This building at the intersection of Main and Victoria streets, behind the Soldiers Memorial, was a commanding landmark of Stawell from the 1860s until it was demolished in 1956.
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The site was first used in 1860 when Mr John Joyce shifted his weatherboard Royal Hotel from Commercial Street on the goldfields to the Quartz Reefs, as this area was then known.
The early hotel was built largely of calico, weatherboards and brick chimneys. At first Mr Jones held a refreshment license, but was granted a publicans license for his Royal Hotel by the Stawell Licensing Court in 1861, providing he completed the papering of certain bedrooms within one week.
After more improvements took place, Mr Jones changed the name to the Castlemaine Hotel in 1864.
After Mr Jones' death in 1869, Mr Thomas Repper purchased the premises at auction for 700 pounds. Tenders to build a second storey were invited in November 1873 with plans prepared by Mr George lnskip, architect of Stawell.
The beautiful ironwork was probably the work of the Stawell Foundry. After the additions, Mr Repper opened the business again, this time calling the premises the Unicorn Hotel. Mr Repper remained the licensee until 1876 and was followed by Mr Henry Christophers and Mr John Julian.
In 1883, the building became the private residence and consulting rooms for Dr Arthur Bennett and was then called Fairleigh, Dr Bennett left for Hamilton in December 1884 and was succeeded by Dr Robert Jack.
In 1889 the building started its life as the Stawell Coffee Palace and it was run very successfully for many years and was held in high regard by its many guests.
Over the years it had many proprietors including Mr and Mrs Mclntosh, T Aldred, AH Bush, and Mrs M Ellis. The name was later changed to the Stawell Guest House and Mr and Mrs Frank Blake were the last proprietors.
Mr and Mrs Blake would be remembered by many Stawell people.
The building was purchased by Caltex Oil (Aust.) Pty Ltd and was demolished in 1956 to make way for an up-to-date service station on the site.
The Stawell News, April 22 1956 reported that "the demand for building materials from the Stawell Guest House has been remarkable; all saleable items have been purchased or reserved by buyers. Workmen are proceeding apace with the demolition of the two storied brick building which has been a Main Street landmark for many years".
Stawell Historical Society is open Wednesdays and Thursdays 10am-4pm. Contact us on 5358 3789 or email stawhist@bigpond.com