BURRUMBEET HOTEL
WESTERN HIGHWAY BURRUMBEET, BALLARAT CITY
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Statement of Significance
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BURRUMBEET HOTEL - History
The Western Highway at Burrumbeet began as a track linking the head stations of squatting runs that were set up in the 1830s. An 1841 survey plan shows that the track follows almost the same alignment as it does today. After the discovery of gold in 1851 the basis of the economy shifted from sheep farming and the population grew. In 1864 there were at least seven hotels operating at Burrumbeet, but the number declined by the end of the decade when there was only four hotels (James 2007: 110-111). Burrumbeet served as a coaching station. along the route between Ballarat and Beaufort and was later connected by the construction of the railway and Burrumbeet station in the 1870s. The possible location of the Burrumbeet Hotel, to the east of Burrumbeet village and south of the highway, is illustrated by Ken James (2007, 10).
BURRUMBEET HOTEL - Interpretation of Site
The site is situated on a square shaped plot of land in the northern section of a field south of the Western Highway (figs. 1 and 2). This square block might have been the location of the Burrumbeet Hotel or another building which pre-dates the property divisions. The location is now an eroded track that runs alongside the highway before curving south to the lake, which is 600 m to the south (figs. 3 and 4). The material culture found during test excavations (undertaken for CHMP no. 11481) includes bottle glass, ceramic vessels (earthenware, stoneware, porcelain), iron (nails and other items) and a white clay pipe (figs. 7 and 8). Among this material were found 18 flaked quartz artefacts and one hand-knapped, black bottle glass base, pointing to an Aboriginal presence at this site.
Whether the lithics pre-date the manufactured items or whether they are contemporary is uncertain. The manufactured items are unlikely to pre-date the establishment of Burrumbeet in 1855 (Watson 2003, 73), though the bottle glass and transfer printed ceramics suggest a date in the third quarter to end of the 19th century with little later material. Thus, the site appears to be a predominantly later 19th-century site and the Aboriginal material might derive from a pre-existing site which was disturbed by.the later building and occupation of the area.
BURRUMBEET HOTEL - Archaeological Significance
The site has some social significance as a 19th-century habitation and recreational venue and also as an Aboriginal site with a possible post-contact aspect. However, the site has low archaeological significance and potential because of its poor state of preservation and the disturbed contexts from which archaeological material was obtained. The subsurface conditions consist of mixed clayey silt, and the 19th-century material was present to the clay base, which is located at a depth of 450 mm below the ground surface (figs. 5 and 6).
Heritage Inventory Description
BURRUMBEET HOTEL - Heritage Inventory Description
Artefacts are spread across an area of around 1,000 m2 to the south of the present Western Highway, 0.84 km east of Burrumbeet village. The artefact scatter spans heavily eroded ground and occupies a square shaped plot of land that is the possible location of the former Burrumbeet Hotel. Artefacts include 19th-century manufactured items including bottle glass, ceramic, iron, brick, slate and a clay pipe. Some flaked quartz Aboriginal artefacts were found and one piece of flaked glass, (VAHR 7623-0169, Burrumbeet Hotel).
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BURRUMBEET RAILWAY STATIONVictorian Heritage Inventory
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Former Cobb & Co StablesNational Trust
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Former Goldfield Warden's OfficeNational Trust
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