History Of Sovereign Hill

Sovereign Hill is located on the site of one of Ballarat's major gold diggings. The discovery on August 21st 1851 by James Dunlop and James Reagan that sparked the Ballarat Gold Rush was at the base of the hill a couple of hundred metres from Sovereign Hill park and the "Welcome" nugget - found by a Cornish miner in 1858, and being the second largest gold nugget in the world - was also found on the site of Sovereign Hill. 69 kg in weight (2,200 ounces) and contained 99% pure gold, valued at about 10,500 pounds when found, and worth approximately $700,000 US now.

The idea of Sovereign Hill was floated in Ballarat in the 1960s, as a way to preserve historic buildings, and to recreate the gold diggings that made the city. The complex was officially opened to the public on Sunday 29 November, 1970.