The Old Australia

Statement of Significance

: Australia Hotel is a fine example of the Federation Filigree style common in the Australian pub tradition as a two-storey hotel with verandahs, located on a prominent street corner. The building is an important element of the streetscape of Hannan and Maritana Streets, enhanced by the verandah and balcony that extend over the pavement.

Australia Hotel is a landmark in Kalgoorlie.

Australia Hotel is aesthetically linked to the Exchange Hotel and Palace Hotel on the opposite corners with its verandahs and balconies that extend over the pavement.

Australia Hotel has historic value as a demonstration of the development that occurred in Kalgoorlie around the turn-of-the-century as it became a service centre of the goldfields.

Australia Hotel is significant for its continuity of use.

Physical Description

A two-storey building built to the street alignment in the Federation Filigree Style (Apperly et al, 1989). The building is sited on a prominent corner in Hannan Street, opposite the Exchange Hotel and diagonally opposite the Palace Hotel. The building is truncated at the corner which forms the primary entrance to the building.

The building has a verandah and balcony that extend across the facades and over the pavement. The exterior features pedimented parapets; the pediments highlight the various entrances on the ground floor.

In 1997, the sills of some of the windows on the ground floor level were lowered, the cellars were cleaned with the view to adapting them to bar facilities; and accretions to the ground floor level rooms were removed and the areas were reinstated.

At a date unknown, the exterior walls were painted. Exterior stone work has fretted, some areas severely.

History

The building was established as a hotel and continues to be used as a hotel.

This hotel replaced a timber framed hotel clad in corrugated iron that was gutted by fire. It was built for the original owners, Messers Lee and Magor. The base is grey granite, with the walls of rock faced freestone, laid in courses. The stone came from the Ashlar Quarry (Statewide Hotel Survey, 1996).

The 1898 building is believed to have been the site of the fatal shooting in 1903 of Ginger Sly by C. B. Kennedy in the middle bar, the discovery of alluvial gold when the original cellars were dug, and the arrest of William Coulter for the murder of Pittman and Walsh (Laurie, 1995: 40).

It was claimed that the hotel was especially designed for hot climates. The contract value was approximately £10,000. The building also comprises the Australia Chambers extending down Maritana Street, and Lees Chambers - East (subsequently destroyed by fire in 1899) (Laurie, 1995: 40).

General Comments: The role of hotels was crucial to the social and economic life on the goldfields. If mines were the sources of the miner's wages, the hotels were the sinks into which a lot of it was poured. Hotels not only provided alcoholic drinks, food and accommodation, but provided men with comfortable surroundings quite beyond their normal experience. Hotels were also vital social centres for travellers and residents alike (Webb, 1993: 543-544).

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High
Authenticity: Moderate to High

Condition

Fair - Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.