Row of shops

The row of four shops at 206 and 206A-C Albert Street, Sebastapol, to the extent of the 1920s fabric including the cantilevered verandah.

The row of four shops at 206 and 206A-C Albert Street are of local aesthetic and historic significance to the City of Ballarat.

Aesthetically, as an intact representative example of interwar shops in a simplified classical style, as was popular in the 1920s. The row is distinguished by the integration of the four shops into a single composition with end pavilions, instead of expressing them as four identical buildings, as is common. (Criterion D)

Historically, as an illustration of Sebastapol's interwar development. While the township declined in population andindustrial activity after the closure of the mines in the early 20th century, some early settler families remained in place and continued family businesses. A prime example is the Hughes family. David Hughes, a baker and greengrocer, settled in Sebastapol in 1862, and held this land for a short time in the 19th century (1888-92). The family took possession of the site again in 1921, around the time the present buildings were erected, and the grocery business passed to his son (or grandson) Thomas Hughes, then upon Thomas' death, Kevin Hughes. (Criterion A)