Arranmore Gates

The entry gates and associated picket fencing and planting, the form of the existing entry road and planting from Howe Street to the entry to the house garden have significance as remaining items of the development of a family farm and horse stud of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The farm was first owned and farmed from 1854 by Harry Mount who was well known in horse riding circles in Ballarat and a friend and partner of Adam Lindsay Gordon in the horse stables that operated from Craig's Hotel. The property was then owned from 1875 to 1909 by Stephen Holgate a stock and station agent with horse breeding and owning connections. From 1909 until 1954 the property was owned by prominent brewer and racing identity Oswald Coghlan. The date of construction of the gates is as yet undetermined but appears to date from at least 1910 and they have been a major landmark on the road to Miner's Rest. The roadway appears to date from the mid to late nineteenth century providing the entry to the house and garden area. The main house was gutted by fire in the mid twentieth century and the remaining stable and farm buildings have been substantially altered and therefore the significant fabric remaining to interpret the site are the gates, driveway and ponds/swimming pool.

The gates and driveway are aesthetically and historically significant at a LOCAL level.

The gates, gateposts, flanking picket fence, central stone for fastening and adjacent mature trees, driveway at 80 Howe Street, Miners Rest are historically significant for the association with a substantial and affluent family farm and horse stud development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. (Criterion A). The property is associated with three owners with prominent association in horse breeding and racing circles in Miners Rest and Ballarat, Harry Mount, Stephen Holgate and Oswald Coghlan (Criterion H)

The entry gates are aesthetically significant for demonstrating late nineteenth and early twentieth century design qualities, being the substantial scale, materials and design of the stone pillars and cast iron gates (Criterion E). The single piece of basalt for the main section of the gate pillars is rare. The flat nature of the castings for the gates and the sinuous floral nature of the pattern are unusual and distinctive. No similar design has been found in the region. The flanking timber picket sections of fence, although reconstructed are part of the original entry and complement the central gates. The entry is a landmark in the region.