Sebastopol

Origin of the name

History

Sebastopol derived its name from a town and district in the Russian sector of the Crimean Peninsula on the shores of the Black Sea.^[1]

… it is instructive to look at Sebastopol, which had much in common, as a subsidiary community, with Ballarat East. As it happened, the main gold stream, followed under the basalt at about Dana Street, turned south beneath the formal street plan and then beyond it. Strikingly it flowed parallel to the edge of the plateau, so that mining proceeded on a narrow line that presaged a ribbon development for housing, shops and institutions. Critically, though, its needs were met for many goods and services by facilities at the centre, let alone corner stores and pubs at the south end of the early grid. Major housing additions were not required: many miners walked or later rode bicycles to work from close by in the West and East. Even so there was a good supply of children for the Redan and Sebastopol State Schools, both opened in January 1875, and sizable congregations at the Anglican's Holy Trinity and the Carmel Welsh Presbyterian churches. Most children of consequence were in Albert Street, which contains some of the oldest surviving Ballarat shops and two 1860s hotels, the Exchange and the Royal Mail. Melbourne House (1872) (on the corner of Albert Street and Birdwood Avenue), bluestone Blythewood Grange (1878) in Grant Street 'The Prince of Wales' store, on the corner of Albert and Rubicon Streets, and the weatherboard office of the famous South Star Mine are all evocative. So are the two large eucalypts in the Marty Busch Reserve, all which remains of the Sebastopol Public Gardens, planted in 1866-7.^[2]

Sebastopol was constituted a Borough on 01 November 1864.^[3]

A municipal town, with money order and savings bank office and telegraph station, situated on the Yarrowee creek, 100 miles NW of Melbourne, and three miles from the Ballarat railway station. The district is a mining one, but many of the claims are exhausted so far as alluvial workings are concerned. In the town there are about 550 dwellings, ten hotels, two State schools nine churches, two insurance agencies, and a mechanics' institute with library containing upwards of 16000 volumes. Cars run from Ballarat, fare 6d. ^[4]

Mining.
An old Sebastopol miner writes to us as follows:- Within fifteen miles of the township of Ballarat there are an immense number of steam engines, besides some scores of miles of pumps, the value of Which makes up a large total. Nearly all that costly machinery is imported: very few engines are made in the colony; those that are are much superior to imported engines. Engines made for exportation, either in England or Scotland, partake very much of the character of ready made clothes-sloppy. The engines alluded to vary from 5 to 40 horse power; the largest and most powerful in this district is owned by the Cumberland, Durham and Cornish Company on Sebastopol; it cost, delivered on the ground, rather over £1400, twelve months ago, when engines were 25 per cent, cheaper than they are now. Of this vast amount expended in the purchase of machinery, more than 60 per cent, goes out of the colony, and it is estimated by competent judges that 60 per cent, of the entire cost is expended in the workmanship before an engine leaves the manufacturers' yard. Now it appears to me that if engines and pumps could be made in the colony equal to, and as cheap as those imported, that the colony must gain something like the estimated amount of the value of the labor expended in the production of those machines. The question arises, can it be done? The Victoria Foundry on Ballarat has solved the problem; there can now be seen in their yard a 40-horse power horizontal engine, made on the premises, which for excellence of workmanship, strength and design, is not excelled by any imported engine in the. colony. With regard ,to price, it is £400 cheaper than the Cumberland, Durham, and Cornish Company's, and is in no way inferior to it, excepting that the cylinder is two inches less in diameter. The castings of the Ballarat engine are most decidedly superior, cleaner, and stronger; in fact Oakey, Hunt & Opie have produced a better article at a lower price. The dimension of this Ballarat production are – Cylinder, 20 inches diameter; length of stroke, 42 inches; diameter of fly wheel, 16 feet; length of bed plate, 18 feet 6 inches; weight of bed plate, 60 cwt; with two boilers 18 feet long each, by 6 feet 2 inches in diameter. The engine is made strong enough to bear without breaking three times the maximum stain that ever can arise in working. To the enterprise and spirit which have distinguished the Victoria Foundry, Ballarat is indebted for this very important branch of industry, which will doubtless in a very short time find employment for a great number of skilled mechanics, who are now obliged to spend their time in less remunerative pursuits. [Editorial comment following.] The engine in question, by Messrs Oakey, Hunt & Opie, is a fine specimen of local manufacture, and certainly reflects much credit on the foundry in question. We trust that, as our correspondent suggests, this manufacture may be taken as an earnest of a largely increased amount of local industrial progress in this important department of production.^[5]

Governance

Richard Miles was elected to the first Sebastopol Council on 12 December 1864.^[6]

John Morris was elected Mayor of Sebastopol Council in 1872.^[7]

Ellis Richards was elected to the first Sebastopol Council on 12 December 1864.^[8]

George Coleman Robinson was elected to the first Sebastopol Council on 12 December 1864.^[9]

John C. Rowlands was elected to the first Sebastopol Council on 12 December 1864.^[10]

