h and appears in several names including Golden City Hotel (1856) and the Golden City paddlesteamer (1885) and in numerous non-fiction works.
Notable persons
A great many notable people's origins are in the Ballarat region, with the most prominent being high-ranking politicians and sportspeople.
Several former Prime Ministers of Australia were either born in or lived in Ballarat and this was recognised by the city's Prime Minister's Avenue. Alfred Deakin second Prime Minister was the first federal Parliament as MP for Ballaarat. Sir Robert Menzies, and James Scullin were both educated at Ballarat High School. John Curtin was born in nearby Creswick and his wife Elsie was born Ballarat. Several Premiers of the Australian states are were born in Ballarat, including Ballarat born Sir Henry Bolte, Steve Bracks, Thomas Hollway, and Henry Daglish. Additionally Duncan Gillies lived in and represented Ballarat in the Victorian Legislative Assembly before becoming state premier.
Outside of politics, other prominent public figures include Peter Lalor, an important historical figure in Australia as the leader of the Eureka Rebellion (1854) and parliamentarian; the inventor George Alfred Julius, who spent part of his childhood there when his father was a local Anglican cleric; and Cardinal George Pell, the current Catholic Archbishop of Sydney who was born there.
Ballarat has also produced many notable athletes including the Olympic long distance runner Steve Moneghetti. A large number of notable Australian rules football identities have come from Ballarat, including Australian Football Hall of Fame members Tony Lockett and Bob Davis
