Permanent heritage protection has been provided for the Old Hepburn Hotel at 236 Main Road, Hepburn Springs.
Planning Scheme Amendment C82hepb to the Hepburn Planning Scheme has now been gazetted and replaces the interim protection sought by Council to prevent demolition of the hotel in early 2020.
An investigation undertaken by council’s Heritage Advisor in support of the interim protection found that the Old Hepburn Hotel warranted permanent local heritage protection under the Hepburn Planning Scheme “for its historic, rarity and representative values at a local level and for its potential to yield further information”.
The Hotel has historical significance for its associations with the German and Swiss Italian gold miners, who were attracted to the Daylesford, Hepburn Springs, Jim Crow, Yandoit and Shepherd Flats gold fields in the 1850s and 1860s.
It is one of the longest operating hotels in the region, first established as a licensed general store in 1854. It was owned by Leonardo Pozzi and later by Alessandro Moneghetti, two of the first Swiss Italians to arrive
in the district in the 1850s.
The original hotel was destroyed by bushfires in 1909 but was rebuilt in 1911 to the early design of the hotel. The style of the hotel is representative of small gold rush hotels, few of which remain.
To view the amendment and documents, visit the State Government Planning website.
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