George Tait was elected to the first Sebastopol Council on 12 December 1864.^[11]

John Wall was elected to the first Sebastopol Council on12 December 1864.^[12]

Sebastopol Mayors (1865–1965)

From^[13]

#	Mayor	Term
	F.F.Beverin	1865–1866
	Isaac Vickers	1866–1867
	Thomas Dickinson	1867–1868
	John Whittaker	1868–1869
	John Edwards	1869–1870
	Thomas Dickinson	1870–1871
	John Morris	1871–1872
	Thomas Bray	1871–1873
	Nicholas Kent	1873–1874
	Peter Alroe	1874–1875
	James Barrie	1875–1876
	J.H. Ellsworth	1876–1877
	David Hughes	1877–1879
	Thomas H. Gray	1879–1881
	James Leckie	1881–1883
	J.H. Ellsworth	1883–1885
	William Hicks	1885–1886
	Henry Mathes	1886–1887
	Thomas Dickinson	1887–1888
	W.L. Williams	1888–1889
	David Hughes	1889–1890
	James Leckie	1890–1891
	Nicholas Kent	1891–1892
	F.H. Ingle	1892–1893
	Charles Blyth	1893–1894
	Henry Clark	1894–1895
	James Strickland	1895–1896
	Thomas Dickinson	1896–1897
	David Hughes	1897–1898
	Henry Mathes	1898–1899
	George Rowsell	1899–1900
	W.H. Franklin	1900–1901
	John E. Jones	1901–1902
	F.H. Ingle	1902–1903
	Thomas Dickinson	1903–1904
	David Hughes	1904–1905
	Henry Mathes	1905–1906
	Henry Clark	1906–1907
	William G. Franklin	1907–1908
	William A. Madden	1908–1909
	John E. Jones	1909–1910
	David Hughes	1910–1911
	John Hopkins	1911–1912
	Thomas Dickinson Jnr	1912–1913
	George Keirl	1913–1914
	Henry Clark	1914–1915
	William H. Franklin	1915–1916
	John E. Jones	1916–1917
	Evan Jenkins	1917–1918
	David Hughes	1918–1919
	John Hopkins	1919–1920
	William A. Madden	1920–1921
	William H. Wallis	1921–1922
	William H. Franklin	1922–1923
	John E. Jones	1923–1924
	Thomas Hughes	1924–1925
	William R. Aisbett	1925–1926
	Martin R. Busch	1926–1927
	Thomas H. Ellis	1927–1928
	Evan Jenkins	1928–1929
	John E. Jones	1929–1930
	Ernest Nicholas Kent (1884-1950)	1930–1931
	William R. Aisbett	1931–1932
	Martin R. Busch	1932–1933
	Evan Jenkins	1933–1934
	F.W. Miller	1934–1935
	James F. Owen	1935–1936
	H.V. Reynolds	1936–1937
	James E. Tuppen	1937–1938
	F.W. Miller	1938–1939
	Ernest Nicholas Kent (1884-1950)	1939–1940
	F.W. Richardson	1940–1941
	H.V. Reyolds	1941–1942
	James E. Tuppen	1942–1943
	George W. Turner	1943–1944 (Died April 1944)
	George E. Tuppin	1944–1945
	F.W. Miller	1945–1946
	James F. Owen	1946–1947
	H.V. Reynolds	1947–1948
	H.C. Ellsworth	1948–1949
	H.V. Reynolds	1949–1950
	James F. Owen	1950–1951
	W.R. Jenkin	1951–1952
	W.R. Hearn	1952–1953
	H.V. Reynolds	1953–1954
	James E. Tuppin	1954–1955
	John Rae	1955–1956
	K.A. Lane	1956–1957
	A.L. Spencer	1957–1958
	W.R. Hearn	1958–1959
	H.V. Reynolds	1959–1960
	James E. Tuppin	1960–1961
	Frank S. Wilson	1961–1962
	A. Leslie Spencer	1962–1963
	Robert L. Whitla	1963–1964
	Clive E. Dellar	1964–1965
	Mrs L.M. Turner	1965-1966
	Neville F.D. Donald	1966-1967
	Frank B. Hoggan	1967-1968
	Ronald William Lee	1968-1969
	Francis R. Taylor	1969-1970
	Neville F.D. Donald	1970-1972
	Roy A. King	1973-1974
	Neville F.D. Donald	1974-1975
	Maxwell R. Power	1975-1977
	Keith M. Lawrence	1977-1978
	Graham B. Collins	1978-1979
	Neville F.D. Donald	1979-1980
	Maxwell R. Power	1980-1981
	Roy A. King	1981-1982
	Keith M. Lawrence	1982-1983
	Neville F.D. Donald	1983-1984
	Graham B. Collins	1984-1986
	Neville F.D. Donald	1986-1988
	Lawrence G. Hocking	1988-1989
	Geoffrey Pail Jenkins	1988-1989
	Karen M. Overington	1990-1991
	Neville F.D. Donald	1991-1992
	[[]]	1992-1993
	Lawrence G. Hocking	1993-1994