Sebastopol is a southern suburb on the rural-urban fringe of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. It is the third most populated area in urban Ballarat with a population of 10,194 at the .
It is named after Sevastopol in Crimea, the site of an important battle during the Crimean War.
Formerly a separate town, Sebastopol had municipal status between 1864 and 1994 after which the Borough of Sebastopol was merged into the City of Ballarat.
Today it is the site of numerous light-industrial businesses and primarily low cost single-family detached homes and is a fringe suburb in Ballarat and also one of the most car dependent areas in the city.
History The first inhabitants of the area were the Wathaurong Indigenous Australian tribe.
The land on which Sebastopol now sits was first taken up as a pastoral run called Waverley by Henry Anderson and George Russell in June of 1838. It consisted of 26,000 acres and was stocked with 11,000 sheep. It passed to Jock Winter in 1841 who named it “Bonshaw".Sebastopol Timeline: 1800's In 1855, it was renamed after Sevastopol in Crimea.
Most of Sebastopol is located on a platau on which deep-lead gold mining began in 1854. At its peak as a mining community in the 1850s, Sebastopol had an estimated population of 20,000.Victorian Places
Sebastopol's origin was a separate working class town servicing the rich gold mining fields south of Ballarat.
The Post Office opened on 5 October 1857.
Sebastopol Town Hall was opened on 19 March 1869.
On 14 August 1913 the tramway to Ballarat opened which led to it becoming by the mid 20th century part of the Ballarat urban area.
Education Sebastopol is served by a joint primary and secondary school, Phoenix College, several kindergartens, a post office (the post office is now closed) and library, and several small shopping precincts including three supermarkets.
Transport Buses have operated in Sebastopol since 21 September 1971 after they replaced the tram service. Ballarat Transit now provides regular bus services between Ballarat CBD and Sebastopol.
Sport Sebastopol has an Australian rules football team competing in the Ballarat Football League. The Sebastopol Vikings play association football/soccer in the Ballarat & District Soccer Association.
For a period of time from 1940 to 1988, the Sebastopol Gift and the Wendouree Gift were the main running events in Ballarat. The Ballarat Gift returned to the Victorian Athletic League's calendar in 1989 after a very long break. An incomplete list of Sebastopol Gift winners is listed below.
Sebastopol Gift Winners Year Winner City (from) Handicap Time (secs) 1940K Clark yards 1961Brian Malee Casterton 10.7512.5 1962John Atkinson 12.2512.1 1963Peter Heffernan Elsternwick 12.2 1964Billy GogginGeelong 10.5012.6 1965Peter Lenz 12.3 1966Peter Heffernan Elsternwick11.5012.2 1970Terry Harmon 15.2512.1 1971 metres 1973John Keays 12.0012.2 1976Leigh Gurney 8.00 12.8 1977Geoff Lumb 1981Ross O'Halloran Swan Hill 9.00 1985C Marks 8.5012.43
Notable locals Erin Carroll, Australian badminton player Paul Jenkins, Liberal Party politician Percy Trompf, commercial artist Bob Wilkie, VFL footballer
References