HARVEST HOME HOTEL

The Harvest Home Hotel Precinct comprised the hotel and two terrace houses, constructed between the 1870s-1885 and occupied through to the late 1960s. There is potential for foundations, subfloor deposits, a cellar, a well and multiple cesspits, documented by historical MMBW plans, to be preserved across the site, containing archaeological deposits representative of the early residents of Carlton and the mid-late 19th century hospitality industry in Melbourne.

The Harvest Home Hotel Precinct is of historical significance (Criterion A), it has the potential to provide new information (Criterion C) and importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects (Criterion D) all at a local level.

The Harvest Home Hotel Precinct has local historical and social significance within the context of the urban residential and commercial development of south-west Carlton. The site has scientific significance associated with it’s potential for archaeological deposits which may contribute new information to the understanding of the gender and socio-economic position of the residents as well as publicans and patrons of the site between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries. Particularly, with regard to women as business managers and employers, as opposed to employees, in the late 19th century. 

The hotel was located directly opposite the Hay Market and is representative of the many hotels that sprang up around this and other markets to provide accommodation and a social setting for merchants and workers. The hotel likely also served as an important social setting for working class people living and/or working trades in the surrounding area. Overall, the site is considered to be of moderate significance.