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COLERAINE HERITAGE PRECINCT

Location Glenelg Highway COLERAINE, Southern Grampians Shire Level Stage 2 study complete

Statement of Significance

What is significant?
The township of Coleraine is located on the Hamilton Highway, 30.0 km west of Hamilton. The town developed at the road crossing of Bryant's Creek, particularly for traffic between Adelaide, Melbourne and the southern ports of Portland and Port Fairy (Belfast) from the early 1840s. Traditionally, Coleraine has been an important service centre for the surrounding pastoral properties. The great pastoral runs of Muntham and Konongwootong surrounded Coleraine prior to their subdivision in the 1840s. After the subdivision of Konongwootong, the township began to develop, servicing pastoralists, farmers and later closer and soldier settlement schemes. The first buildings were hotels and stores to serve the large pastoralists and the people who were travelling between Adelaide and Melbourne. Merchants were particularly influential in the development of early Coleraine. George and Thomas Trangmar established Tragmar's Store near the intersection of the Portland and Melbourne -Adelaide Roads 1852, and in 1859 Abraham Lesser started Lesser's Stores at the western end of Whyte Street. Both the Lesser and Trangmar families were particularly important over several generations in Coleraine. Some pastoralists were also important to the development of the town, particularly the Pastoral and Agricultural Societies. William Moodie was important in the development of the P & A Society, as well as being involved in the Shire of Wannon. Adam Turnbull, of Mount Koroite run was a pastoralist as well as the first President of the municipality. It is important to note that the earliest squatters who held vast tracts of land, such as Edward Henty of Muntham, the Winter-Cookes of Murndal and the Whyte Brothers of Konongwootong did little to advance the small hamlet of Coleraine in its early days, nor did they contribute to community life. The division of some of the great runs in the mid 1840s led to smaller (still vast) squatting runs being taken up. Many of the 'secondary' squatters were involved in the community life and advancement of the township. One example of involvement is the organising of the Great Western Steeplechase from 1857 onwards, and subsequent development of the racing club. The steeplechase became an annual fixture, a notoriously demanding race held over a shifting course around the town. The race was made famous by poet Adam Lindsay Gordon, who competed in the race several times, memorialising it in his poem 'The fields of Coleraine'. By the mid 1860s the town could boast substantial public buildings such as a National School, three hotels, two general merchants, a number of brick cottages and three churches. The first churches to be built were the Anglican and Catholic, representing the dominant denominations in the area. The township serviced the surrounding squatting runs not only in a commercial and mercantile sense, but also for social purposes. This is clear from the annual Coleraine Show which continues today. In 1872, Coleraine became the civic administrative centre of the newly formed Shire of Wannon. This had an impact on the architecture, development and commercial district of Whyte Street, as well as influencing the direction of the town on a social and economic level. The population increased, more fine buildings were constructed and trade was brought to the town. Efforts were made by the townspeople and squatters to develop and beautify the town in the later nineteenth century. Three large public open spaces were set aside, and street tree plantings commenced in Whyte Street. Industrial and transport development was lobbied for, and eventually Coleraine was linked to Hamilton by rail. The arrival of the railway was relatively successful in the promotion of the town. Although it did support other industries such as the rabbit freezing and the butter factory, ultimately, it made the larger towns such as Hamilton more accessible. This led to a changing focus for the provision of goods and services to the people of Coleraine. The town has been influenced by the breaking up of large estates, at the end of the nineteenth century and after the two World Wars. However, the town's population has declined in parallel with a reduction in other local services. This is a general trend across the state and is due to a combination of factors, not least the decline of the wool industry and an increased mobility. In the later twentieth century, one of the public open spaces, the town common, was planted out with Australian native plants in an effort to 'beautify' the landscape. This has developed over the past forty years into a nationally significant arboretum, the Peter Francis Points Arboretum which is now the largest collection of Eucalyptus species in the world.

How is it significant?
The township of Coleraine is of historical, social, cultural and architectural significance to the community of Coleraine and the Shire of Southern Grampians

Why is it significant?
The township of Coleraine is of historical significance as one of the oldest permanent urban settlements in the Shire, of social significance as the focus for the community in the Coleraine area. Coleraine is of cultural significance as the recreational focus for the pastoral hinterland of the township for recreational activities such as sports, racing and the annual Pastoral and Agricultural Show. It is of architectural significance as a planned town including a typical range of buildings including public facilities and utilities, churches, commercial buildings and private residences. Of further architectural significance is the range of fine architect designed buildings which date from the late nineteenth century in Whyte Street.

Group

Urban Area

Category

Townscape