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Gawler School was one of the first eight model schools built in South Australia in 1877. It and opened in 1878. The building is a National Estate heritage listed structures. In 2005 $3.74 million wa spent on restoring and upgrading the school. The foundation stone was laid by the Mayor of Gawler the Honourable James Martin. The school was designed by Edward Woods, the Colonial Architect. The design featured Gothic style windows, prominent gables decorated with finials, a tall belfry with a still operational bell and an intricate air circulation system with prominent roof vents and the drawing of cool air from the basements. Gawler Model School was built with 9 class rooms to cater for 600 students but enrolments soon exceeded 700. In 1907 Gawler Public School added a "Continuation class". In 1909 the school became a District High School. This ceased in 1915 when Gawler High School opened on Lyndoch Road. In 1950 the school grounds were expanded to include the area between the school and Parnell Street thus destroying Parnell Square as originally planned by Colonel William Light in 1839.
Colac businessman, Adam Rea, had been using the former inn, the Crook and Plaid, at number 1 Murray Street as shop premises before demolishing it 1868 to build his substantial shop and residence. The single storey sandstone building has a bluestone plinth, pilasters, quoins and sills and stucco parapet balustrade and has been built in a conservative Colonial classical style. Finely detailed arcaded timber shop front windows may be found on the Murray Street frontage of the store. The shop you see today was part of a group which developed to include the Post Office and Shire Hall and serves as a valuable reminder of Colac's formative years.
The former Adam Reas Store is a well proportioned building that is prominently located at the beginning of the Colac high street shopping presinct at number 1 Murray Road. It stands on a corner and has two important street facades which enhance the streetscape and complement other period buildings close by, the former Colac Post Office and Shire Hall in particular. The building and its distinctive, original, shopfront joinery and fine architectural detailing, is a notable example of Nineteenth Century general store and residence design. Such Colonial shopfronts are rare in the Western District of Victoria and this is a particularly well designed and finely crafted shopfront for this provincial location.
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).
Took a bit of a gamble on the roads being open to go the three and a half miles off the main road at Rosebush down a narrow track to Manachlogddy. Fortunitely it was ok if not a little hair raising in places. This slab of Preseli Blue Stone was placed here by Chinook helicopter in April of 1989 and came from the crest of Carn Menyn. The origin of the Bluestones that built Stonehenge, one was also taken there by the local council and is still displayed there today. This one was erected to show people where they originated from.
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Kyneton.
The Carlsruhe sheep run taken up in 1838 by Ebden covered a huge area from modern Woodend to Kyneton. In 1839 it was split into two pastoral runs and the run near Kyneton was taken over my Charles Wedge and then shortly after by Henry Jeffreys who built his slab homestead on the current town site astride the Campaspe River. In 1848 Henry Jeffreys went into partnership with Lieutenant Governor Charles La Trobe as this was still part of NSW then (the Governor was based in Sydney but the Lieutenant Governor was based on Port Phillip Bay.) Perhaps not coincidentally a small courthouse was established in 1848 on the Campaspe River at this spot after La Trobe had visited his and his partner’s property. La Trobe decided to make the courthouse site a town site which he called Kyneton after the birthplace of Henry Jeffreys’ wife who was born in Kineton Warwickshire. The town was gazetted as Kyneton in 1850 just before the first gold was found at Bendigo and around Mt Alexander in late 1851. Kyneton grew quickly as it was a resting place on the journey from Melbourne to Bendigo and impressive basaltic bluestone buildings were erected as there was a plentiful supply of good bluestone between Kyneton and Taradale. By the late 1850s there was an impressive array of bluestone public buildings in Kyneton including: the Kyneton Courthouse erected in 1856; the Anglian church (built 1852 and rebuilt 1856 with the west tower added 1928); the Congregational Church (built 1853 and rebuilt 1860 but now a theatre); the Mechanics Institute built 1854 (and rebuilt 1897); the Catholic Church built in 1857, the Presbyterian Church also built in 1857 and numerous banks, shops, the school (built in 1855, extended 1861 and in 1906 and still in use as the state school) and the hospital. Also built in the 1850s in bluestone was the De Graves three storey flourmill (1857) a few kilometres out of the town and another steam flourmill for Willis Brothers was built partially in bluestone in Piper Street in 1862. Some notable houses and residences were also built in the 1850s including the Attic House in 1858, the rear part of Carn Brae built in 1854 and Inverugie opposite the old town school which was built in 1858. The two storey grand Kyneton Hospital built between 1854 and 1856 with an amazing little morgue behind it of the same vintage as it was built in 1859 when the east wing was added to the hospital. The west wing was added in 1874. The hospital’s lacework wrought iron veranda was added in 1910 thus destroying the Georgian appearance of the hospital. General use of the hospital ceased in 1942. Alas it is now vacant and vandalised but there are plans to restore it and convert it into apartments. The oldest house in Kyneton is believed to be the Anglican rectory built in 1853. One of the many fine two storey banks - the former Bank of NSW built in 1856 is now the town museum which has the homestead of Theaden station (1840) relocated in its grounds.
