The Austral Hotel - Corner Murray and Corangamite Streets, Colac
Colac’s Austral Hotel was originally built in 1873 as the Brewers’ Arms Hotel. The Brewers’ Arms Hotel has long been a popular place of entertainment and sociability in Colac. Built in what is now the heart of the town on the corner of the main shopping thoroughfare of Murray Street and the wide Corangamite Street, it was originally established by Mr. John Willis when there was nothing around it. Consisting of eighteen rooms with two bars and two bar parlours (also known as ladies lounges), it was an interesting and somewhat rambling wooden structure that soon became a local landmark. Mr. Willis was the landlord and publican for quite a long time, but he was eventually succeeded by Mr. W. A. McIntosh, who was in turn succeeded by Mr. James. W. Bird. The Brewers’ Arms received a new publican when Mr. Bird died, a Mr. J. Haberfield, who managed it for ten years before selling the hostelry to a Mr. Talmage who was also proprietor for ten years. In 1898, ownership reverted again to Mr. Joshua Haberfield who was a local man well liked by many, but was particularly popular amongst the Colac sporting fraternity, for Mr. Haberfield was an expert rower and was also the principal member of the local football team in the mid 1880s. His geniality was attributed the Brewers’ Arms great success and prosperity.
In 1904, the Brewer’s Arms Hotel was remodeled in the prevailing fashion of the day, Art Nouveau, through the popular Federation Queen Anne architectural style, which was mostly a residential style which was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in England, but also encompassed some of the more stylised elements of Art Nouveau, which gave it a much more decorative look. It was also given a new name; the Austral Hotel. The name is emblazoned in smart Art Nouveau lettering in prominent places across its façade. Above the original ground floor Victorian corner construction, The Austral Hotel has a very complex roofline, a common trait of Federation Queen Anne buildings, aided by a number of gables and an ornamental corner tower, also a popular feature of Federation Queen Anne buildings. Across it’s façade, the Austral Hotel features stylised Art Nouveau panels of sinuous floral motifs, including ivy and acanthus leaves. Even the tall chimneys, also a common trait of Federation Queen Anne buildings, feature Art Nouveau motifs on the terracotta chimneypots.
Queen Anne style was most popular around the time of Federation. With complex roofline structures, ornamental towers of unusual proportions and undulating facades, many Queen Anne houses fell out of fashion at the beginning of the modern era, and were demolished.
Located approximately 150 kilometres to the south-west of Melbourne, past Geelong is the small Western District city of Colac. The area was originally settled by Europeans in 1837 by pastoralist Hugh Murray. A small community sprung up on the southern shore of a large lake amid the volcanic plains. The community was proclaimed a town, Lake Colac, in 1848, named after the lake upon which it perches. The post office opened in 1848 as Lake Colac and was renamed Colac in 1854 when the city changed its name. The township grew over the years, its wealth generated by the booming grazing industries of the large estates of the Western District and the dairy industry that accompanied it. Colac has a long high street shopping precinct, several churches, botanic gardens, a Masonic hall and a smattering of large properties within its boundaries, showing the conspicuous wealth of the city. Today Colac is still a commercial centre for the agricultural district that surrounds it with a population of around 10,000 people. Although not strictly a tourist town, Colac has many beautiful surviving historical buildings or interest, tree lined streets. Colac is known as “the Gateway to the Otways” (a reference to the Otway Ranges and surrounding forest area that is located just to the south of the town).
The Austral Hotel - Corner Murray and Corangamite Streets, Colac
Colac’s Austral Hotel was originally built in 1873 as the Brewers’ Arms Hotel. The Brewers’ Arms Hotel has long been a popular place of entertainment and sociability in Colac. Built in what is now the heart of the town on the corner of the main shopping thoroughfare of Murray Street and the wide Corangamite Street, it was originally established by Mr. John Willis when there was nothing around it. Consisting of eighteen rooms with two bars and two bar parlours (also known as ladies lounges), it was an interesting and somewhat rambling wooden structure that soon became a local landmark. Mr. Willis was the landlord and publican for quite a long time, but he was eventually succeeded by Mr. W. A. McIntosh, who was in turn succeeded by Mr. James. W. Bird. The Brewers’ Arms received a new publican when Mr. Bird died, a Mr. J. Haberfield, who managed it for ten years before selling the hostelry to a Mr. Talmage who was also proprietor for ten years. In 1898, ownership reverted again to Mr. Joshua Haberfield who was a local man well liked by many, but was particularly popular amongst the Colac sporting fraternity, for Mr. Haberfield was an expert rower and was also the principal member of the local football team in the mid 1880s. His geniality was attributed the Brewers’ Arms great success and prosperity.
In 1904, the Brewer’s Arms Hotel was remodeled in the prevailing fashion of the day, Art Nouveau, through the popular Federation Queen Anne architectural style, which was mostly a residential style which was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in England, but also encompassed some of the more stylised elements of Art Nouveau, which gave it a much more decorative look. It was also given a new name; the Austral Hotel. The name is emblazoned in smart Art Nouveau lettering in prominent places across its façade. Above the original ground floor Victorian corner construction, The Austral Hotel has a very complex roofline, a common trait of Federation Queen Anne buildings, aided by a number of gables and an ornamental corner tower, also a popular feature of Federation Queen Anne buildings. Across it’s façade, the Austral Hotel features stylised Art Nouveau panels of sinuous floral motifs, including ivy and acanthus leaves. Even the tall chimneys, also a common trait of Federation Queen Anne buildings, feature Art Nouveau motifs on the terracotta chimneypots.
Queen Anne style was most popular around the time of Federation. With complex roofline structures, ornamental towers of unusual proportions and undulating facades, many Queen Anne houses fell out of fashion at the beginning of the modern era, and were demolished.
Located approximately 150 kilometres to the south-west of Melbourne, past Geelong is the small Western District city of Colac. The area was originally settled by Europeans in 1837 by pastoralist Hugh Murray. A small community sprung up on the southern shore of a large lake amid the volcanic plains. The community was proclaimed a town, Lake Colac, in 1848, named after the lake upon which it perches. The post office opened in 1848 as Lake Colac and was renamed Colac in 1854 when the city changed its name. The township grew over the years, its wealth generated by the booming grazing industries of the large estates of the Western District and the dairy industry that accompanied it. Colac has a long high street shopping precinct, several churches, botanic gardens, a Masonic hall and a smattering of large properties within its boundaries, showing the conspicuous wealth of the city. Today Colac is still a commercial centre for the agricultural district that surrounds it with a population of around 10,000 people. Although not strictly a tourist town, Colac has many beautiful surviving historical buildings or interest, tree lined streets. Colac is known as “the Gateway to the Otways” (a reference to the Otway Ranges and surrounding forest area that is located just to the south of the town).