Suburb by suburb snapshot: North Ballarat

Ballarat North is approximately 2.6 square kilometres and has six parks covering nearly 1.3 per cent of total area.

The population of Ballarat North in 2011 was 3923 and by the 2016 Census it was 3931 showing growth of 0.2 per cent over that time.

The suburb extends eastwards from the Ballarat-Creswick railway line, between Norman and Howitt Streets, for about 2.5km to Black Hill.

Next to the railway line is the suburb’s most prominent landmark, Selkirk Bricks, with numerous kilns and chimneys.

For many years Ballarat North extended beyond Norman Street. The North Ballarat Golf Club opened its course there in 1919, and 52 years before then, Ballarat’s second cemetery was laid out on the then distant north side of Norman Street. The golf club and the cemetery are now in the later suburb of Invermay Park.

Ten years before the cemetery, in 1859, the Ballarat Benevolent Asylum was granted five acres of swampy land at the south-west corner of Howitt and Doveton Streets.

The asylum became the Queen Elizabeth Centre, run by Ballarat Health Services, and there is an adjacent retirement village, a part of the original asylum building still stands.

CoreLogic data indicates that the predominant age group in Ballarat North is 50-59 years with households being primarily childless couples and are likely to be repaying $1000 – $1399 per month on mortgage repayments. In general, people in Ballarat North work in a professional occupation.

In 2011, 68.4 per cent of the homes in Ballarat North were owner-occupied compared with 64.9 per cent in 2016.