Burtville Hotel

Values

The place is a landmark along the Burtville-Merolia Road in a sparse rural landscape.

The place has associations with the development of the goldfields region from the 1890s and is representative of other towns in the area that had a short-lived history and now appear as ‘ghost towns’.

The place is one of only two remnants of the former Burtville gold mining townsite.

The place is representative of a number of ghost mining towns in the goldfield's region, of which the remnant fabric is becoming increasingly rare due to various reasons.

Physical Description

The ruin is the only remains in a former gold mining townsite and is located on the corner of two former roads.

The ruin is of stone construction. It is the ground floor truncated corner element of a former hotel building and is the only standing element in the stone ruins of the former building. The footprint of the building is discernible and a stone cellar. The truncated corner element has quoined openings with a decorative keystone. The ruin is structurally unstable, and the mortar is fretted.

History

Gold was discovered in the area in 1897 by Billy Frost and J. Tregurtha. A town grew very quickly around the find with one of the first buildings constructed being the hotel. By 1901, the town had been laid out and businesses in the town included a cordial factory, stores and a Union Bank.

The town was originally named ‘Merolia’, but original residents referred to the place as ‘Burtville’ after the Warden of the Mount Margaret Goldfield, Mr. Alfred Earle Burt. In 1902 the town was re-gazetted Burtville at the request of the town’s Progress Association.

By 1904 the town had two banks, two hotels, stores, a school, a butcher, a baker, a news agency and a police station. The population at this time was approximately 400 people.

The town was short-lived with the local fields mined up within twenty years. By 1916, the Inspector of Police reported that the town was ‘almost deserted’ with approximately 45 people still living in the town itself. By 1921, there were only 14 people recorded in the town including Laura Sangster at the Black Swan Hotel.

Very little information has yet been found about the history of the hotel, although it appears that the Burtville Arch may have originally been known as the Black Swan Hotel. As with other goldmining towns it is likely that when Burtville became deserted materials were scavenged from existing buildings, relocated and reused in the construction of other buildings in the goldfields area.

With the increase in tourism in the goldfield's region, the place has become a popular stop in the goldfields ghost town tour.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity- Low
Authenticity- High

Condition

Poor

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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