Keyneton also has a fine Botanic Garden along the edge of the Campaspe River. It was established in the 1880s although the site was reserved for this purpose back in 1867. Across the river from the Botanic Gardens is the bluestone railway station and goods shed which were built in 1862. Some of the later buildings of Kyneton, not in bluestone, are also of great interest. They include the rebuilt Royal George Hotel which was built in its current style in 1915 to replace an earlier structure from 1860 which was called the Diggers Arms Hotel; the wonderful Art Nouveau style Bank of New South Wales built in 1904 in Mollison Street; the impressive Post Office and tower built in 1871; the Congregational Sunday School built in Arts and Crafts style in 1898; the former Kyneton Market on the corner of Piper and Ebden Streets built in 1878 which is again being sued for that purpose; and the slightly bizarre Ellim Eek house with tower and griffins along the roof which was built in 1890 and remodelled in 1906 with the griffins etc. It is now used as solicitor’s offices. Many of the shops of Kyneton date from the 1850s but one in classical style is worth special mention as it was constructed in 1852 exemplifying the optimism and confidence of the early settlers of Kyneton because of the nearby goldfields. This fine classical store is at 68 Piper Street almost opposite the town museum.
St James Old Cathedral was originally constructed on five acres of Crown land bounded by Collins, William and Bourke Streets with the foundation stone being laid on 9 November 1839 by Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801 – 1875), Superintendent of the District of Port Phillip. A simple timber pioneer church which preceded it was built with funds largely subscribed by Presbyterians and other denominations that made up the small community. Charles La Trobe brought a gift from Queen Victoria to the new colony, a baptismal font from St Katherine's Abbey, London, which remains the font at St James' today.
Opened on 11 February 1837, St James was designed by Robert Russell (1808 – 1900), a London architect and surveyor who had arrived in Melbourne from Sydney on 5 October 1836. The Colonial Georgian building is inspired by Francis Greenway's work at St James' King Street in Sydney. The foundations are of bluestone, and the main walls of a sandstone found in various local quarries. The unfinished building was opened for worship on the 2nd October 1842 and completed in 1847.
The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne was founded in 1847, and on 29 June 1847 Charles Perry was consecrated in Westminster Abbey as Melbourne's first Bishop. He was enthroned in St James on 28 January 1848, and St James became the first Cathedral church of the new diocese, although it was not consecrated until 1853.
When St Paul's Cathedral opened for worship on 22 January 1891 St James reverted to the status of a parish church. The diminished congregation, pressure of occupying valuable city land, and maintenance problems resulted in the church narrowly escaping demolition. It was relocated stone by numbered stone to its present site under the direction of Messrs Thomas Watts and Son, architects, re-consecrated by Archbishop Lowther Clark, and re-opened for worship on 19 April 1914 at its current site on the corner of Batman and King Streets, West Melbourne – opposite the Flagstaff Gardens. Changes made to the original design at the time of relocation include reorientation from east west to north south, the tower shortened by one stage, the main ceiling lowered a little, the sanctuary shortened by a few inches, the space between the main gallery remodelled to form a lobby and two vestries with passage and gallery stairs behind them and most noticeably to the third level of the belltower which became square instead of octagonal. Two side entrances were constructed to serve the new passage.
St James Old Cathedral is of historical importance as the first Cathedral in Melbourne, the earliest surviving church in Victoria, and one of Melbourne's earliest surviving buildings. It is of architectural importance as a rare example in Melbourne of a Colonial Georgian style building of simple design and pleasing proportions with Greek detailing at the doorways, and the only known surviving work of architect Robert Russell. Although he worked in London with eminent English architect John Nash, the style reflects his experiences in Sydney, especially the work of his contemporary Francis Clarke as well as of Francis Greenway.
The interior is important for rare and unusual features for Victoria, such as the traditional box pews of cedar, side galleries or Vice-Regal boxes originally for the use of Governor La Trobe and the Chief Justice, Baptismal font with the white marble bowl probably dating from the 17th century and coming from St Katherine's Abbey on the banks of the Thames, two mahogany pulpits presented by the ladies of the congregation in 1847. The World War 1 honour board carved by well known master wood carver Robert Prenzel and the World War 2 honour board which was copied from the earlier honour board. The stained glass windows are also of note with the 'east window' being possibly by the Melbourne firm of Ferguson and Urie, and the five windows by Christian Waller, wife of artist Napier Waller.