of Arts Federation University P.O. Box 663 University Drive, Mount Helen Ballarat Victoria, 3353 Australia Submitted for examination December 2018 I Abstract This thesis examines the establishment of the Ballarat West Municipality in the years of 1855 – 1857 and the factors that contributed to the introduction of local self-government in the immediate aftermath of the Eureka Stockade. Underlying the study is the changing administrative requirements necessitated by the transition from a temporary gold field to a permanent city. A central theme explored in relation to this development is that it was a consequence of the emerging culture of modernity of that era precipitating radical political changes in local government that began with the 1835 British Municipal Corporations Act. This theme is expanded to highlight the reform of local government in the Victorian era in response to urbanization and the need for modern and rationalised methods of managing the new towns and growing cities. The difficulty in making and sustaining such progressive changes in Britain is contrasted with the eager adoption of the concept of progress and the new Victorian Municipal Corporations Act of 1854 on the Ballarat goldfields. The question as to why the Municipality was established is answered by exploring the connection between the failure of the Goldfields Commission at the end of 1854 and the belief held by many, that taxes should be accompanied with political representation and should be spent where they were collected. This study exposes the remarkable story of how the first elected councillors, starting II from scratch, quickly established administrative systems and brought order to a community emerging out of turmoil. The process of how the municipality was established is uncovered by an extensive survey of the council minutes, the media, council correspondence and public records. III STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Except where explicit reference is made in the text of this thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or have been awarded another degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been relied upon or used without due acknowledgement in the main text and bibliography of the thesis. This is to certify that the thesis is less than 40,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, bibliographies, footnotes and appendices. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis owes much to the kindness, patience and consideration of many people and organisations. I would like to express my particular appreciation to the guidance and support of my principal supervisor Anne Beggs-Sunter whose love of Ballarat’s history and heritage is truly inspiring. Professor Weston Bate who passed away during the course of this project also has my gratitude for providing the inspiration for this thesis through his iconic contribution to the history of Ballarat. I would also like to thank the HDR team at Federation University and their professionalism that made it possible to gain the necessary skills to complete this project. The staff of the E J Barker library also are very deserving of praise for their high degree of efficiency and expertise in obtaining and providing many of the resources relevant to this thesis. My gratitude and thanks is also extended to the staff at the Public Record Office, Victoria at Ballarat and North Melbourne, the Ballarat and Prahran Mechanics Institute, The Geoffrey Blainey Research Centre at Federation University and the staff at the City of Ballarat Library and the Australiana Research Collection. The completion of this thesis also owes a great deal to the resources available through Trove, many of which prior to its existence would have been beyond the resources of time and travel to obtain. This research is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. V CONTENTS Abstract………………………………………………………………………………… ii Statement of Authorship………………………………………………………………. iv Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………v Contents………………………………………………………………………………….vi Appendix………………………………………………………………………………….x List of Illustrations………………………………………………………………………xi Chapter Outline…………………………………………………………………………xiii Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter One: Australian Local and local Government Historiography …………...........7 Municipal histories and the history of Government…………………………………...8 Tasmanian and NSW Municipal histories……………………………………………..9 Municipal history and voluntarism…………………………………………………...10 Municipal Government: progress and economic development………………………10 Local Histories………………………………………………………………………..11 Victorian Local histories, municipal history and modernity………………………….12 Chapter two: A Better England ……………………………………………………………15 Modernity and structural change in England…………………………………………15 Immigrants to Victoria as casualties of modernity…………………………………...16 Belief in the ‘British system.’………………………………………………………...17 British structural inequality and modernity…………………………………………..18 A different world on the Goldfields…………………………………………………..20 Constructing a Liberal & Modern society in colonial Victoria……………………… 21 Modernity and Progress on the Goldfields in the 1850s……………………………...22 J B Humffray Goldfields progress and the 1856 election…………………………….28 VI Chapter Three: Local Government Evolution -Britain and the Goldfields ……..........30 Similarities and differences…………………………………………………………30 British Municipal Corporations before 1835………………………………………..31 The Non-conformists, Liberals and a new civic gospel…………………………….32 British Local Government and the threat of centralization………………................34 Origins of local Government in Victoria……………………………………………35 The gold rushes and Local Government…………………………………………….37 Problems with the Goldfields Commission 1851-1855……………………………..38 The New Municipalities Act 1854-1856……………………………………………42 Chapter Four: 1855: The Call for Municipal Government ……………………………46 Taxes and the expectations of Government on the Ballarat Goldfield……………..48 The Reform League & disbanding the Goldfields Commission…………………....53 1855: The crisis of local Government at the Ballarat Goldfield……………………54 Crime wave: soldiers, bushrangers and daylight robbers…………………………..60 The Victorian Reform League and the Inquiry into law and order………………...62 J B Humffray, local leaders and the petition……………………………………….63 Chapter Five: 1855: Protecting the Investment …………………………………...........68 Ballarat West 1855: the district commercial centre………………………………...68 The Township under threat from mining…………………………………………...71 The threat from Ballarat East……………………………………………………….72 Digging begins on the Township…………………………………………………...73 Renewed confidence: telegraph, rail & new PO for Ballarat West………………...78 The two petitions, township extensions & the Ballarat East problem……………...81 Chapter Six: 1856 – Fit and Proper Persons …………………………………………....86 Petition granted - candidates and confidence in the future…………………………86 Municipal elections and appointments……………………………………………...87 The Chairman James Oddie…………………………………………………….......93 Cr. Robert Muir……………………………………………………………………..96 Alexander Dimant Inspector of Nuisances………………………………………….98 VII Humffray, Robert Muir & The Chamber of Commerce……………………………100 James Baker, Robert Muir, James Oddie & The Industrial Institute……………….101 Chapter Seven: Local Authority 1856-1857 ……………………………………..............103 Commencement & the Town Hall site………………………………………….......103 Troubles with the Roads Board……………………………………………………..104 Robert Muir elected chairman of the District Roads Board……………………......,105 Enacting the Miners’ Program………………………………………………….......105 Miner’s Right and land jurisdiction………………………………………………...106 Ballarat South extension……………………………………………………………108 Squatters, fences and Soldier’s Hill………………………………………………...111 Starting with nothing: Personal Guarantees and the budget………………………..117 Setting the first rate assessments…………………………………………………...120 Mining and the integrity of the Township streets…………………………………..122 Attempts to move Main Road Traders to the Township…………………………... 123 Revenue sources & Balancing the budget…………………………….....................126 Chapter Eight: Challenges and Achievements 1856-1857 ……………………………..129 Parking regulations…………………………………………………………………129 Rubbish and the Manure Dump…………………………………………………….130 Taking control of the swamp and surrounding land………………………………..133 Plans to develop the water resource 1856-1857……………………………………135 Water and Ballarat East…………………………………………………………….139 Water supply dispute Lalor and Humffray intervene………………………………141 Financial and contractual oversight: the new streets contract……………………...142 The Market Square…………………………………………………………………147 The Geelong & Melbourne rail lines and proposed station………………………...151 Growing factionalism – Thomas Bath and the South siders……………………….154 South Side faction and Gaol and legal precinct……………………………………155 Eyre Street extension to Golden Point……………………………………………..158 Installing the Telegraph……………………………………………………………158 VIII Conclusion ……………………………………………………….....................................161 The impact of municipal government on the Ballarat Community……………….161 The effects of a morally enlightened generation………………………………….161 Re-establishing public order, British values and civilization after Eureka………162
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