Historic Greenough hotel listed on heritage register

5/9/01
The Hampton Arms, the first hotel to be built in the Mid-West's Greenough district, has been listed on the State's Register of Heritage Places.
The hotel, which still functions as a licensed inn and restaurant, has been lovingly restored for the past 16 years by owners Judy and Brian Turnock.
Environment and Heritage Minister Dr Judy Edwards said the Hampton Arms was one of only a handful of colonial hotels to survive to the present day.
"What makes it even more rare is that it is still operating as a hotel," Dr Edwards said.
"It is also important as a surviving remnant of the town of Hampton, which was established in 1862, not long after the Greenough Front Flats.
"As the district's first hotel, it was a focal point for Greenough settlers for social gatherings, balls and political meetings.
"It also provided shelter during times of flooding when settlers on the western side of the Greenough River were cut off from settlement on the eastern side."
Dr Edwards said the two-storey stone and iron building, which had single-storey wings each side of the main section and a stone stable block, was an excellent example of the Victorian Regency style.
"Unlike other surviving buildings which once functioned as inns, the Hampton Arms was a purpose-built hotel," she said.
"Francis Pearson, who designed the first smelter in Western Australia and was a key figure in the early settlement of the Mid-West, built the hotel in 1863 with his two sons."
The Hampton Arms was officially opened on May 1,1863 and named after John Hampton, Governor of the day. The district's first ploughing match was held in 1868, adjacent to the hotel and for several decades it was a centre of social life.
However, hard times and economic developments began to affect conditions in the area. By the 1870s a series of droughts, floods and fires had reduced the cropping capabilities of the region, which had been important in supplying the colony with much needed flour supplies.
A disastrous flood in 1888 further reduced the area's profitability and population and when the Midland to Walkaway railway line was completed in 1894, road traffic along the Perth-Geraldton road decreased.
The combination of these events led to a decline in patronage of the Hampton Arms and eventually it closed in the 1890s.
The building was used as farmhouse and gradually deteriorated until it was bought in 1978 by Alistair and Robin McKechnie, who began restoration work.
They opened a restaurant in 1979 and completed work on the ballroom in 1981, subsequently being granted the first Historic Inn licence in WA.
The Hampton Arms was Classified by the National Trust in 1977 and placed on the Register of the National Estate in 1978. It was placed on the Shire of Greenough's historic buildings list in 1984 and included in its Municipal Inventory in 1998.
Media contact: John Carey 9220 5050