BRIDGE STREET MALL, BALLARAT CULVERTS

The brick, bluestone and concrete culverts are part of a nineteenth century water management system that extend through Ballarat. They were originally constructed as a means to control and redirect sludge and to control water, especially during flood events. This section, at Bridge Street (under Coliseum Walk) was also the redirected alignment of the Yarrowee River which was originally to the west in what is now Grenville Street. It was initially constructed of timber and was depicted as a drain in an 1859 allotment plan of Bridge Street. A smaller branch culvert in Time Lane is also depicted in this plan but it does not appear to extend across Bridge Street and could be the alignment of an 1852 cut to redirect water for mining purposes.

These sections of the channel / culvert are part of an extensive and interconnected channel system through Ballarat and is a substantial element of infrastructure that has been in use in various forms since the early 1850s.

The culverts are part of a large network in Ballarat and demonstrate the huge investment needed to manage the impact that the 1850s gold rush activity had on the landscape. They have historic fabric of brick and bluestone.