The Victoria Hotel was built on this site in 1860. It was operated first by James Thomas Webb, and from 1863 by Robert Blunt and then Mrs Ellen Blunt, until 1881, when it was sold to Ambrose and Mary Murrell. In 1922 the hotel was bought by Stephen Cracknell, a Grenville Shire Councillor.
From mid-1862 until the Shire of Grenville was proclaimed in 1864, the Woady Yaloak Roads Board met at this hotel. In 1864, before the Shire Hall was built, Council paid 15 shillings a week to hire a room for Council meetings.
The Victoria was a popular meeting place. Squatters stayed overnight on their way to and from Ballarat. Miners met here to drink with friends and travellers to exchange the latest news. Many local clubs and groups organised meetings or dinners and entertainments in the large dining room. In 1909, a room was used by a Ballarat dentist who visited monthly.
On your screen you will be able to see a photo of the Victoria Hotel from around 1900.
The hotel was demolished in 1938, and this private home, ‘The Gables,’ replaced it in the 1950s.
Walk towards town along the Glenelg Highway, which becomes Sussex Street.
On your right, you will pass an old standpipe that has been there since about 1880 and pre-dates piped water to Linton houses. It was also a source of water for fighting fires in the town.
