City of Ararat City of Ararat The City of Ararat was a local government area about west-northwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. It existed from 1858 until 1994. Headquartered in Ararat, Victoria, the city had jurisdiction over an area of , and by 1992 a population of 8,070 people. It was surrounded by the separate and largely rural Shire of Ararat. Ararat was first incorporated as a borough on 24 September 1858, known as the Municipal District of Ararat, headed by chairmen. In 1862 it was declared as a borough and known as the Borough of Ararat, headed by mayors.
Victoria (Australia) by international investment; attracted to the state by the availability of cheap land close to the city and inexpensive energy from the Latrobe Valley. Victoria produced 26.4% of total manufacturing output in Australia in 2015–16, behind New South Wales at 32.4%. Machinery and equipment manufacturing is the state's most valuable manufacturing activity, followed by food and beverage products, petrochemicals and chemicals. Prominent manufacturing plants in the state include the Portland and Point Henry aluminium smelters, owned by Alcoa; oil refineries at Geelong and Altona; a major petrochemical facility at Laverton; and Victorian-based CSL, a global biotechnology company that produces vaccines