Goldfields heritage recognised as Year of the Outback ends

27/12/02
One of the few surviving late 19th century hotels in one of Western Australia's most historic towns has been permanently listed in the State Register of Heritage Places along with the interim listing of the Menzies Town Hall and Shire Offices and the Menzies Warden's Quarters.
Environment and Heritage Minister Dr Judy Edwards said registration would provide permanent statutory protection and recognition of the contribution made by Coolgardie's Railway Hotel.
Dr Edwards said the Menzies Warden's Quarters, Town Hall and Shire offices had been recognised through the Heritage Council of WA's assessment program, which would be accelerated over the next three years.
The accelerated program would enable the Heritage Council to complete more assessments and increase the number of places entered in the Register of Heritage Places.
"It is fitting that registration of these places takes place as the Year of the Outback was coming to a close, as they have played important roles in the history of regional Western Australia," the Minister said.
"The Railway Hotel is a reminder of a boom time in the town's history when Coolgardie was third only to Perth and Fremantle in terms of population."
Dr Edwards said the Railway Hotel, one of only three surviving hotels from a period when Coolgardie had 23 hotels, formed part of a small but important collection of late nineteenth and early 20th century buildings in Coolgardie's historic Bayley Street.
"Bayley Street was Coolgardie's main thoroughfare during the 1890s, and is representative of a time when the town was the mining, business and administrative centre of the Eastern Goldfields," she said.
"Originally built in 1896, and designed by architect Archer Hoskings in a mix of Federation Free Classical and Federation Filigree styles, as an office building for Alexander Matheson and Co, the Railway Hotel was converted to a hotel in the late 1890s and remained open until 1965."
The building is also significant for its Flemish bond tuck-pointed brick walls, iron roof and timber verandahs on both the first and second floors.
"Since 1965, the Hotel has been privately owned and operated as a hostel," Dr Edwards said.
"The significance of the site has been recognised by a number of bodies, including listing by the National Trust, entry in the Register of the National Estate and inclusion in the Shire of Coolgardie's Municipal Inventory."
The Menzies Town Hall and Shire Offices were constructed between 1896 and 1901, are an imposing and substantial public building demonstrating the prosperity experienced in the Eastern Goldfields at the turn of the century.
Dr Edwards said the place was a good example of a Federation Free Classical style rural civic administration building, displaying an unusual composition of architectural elements.
"It is built from local stone and a landmark presence that contributes to the character of the town of Menzies, in particular the visual impact of the clock tower in vistas along the main street and from various locations around the town," she said.
"It has been associated with the major municipal, civic, social and cultural activities of Menzies since 1902 and is valued by the local community for these ongoing associations."
The Menzies warden's quarters, now the Menzies nursing post, is a stone and iron bungalow constructed in 1897 in Colonial style, of the Federation Period originally built as the residence of the mining warden and mining magistrate (the most senior Government official on the North Coolgardie goldfield).
"It was constructed for William Lambden Owen, warden and resident magistrate from 1896-1905. He influenced the choice of site and design of the place, with Public Works Department chief architect John H Granger.
"The place is has been used a hospital and nursing facility since 1927 and is currently vested in the Minister for Health."
It is representative of the period of prosperity and development in the town and the North Coolgardie goldfield during the gold mining boom of the 1890's.
Minister's office: 9220 5050