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Old Hospital - Beechworth Historic area
Church Street,, BEECHWORTH VIC 3747 - Property No B378
Old Hospital - Beechworth Historic area
Church Street,, BEECHWORTH VIC 3747 - Property No B378
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Statement of Significance
The Ovens District Hospital was initiated by local citizens and financed by public subscriptions and government grants. The foundation stone for the first wing was laid in 1856 and an extensive building program continued until 1864 with later additions in the 1890s. It comprised a series of brick and timber structures behind the grand stone facade which dates from 1862-64. The complex became redundant in 1940 and, with the exception of the facade, was demolished.
The hospital facade is a fine monument to the optimism held by the early settlers. Architecturally it is the most distinctive building in the town. Designed in an unusual stylized calssical idiom, it reflects the work of Vanbrugh and heralds boom classicism. The entrance composition of three arches with fine coupled doric columns and a stylized pediment is unique. The arched windows with stylized extrados, mouldings and keysotnes, the superb stonework and the pediment finials, are all distinctive features.
The facade is generally intact. The finials/acroterian to the parapets and pediments have been removed.
Classified: 01/04/1959.
Historic Area Statement of Significance: Beechworth is a picturesque nineteenth Century provincial town. It is a well preserved example of a Government and private building which resulted from the town's important historical role as the administrative and commercial centre of Victoria's north-eastern goldfields. Beechworth was once significant for its position on an early overland route from Melbourne to Sydney.
The town is located sympathetically to the topography, in an area of considerable landscape interest. Set admist forested undulating country there remain many relics of the mining era in and about Beechworh. It is a rich field for the industrial archaeology.
There are within the town a large number of historical and architecturally significant buildings. These display a quality of form and richness of material and detail, which make Beechworth one of the most significant of Austraila's goldfield towns. Of particular interest is the common usage of local granite in construction. Its honey colour imparts a quality distinctive to Beechworth.
The highlights of Beechworth are the grid of wide streets flanked with granite kerbing; the streetscapes of considerable integrity with groups of homogeneous buildings set off by mature elms and other exotic trees; and the remnants of historic Victorian gardens. About the town there are many examples of nineteenth century street furniture, signs and fences. Beechworth's historical wealth is of national significance.
Classified: April 1983
The hospital facade is a fine monument to the optimism held by the early settlers. Architecturally it is the most distinctive building in the town. Designed in an unusual stylized calssical idiom, it reflects the work of Vanbrugh and heralds boom classicism. The entrance composition of three arches with fine coupled doric columns and a stylized pediment is unique. The arched windows with stylized extrados, mouldings and keysotnes, the superb stonework and the pediment finials, are all distinctive features.
The facade is generally intact. The finials/acroterian to the parapets and pediments have been removed.
Classified: 01/04/1959.
Historic Area Statement of Significance: Beechworth is a picturesque nineteenth Century provincial town. It is a well preserved example of a Government and private building which resulted from the town's important historical role as the administrative and commercial centre of Victoria's north-eastern goldfields. Beechworth was once significant for its position on an early overland route from Melbourne to Sydney.
The town is located sympathetically to the topography, in an area of considerable landscape interest. Set admist forested undulating country there remain many relics of the mining era in and about Beechworh. It is a rich field for the industrial archaeology.
There are within the town a large number of historical and architecturally significant buildings. These display a quality of form and richness of material and detail, which make Beechworth one of the most significant of Austraila's goldfield towns. Of particular interest is the common usage of local granite in construction. Its honey colour imparts a quality distinctive to Beechworth.
The highlights of Beechworth are the grid of wide streets flanked with granite kerbing; the streetscapes of considerable integrity with groups of homogeneous buildings set off by mature elms and other exotic trees; and the remnants of historic Victorian gardens. About the town there are many examples of nineteenth century street furniture, signs and fences. Beechworth's historical wealth is of national significance.
Classified: April 1983
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NEWTOWN BRIDGE PRECINCTVictorian Heritage Register H1424
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FORMER BANK OF VICTORIAVictorian Heritage Register H0348
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LONDON TAVERNVictorian Heritage Register H0350
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