COACHING STABLES
470 WIMMERA HIGHWAY MOOLERR, NORTHERN GRAMPIANS SHIRE
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Statement of Significance
The remains of the stone stables structure, probably erected in the 1850s or 1860s, are of architectural, historical and scientific significance to the St. Arnaud district. The stone wall is a landmark on the Wimmera Highway and evokes the coaching era when the district was settled.
The use of local stone in its construction is notable. It indicates the early settlement of land in the area for agricultural and mining purposes. It is of importance for its potential to provide information that contributes to a greater understanding of the history of the settlement and estalishment of the district, and has a strong presumption of archaeological research potentail. Further historical research and archaeological investigation is recommended.
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COACHING STABLES - History
As the number of Victorian gold diggings increased after 1851 they were linked by a network of mail and passenger coach services run by several proprietors. The most popular firm was Cobb and Co., founded in Melbourne by Freeman Cobb and his partners in 1853. Cobb and Co. established lines of changing stations for its horses, usually ten miles apart. About 1864 a changing station and hotel were built about three miles west of St. Arnaud; although the hotel was demolished in the 1940s, the crumbling changing station still stands beside the Wimmera Highway.
Improved main roads in the early 1860s provided a more reliable and comfortable service. Coach proprietors did not attempt to compete with the railways when they arrived in the late 1870s and early 1880s but instead arranged feeder services, like the run from the Stawell railhead to Minyip that began in 1877. Some lines did end quickly, however, such as Cobb and Co's line between Maryborough and Stawell in 1877 and between St. Arnaud and Banyena in 1879. Smaller firms operated at several places to service the gap between the two main rail lines. A daily mail coach drawn by two horses operated between St. Arnaud and Traynors Lagoon, changing at Avon Plains, until the mid-1920s and coaches from Stawell ran tourists to Halls Gap hotels and guest houses until about 1933.
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COACHING STABLESVictorian Heritage Inventory
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