FORMER FAY'S HOTEL
WESTERN HIGHWAY BUANGOR, ARARAT RURAL CITY
-
Add to tour
You must log in to do that.
-
Share
-
Shortlist place
You must log in to do that.
- Download report
Statement of Significance
This record has minimal details. Please look to the right-hand-side bar for any further details about this record.
-
-
FORMER FAY'S HOTEL - History
The parish of Colvinsby, surrounds the Great Western Highway along the southern border of the Langi-Ghiran State Park. At the foot of Mount Langi-Ghiran (named Mount Mistake by Major Thomas Mitchell in 1836), was a small settlement which no longer exists. Local community consultation led to the identification of this community, known as Colvinsby.
Prior to its better documented settled period, the Colvinsby locale was a staging point for miners making their way either to Ararat or into the forested area surrounding Mount Mistake / Langhi Ghiran to explore quartz leads similar to those previously discovered at Mt Ararat (The Argus 7 November 1855). As such, it had a considerably more knockabout and raw character than under subsequent settlement. In August 1858 the owner of the Mount Mistake Hotel (later Fay's) a Mr Jonathan ('known by a remarkable cognomen' (nickname)) Smith was charged with the brutal murder of his wife, 'a woman of about 40 years of age'. She was 'unfortunately much addicted to habits of intemperance' -as apparently was Smith. The witness to the murder who informed the local police was so offhand in his reporting of the incident, merely stating that he had seen a woman die suddenly, that prior to viewing the ghastly scene the constabulary assumed natural causes (The Argus 2 September 1858). Timber cutting and milling was a further local industry, possibly fuelled by the demands of miners for shoring their deep-leads. Small scale and alluvial mining dropped off, with deeper mining left to larger concerns.
The location of one of William Fay's allotments in the parish of Colvinsby, 14A, corresponds with the Fay's Hotel which appears on the above map of the township of Colvinsby. Fay's Hotel was located between the Western Highway and the railway line on the southern border of the Langi -Ghiran State Park. William Fay is likely to have been a relation of the Michael Fay who owned land in the nearby parish of Woodnaggerak, along with J. Fay and L. Fay who also owned land around the Middle Creek area in Woodnaggerak. William Fay also purchased the Crown Grant to the 140 acres of Allotment D, Section 15 in the parish of Colvinsby on 10 March 1876, after having successfully applied to occupy the land from February 1872. The allotment was situated on the northern side of the Western Highway at the very foot of Mount Langi-Ghiran. Fay's grant application reveals that the land was unfit for cultivation due to its very poor, sandy soil and that he consequently used it for grazing purposes only. A letter that Fay wrote in November 1875 reveals that heavy winter rains would leave 'the land boggy and wet' so that 'any grain we put in it perishes'. He tried to plant potatoes and oats but both crops failed. The allotment contained a four-room weatherboard cottage, a stone and bark dairy and a slab and bark stable, as well as a dam and a well. Fay lived in the cottage with his family and also owned a house in Woodnaggerak. Fay also describes the land as being heavily timbered and the map ofthe area in Coaches Called Here indicates that east of Mount Langi-Ghiran was a significant sawmill area, with three sawmills lining the eastern edge of the mountain. Wood cutting continued locally for many years, still being reported as damaging local roads in 1915 (The Ararat Advertiser 4 February 1915). Mining and exploration also continued, with reports of drilling to considerable depths (The Ararat Advertiser 24 June 1915)
FORMER FAY'S HOTEL - Interpretation of Site
Fays Hotel was identified from a number of Historical resources (Rood 2011) as well as through consultation with local residents. Geo-referencing of historical maps (Dep. Lands and Survey 1910) resulted in the identification of a number of possible locations, for the hotel based on land ownership; a comprehensive field survey did not locate any remains at the identified properties however local residents (R Louder, M Mackenzie, pers comm 15/02/2012) gave the location of some structural features just east of the surveyed properties (the subject of this record), known to them as Fays/Fays Hotel. A map of the township of Colvinsby (Rood 2011 :12) names the locations of these remains as 'Coats'.
There is little evident artefactual material at the site. Remnant structural remains, whilst extensive, are not readily identifiable as belonging to a public building . Further background research and/or archaeological investigation is required to better interpret the site.
FORMER FAY'S HOTEL - Archaeological Significance
Fay's hotel is of low archaeological significance with some potential to contain subsurface archaeological deposits. Some insitu archaeological features remain however these are currently insufficient to determine the exact nature of the former structure. The remains are loosely associated with historical records of the hotel through information from local residents only.
Heritage Inventory Description
FORMER FAY'S HOTEL - Heritage Inventory Description
Fay's Hotel comprises a series of insitu concrete and redbrick footings and slabs located within a clearing in an extensive area of exotic vegetation. Two wooden out buildings were also present to the north and west of the main area as well as a number of fence posts delineating up to three separate areas around the former structure. Site is known to local residents as 'Fay's' .
-
-
-
-
-
FORMER FAY'S HOTELVictorian Heritage Inventory
-
Eucalyptus camaldulensisNational Trust
-
-