The Ballarat Trout Hatchery

The Ballarat Trout Hatchery located in Gillies Street, Ballarat, is the oldest fish hatchery on mainland Australia. The Ballarat Fish Acclimatisation Society has operated the hatchery since August 1870. This Society was formed on the 1^st August 1870 at a public meeting held at Ballarat’s historic Craig’s Royal Hotel. At that meeting it was proposed by the members present that…"it was desirable to introduce trout, perch and other English fish into Ballarat district waters."

English brown trout had been introduced into Tasmania in the mid 1860s. A consignment of 1000 brown trout ova was shipped to Melbourne for the Ballarat Acclimatisation Society in August 1870. These trout eggs were transported to ‘Ercildoun’ a property about 35 kilometres northwest of Ballarat. This was the home of Mr. S. L. Learmonth, a member of the Society, who had set up hatching boxes to receive the ova. After some early setbacks brown trout were successfully raised and in October 1872 some 1500 young fish were distributed into district waters.

Mr. Learmonth left ‘Ercildoun’ in August 1873 and the hatchery was moved to new ponds located in the northern end of the Ballarat Botanical Gardens. In 1885 the Ballarat City Council generously granted the Society the permanent use of a larger block of land at the southern end of the Botanical Gardens in close proximity to Lake Wendouree. By 1890 the hatchery had been reconstructed at this site with a new hatching house and concrete ponds. This site is where they have operated from to this day. By 1899 the Society had reared and distributed into Ballarat district waters many thousands of trout as well as English perch or ‘redfin’ as they are more commonly known. It was also in 1899 that rainbow trout were procured from New Zealand for introduction into the Hatchery breeding program.

The Ballarat Acclimatisation in cooperation with the Victorian Government was responsible for the supply of fish to stock the States waters until the mid 1950’s when a Government hatchery was built at Snobs Creek. The Ballarat Hatchery has a unique history in that it helped pioneer the introduction of trout, perch and other game fish into Australia. Not only did the Acclimatisation Society supply fish and ova for all of Victoria but also to parts of South Australia, New South Wales and even as far as South Africa, Ceylon, New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. The Hatchery, during its history, was, at one time, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and is still regarded as one of the most respected of its kind in the world.

The Ballarat Hatchery is also unique in the way its business is conducted. It is managed, supported and maintained by its 25 members who give up their time and services in an honorary capacity to operate this remarkable institution. Lake Wendouree is now the only public water reserve stocked by the Hatchery. Each year the Society releases 6,000 brown trout into this water as a gift to the people of Ballarat.

The hatchery produces on an annual basis in excess of 750,000 rainbow and brown trout eggs, between 70-80,000 fry, and between 20-30,000 fingerlings (small fish). It also produces 50,000 yearling fish and 25,000 mature fish. These are distributed to fishing organizations, farmers, other hatcheries and institutions. The hatchery’s ova is collected from a wide range of local Ballarat waters providing a superior genetic strain of trout to that of commercial hatcheries. The Hatchery provides the only source of restocking wild fish in Australia and, after inspection, is accorded a disease-free accreditation certificate each year. The Ballarat Acclimatisation Society is incorporated as a non-profit organization.

The Ballarat Trout Hatchery is only open to the public during the Ballarat Begonia Festival week and open for sales from 8 til 5 on normal working days.

Stock can be provided right through from eyed ova (fertile eggs) to two year olds. Large or small are catered for and price lists are available from the hatchery.

The curator of the Hatchery can be contacted on 03 5334 1220 during business hours.

Keith L. Ridsdale,
President, 
Ballarat Fish Acclimatisation Society.

October 2001