Palace Hotel, Southern Cross

Author

Shire of Yilgarn

Place Number

02812

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Location

6 Orion St Southern Cross

Location Details

Other Name(s)

Anniversary Hostel

Local Government

Yilgarn

Region

Wheatbelt

Construction Date

Constructed from 1911

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type	Status	Date	Documents	More information
Heritage List	Adopted	07 Aug 1998
State Register	Registered	01 May 2012	Register Entry Assessment Documentation	Heritage Council

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type	Status	Date	Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type	Status	Date	Grading/Management		More information
Type	Status	Date	Category	Description	More information
Statewide Hotel Survey	Completed	01 Nov 1997			Heritage Council
Municipal Inventory	Adopted	16 May 1997	Category A	Category A These places have a great deal of significance and the highest level of protection is appropriate: recommended for entry into the State Register of Heritage Places; (No 46 Pumping Station and No 53 Southern Cross Post Office are already on the Interim Register): provide maximum encouragement to the owner under the Shire of Yilgarn Town Planning Scheme to conserve the significance of the place. Incentives to promote conservation should be considered.

Statement of Significance

The Palace Hotel has aesthetic, historic and social significance. The Hotel was built in 1911 to cope with the population explosion of Southern Cross and the Yilgarn district due to the discovery of gold at Bullfinch. The original hotel site was that of the first shop in Southern Cross (built in 1889 by William Cameron). When the hotel was erected it was alongside the Exchange Hotel which was eventually converted into a motor garage. This was demolished in 1950 and the area is now used as a carpark for customers of the Palace Hotel. The hotel originally had a billiard room and a large sample room, which up to the 1930s was used by commercial travellers to display samples of their wares to local businessmen. They travelled by train until cars were more common, with their samples in crates. The hotel was also popular with the mining fraternity. The Hotel was delicensed in 1956/7 due to economic struggles. From the mid-1960s until 1992 the Palace was run as a boarding house (Anniversary Hostel).
In the early 1990s the hotel was extensively renovated, and the manager and staff are kept very busy providing quality service to visitors. In 1994 the Palace Hotel won the West Australian Tourism Award for Excellence for the Best Renovated Hotel of the Year. It went on to become a finalist in the National awards for excellence in 1995.

Physical Description

The Palace Hotel commands an excellent position in the Southern Cross main street. Situated on the corner of Orion and Antares Streets, it is passed by all traffic entering the town from the east or west on the main highway. The backdrop of the building shows its close proximity to the open-cut mine. The two-storey building is constructed from red brick with a corrugated iron roof. The windows and doors are wooden framed with stained glass inserts. There is a wide verandah around the front of both storeys. The original balconies became dangerous some time after the hotel was delicensed in 1965-66. They were dismantled and wrought iron parcels were sold.

History

Themes: Occupations
Sub Themes: Hospitality

Integrity/Authenticity

Most of original fabric intact

Condition

Very Good

Associations

Name	Type	Year From	Year To
Christian Frederick Mouritzen	Architect	1911	1923
Cavanagh & Cavanagh	Architect	1935	-

Place Type

Individual Building or Group

Uses

Epoch	General	Specific
Original Use	COMMERCIAL	Hotel, Tavern or Inn
Present Use	COMMERCIAL	Hotel, Tavern or Inn
Other Use	RESIDENTIAL	Institutional Housing

Architectural Styles

Style
Inter-War Art Deco
Federation Filigree

Construction Materials

Type	General	Specific
Roof	METAL	Corrugated Iron
Wall	BRICK	Common Brick

Historic Themes

General	Specific
OUTSIDE INFLUENCES	Depression & boom
OCCUPATIONS	Domestic activities
OCCUPATIONS	Hospitality industry & tourism
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES	Sport, recreation & entertainment
DEMOGRAPHIC SETTLEMENT & MOBILITY	Resource exploitation & depletion
OUTSIDE INFLUENCES	Water, power, major t'port routes
OUTSIDE INFLUENCES	Tourism
OCCUPATIONS	Mining {incl. mineral processing}

Creation Date

08 May 1989

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

31 Mar 2021

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.