Exchange Hotel, Kalgoorlie

Statement of Significance

The building was established as a hotel and continues to be used as a hotel. "The original building on this site was a timber and iron construction and, with the Club (Cohn's Buildings), was one of the first two hotels in town. The site has been home to the hotel ever since. The building was built for the Wilkie Brothers, contractors for the Southern Cross-Kalgoorlie railway line. The contract value was approximately £8,000 pounds. The decorative motifs and elements that adorn the building's facade are drawn from a variety of styles and give the building its ornate appearance. The hotel was saved from damage during the 1934 race riots when Bill Trythall took over the licence from the licensee whose foreign name made him vulnerable to assault" (Laurie, 1995: 15). General Comments: "The 1934 riots resulted from bitterness between Australians and immigrants over alleged preference given to the immigrants by shift bosses. Approximately 7,700 unskilled Southern Europeans had arrived in Western Australia between 1923 and 1929 and many had found their way to the Goldfields. On the 29 and 30 January 1934, mobs roamed the streets and outlying camps, shooting at foreigners and setting fire to foreign owned businesses. A special trainload of police and volunteers from Perth came to help with the disturbances but by the time they had arrived, the situation had died down (Laurie, 1995: 15). 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).

Physical Description

Physical Evidence: A two-storey brick and iron building with a timber balustrade, built to the pavement line of Hannan and Maritana Streets and truncated on the corner. The building has a corner tower and corrugated galvanised iron gabled roof. Verandahs and balconies extend over the pavement and wrap the facades. The Exchange Hotel is built in the Federation Filigree style, c. 1890 - c. 1915 (Apperly et al, 1989: 108-111). The detailing of the building exhibits all the Federation exuberance of the hotel industry at the time. The Exchange Hotel is one of four hotels arrayed around the four corners of the intersection of Hannan Street and Maritana Street, arguably the business heart of the City of Kalgoorlie. These buildings, in returning around the corner, effectively give a deepened dimension to the heritage ambience in Hannan Street provided by the buildings, and particularly, the facades. The Exchange Hotel accumulates important streetscape values for the cityscape. The roof elements of the Exchange Hotel are also of significance. These include a tower, chimney stacks and most importantly, gables in the place of the parapet, as a more common feature of the design style. The gently rising nature of the building elements from the pedestrian scale in the street, to the maximum height of the roof at the ridge and tower massing, together with the associated buildings at both ends of the structure, contribute to the urban design qualities of the streetscape at this point. The horizontal emphasis of the two-storey verandahs is interrupted by a sequence of projecting two-storey high porticos. A semi-circular sign depicted on the lower verandah over the truncation appears to have been relocated on the upper floor roof directly above.

History

The building was established as a hotel and continues to be used as a hotel. "The original building on this site was a timber and iron construction and, with the Club (Cohn's Buildings), was one of the first two hotels in town. The site has been home to the hotel ever since. The building was built for the Wilkie Brothers, contractors for the Southern Cross-Kalgoorlie railway line. The contract value was approximately £8,000 pounds. The decorative motifs and elements that adorn the building's facade are drawn from a variety of styles and give the building its ornate appearance. The hotel was saved from damage during the 1934 race riots when Bill Trythall took over the licence from the licensee whose foreign name made him vulnerable to assault" (Laurie, 1995: 15). General Comments: "The 1934 riots resulted from bitterness between Australians and immigrants over alleged preference given to the immigrants by shift bosses. Approximately 7,700 unskilled Southern Europeans had arrived in Western Australia between 1923 and 1929 and many had found their way to the Goldfields. On the 29 and 30 January 1934, mobs roamed the streets and outlying camps, shooting at foreigners and setting fire to foreign owned businesses. A special trainload of police and volunteers from Perth came to help with the disturbances but by the time they had arrived, the situation had died down (Laurie, 1995: 15). 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: High

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Last Update