HARP OF ERIN HOTEL
WESTERN HIGHWAY BURRUMBEET, BALLARAT CITY
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Statement of Significance
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HARP OF ERIN 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 locations of 19th-century buildings in Burrumbeet are illustrated on a sketch map published by Ken James (2007,10). Three places are shown to be located west of Dobson's Cobb & Co Stables (VHI H7623-0271) and the Picnic Hotel (VHI H7623-0272): Burrumbeet Toll Gate, which is said to be beside the Picnic Hotel (James 2007, 9); Stuart's Hotel to the south of the highway (still standing, now a private residence); and Harp of Erin Hotel north of the highway and slightly west of Stuart's Hotel. Thus, the Harp of Erin Hotel is one candidate for the site's identification, however, this is not certain, and until further information is obtained this should be considered as a preliminary identification.
HARP OF ERIN HOTEL - Interpretation of Site
Recorded features include mounds and depressions, arrangements of dressed bluestone and uncut basalt boulders and untended trees. Outlines of rectangular features are visible from satellite photographs. Above-ground features were measured and accurately drawn (fig. 3). Three general features are identified. Feature A (figs. 4 and 5): 10m north of the highway are bluestone blocks set into the ground that form an almost square shape (2.25m x 2.7m). Feature B: walls, rises and depressions including a line of cut bluestone blocks that forms a north-south aligned wall and a curving line of bluestone blocks nearby. Viewed in relation to the satellite image, these features may form part of the site's main structure. Feature C (figs. 6 and 7): a roughly circular depression (8m x 9.7m) has raised edges and clustered boulders around the perimeter, two with carved notches; another circular depression is in the centre. Surface artefacts were not found at the site and sub-surface testing nearby only yielded one glass sherd. The site's function and identification is currently unknown. The use of good quality building stone and the possible existence of ancillary structures as well as the planted trees suggest a domestic and/or commercial structure of some size and pretension. The site's date cannot be ascertained on the basis of the recorded surface features, however, a date in the third, or conceivably the second quarter of the 19th century is possible.
The outline of a rectangular feature, probably a former building, is visible from satellite photographs.
HARP OF ERIN HOTEL - Archaeological Significance
The presence of intact, in situ structural remains mean the site has good archaeological potential. Aerial photographs taken in 1963 show few traces of the site, suggesting that it had been demolished probably several decades earlier. The site's interest lies in its possible early date in relation to European settlement of the Burrumbeet area, the good quality building materials used and the fact that the site's usage and chronology have not been identified. Therefore, the site is deemed to have medium to high archaeological significance.
Heritage Inventory Description
HARP OF ERIN HOTEL - Heritage Inventory Description
Stone structural features, mounds and depressions and fruit trees are situated in a field directly north of the Western Highway, 1.5 km west of Burrumbeet. The features span an area of almost 2,500 m2 that is located on the basalt plain north of Lake Burrumbeet. Above-ground structural remains consist of linear and rectilinear arrangements of squared basalt bluestone.
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DOBSON'S COBB & CO. STABLESVictorian Heritage Inventory
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PICNIC HOTELVictorian Heritage Inventory
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HARP OF ERIN HOTELVictorian Heritage Inventory
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