FORMER CENTRAL VICTORIAN LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE (BALLARAT SALE YARDS)
Other Name
Ballarat Sale Yards
Location
1020 LA TROBE STREET DELACOMBE, BALLARAT CITY
Level
Heritage Inventory Site
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Statement of Significance
What is significant?
Historic archaeological deposits, within the former sale yards precinct, associated with the mid-19th century Hand and Band mine shaft and McMahons House/Public Bar and previously unrecorded material related to the 1909 Federation era Administration building.
The Hand and Band mine shaft
Any 19th century archaeological remains associated with the Hand and Band mine shaft No. 4 that operated in the late 1860s and early 1870s would be Remains of the Hand and Band mine shaft would be of historical (Criterion A) and archaeological (Criterion C) significance for its association with the Victorian Gold Rush and the pivotal role 19th century mining played in the economic and social development of the state. The mine has no above ground expression but based on historical records and cartographic evidence it could survive as a capped, partially filled vertical shaft.
McMahons House/Public Bar
Based on cartographic evidence and historic records the McMahon property was built on unsurveyed crown land on the fringes of Ballarats municipal boundary and operated (licensed or unlicensed) as a public bar. The bar was cleared away before 1875 to allow for the expansion of the sale yards into the Western Allotment. Despite the superstructure being demolished sub-surface historic archaeological remains may survive in the form of footings, postholes or cesspits (Criterion C).
Administration building and associated material
Previously unrecorded historic archaeological material associated with the 1909 Federation era Administration building would be significant (Criterion C).
How is it significant?
Remains of the Hand and Band mine shaft would be of historical (Criterion A) and archaeological (Criterion C) significance for its association with the Victorian Gold Rush and the pivotal role 19th century mining played in the economic and social development of the state.
Remains of the McMahons House and Bar would be of historical (Criterion A) and archaeological (Criterion C) at a local level.
The Administration Building at the former Livestock Exchange is architecturally significant (Criteria D & E) as a substantially intact example of Federation design associated with sale yards operations. The building is also one of the earliest, substantially built and most intact examples of sale yards Administration buildings in Victoria. Any archaeological deposits present within the places footprint would be complementary to this significance and significant in their own right under (Criterion C).
Why is it significant?
Surviving evidence of the Hand and Band mine, abandoned since c.1875, would be significant for its association with Victorias Gold Rush history, and of particular interest to the activities of the United Hand in Hand and Band of Hope Company. Archaeological remains associated with the mine shaft has the potential to yield information pertaining to Gold extraction unavailable from other sources. There may be buried features including building and machinery footings, mullock remains and associated artefacts and tools. Structural components of the mine shaft itself may yield information that could contribute to our understanding of the various engineering and construction techniques used in the establishment and operation of mines during the Gold Rush period.
Any archaeological remains associated with McMahons House, a modest enterprise on the fringes of Ballarat, would have the potential to yield information on the social and recreational activities of the local mining population in a pivotal period of the Ballarats development .
Previously unrecorded, sub-surface, archaeological features belonging to the administration building, as well as any associated archaeological evidence, dating to the early 20th century, would be archaeologically significant and have the potential to provide insight into the historical operation of the sale yards and the lives of the people living and working at the site.