Ballan is a small town in the state of Victoria, Australia located on the Werribee River, northwest of Melbourne. At the 2006 census, Ballan had a population of 1,807.
It is the main administrative centre for the Shire of Moorabool local government area.
It was named by the first settler, Robert von Steiglitz, in 1838 after Ballan in Ireland.
During the Victorian Gold Rush, it became an important staging point for coaches travelling to the Ballarat goldfields.
History
The area around Ballan was part of the tribal area of the Wautharong people, part of the Kulin nation. The area was rich in fauna, including kangaroo, kangaroo rats, bandicoots, dingos, and two species of native cat. Many species had vanished by the end of the 19th century, with European settlement.
The first European settlers crossed Bass Strait landing near Geelong and worked their way up the Moorabool River with their sheep flocks. Robert von Steiglitz first settled the area in 1838; he named the area after Ballan in Ireland. Other early settler names included Covvie, Stead, Wallace and Egerton.
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