FORMER BIGGS AND SHOPPE CERAMIC DEALER SITE

The site is first mapped as Allotments 22, 23, and 24 of Section C on Main Road Ballarat. The site contained a number of commercial and residential properties, including the Biggs and Shoppe Ceramic and Glassware store. In 1862 the buildings were reconstructed out of permanent building materials, and in 1873 Biggs and Shoppe closed. The site was used for commercial occupation throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century, with the exception of the structures on Peel Street with the nature of their occupation being largely unknown.  

The site is of historical and archaeological significance. 

The site is within the area of the initial Ballarat rush of 1852 and relates to the establishment and operation of Ballarat’s first commercial centre during the years of the Victorian gold rush. The site is likely to contain the archaeological remains of the former Biggs and Shoppe ceramic and glassware store which was established in 1857 and was operating from the premises until 1873, as well as four other commercial stores. There is mining infrastructure mapped to the north of the site, and by 1859 there are structures fronting Peel Street. The site will contribute to our understanding of the formation of Ballarat in the early years of the gold rush and has the potential to provide information about the sale and consumption of ceramics and glassware throughout the early gold rush.