FORMER WITTKOWSKI TOBACCONIST AND GOLD SHOP

The area was first mapped as Wittkowski’s Tobbacco and Gold Shope in 1857 after the discovery of gold in Ballarat. The site contained two main phases of occupation including the c. 1857 single-story structure and the c.1860s more substantial structure, both with corresponding residences and cesspits. In 1881 the continued use as a commercial premises and residence, with a high turnover of occupants. The Victorian structure still stands across the northern part of the site, with 1960s single-story structures to the south, indicating a high archaeological potential. 

The site is of historical and archaeological significance. 

The site is of historical significance as the location of an early residence and commercial precinct during the years of the Victorian gold rush – one of the most significant rushes in world history. The site is of archaeological significance due to its potential to contain artefacts, deposits and features that relate to the establishment of commercial operations in the gold rush, and other later 19th-century activities.