Amphitheatre, Victoria

Amphitheatre is a small town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Pyrenees Highway in the Pyrenees Shire, south-west of Avoca. At the 2016 census, Amphitheatre and the surrounding area had a population of 248.[1]

Amphitheatre
Victoria
Hotel Amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
Coordinates37°10′0″S 143°25′0″E
Population248 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)3468
Location
LGA(s)Pyrenees Shire
State electorate(s)Ripon
Federal Division(s)Mallee

The Avoca River rises near the town, at the foot of Mount Lonarch.[2] Gold was discovered in the area in 1853, and a settlement was established at Amphitheatre as a result.[3][4] By 1857, the Cobb and Co Telegraph Line of stage coaches passed through Amphitheatre on the Maryborough to Ararat line.[5]

A post office opened on 22 June 1859.[6]

The Avoca-Ararat railway, which opened in 1890, included a station at Amphitheatre. The station was closed, along with the line, in 1959. Although the line was eventually reopened, the station was not.[7]

Amphitheatre has a primary school.[8]

Town landmarks

Amphitheatre Anzac Avenue. The Amphitheatre Anzac Avenue was planted on 7 June 1917.[9] The girlfriend, fiancé or parent of each soldier who enlisted from Amphitheatre to fight in the Great War planted a tree in their honour.[10] A brass plaque with each soldier's name and service number was later affixed to identify the trees. The avenue forms the northern approach to Amphitheatre and, as a mature avenue, provides a distinctive character to the town.

Amphitheatre Hotel. The town's most-prominent landmark is the Amphitheatre Hotel. Brothers Henry Edward Bird and John Bird, immigrants from Somerset, England, established the hotel under the title of 'The Amphitheatre Inn' to service the gold mining community in 1854–5.[11][12] The original parts of the hotel are of timber construction, clad in weatherboards with Morewood and Rogers metal roof tiles. The tiles remain a rare example of metal roofing material used before the introduction of corrugated iron to Australia in the 1850s.[13]

The Bird brothers erected a six-horse stable beside the hotel by 1857 as a staging post for the Cobb and Co line. This remains as part of the hotel complex. The hotel was robbed at gunpoint by a gang of highway robbers in 1857.[14]

A road bridge erected to cross the nearby Amphitheatre Creek caused a change in the alignment of the highway in 1862.[15] As a result, the hotel no longer faced the main road. The Bird brothers moved the building 50 metres to face the new road alignment by 1865 and remodelled it, calling it 'Amphitheatre Hotel'.[16]

Throughout the 1860s and 1870s, the hotel supported local administration by hosting coronial inquests,[17] land auctions,[18] mining board elections,[19] and recreation club meetings.[20] The addition of a large meeting room in the 1870s contributed to this support to the community.

John Bird left the hotel to take over the Pyrenees Family Hotel at Lexton, Victoria in 1883.[21] John's brother Henry remained the proprietor until 1914, leasing it to various publicans as he assumed pastoral interests. A fire broke out in the hotel on 3 February 1914 that threatened its total destruction, but it was extinguished in time.[22]

The hotel passed to Henry Bird's son Fred on Henry's death in 1919, and Fred Bird sold it in 1924, concluding 70 years of ownership in the family.[23] The hotel passed through a number of owners until its licence was not renewed in 2011, and the establishment was used as an ice-creamery and B&B.[24] It is now a private residence and retains many of its gold rush era features, including the bar cut from a slab of Australian red cedar (Toona ciliata).

Mechanics' Institute hall. The Mechanics' Institute hall was built in 1901.[25] Land was reserved for the purpose in 1895.[26] The hall contained a library and provided a larger space for public meetings and community events than the Amphitheatre Hotel. It doubled as the town's cinema during the 1920 and 1930s and has hosted dances, private functions and public entertainments by local and visiting artists.

War memorial arch. The returned Amphitheatre soldiers of the Great War erected a granite arch 'to the memory of fallen comrades' during the 1920s. The arch is located in front of the Mechanics' Institute Hall. The local community added two brass plaques to the memorial on 28 October 2002 listing the names of all who served from the town in both world wars.[27]

Motor garages. Amphitheatre has three historic motor garages. This much-photographed trio no longer serves petrol and is a reminder of the days when cars had shorter range and roads conditions were tougher on them. Dridan's Esso garage was a small service station, while Shannon's Golden Fleece garage offered full driveway service, and Whytecross's Plume garage was converted from the former blacksmith's shop associated with the Amphitheatre Hotel.[28]

Bakery Park. A recreation reserve called Bakery Park is situated on the Pyrenees Highway. It was improved in 1988 by members of the community as an Australian Bicentennial Project. A horse-drawn cart used by a local sawmiller in the 1920s is displayed in the park.

45 Bailey Street. Amphitheatre's most prominent house is situated at 45 Bailey Street (the Pyrenees Highway). The house began as the cottage of store keepers Henry and Eliza Spiers in 1860, and they extended it substantially in 1876, adding a second storey. A further two-storey extension was added in 1984. The brick residence retains many of its period features, including wrought-iron veranda balustrades and marble fireplaces.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Amphitheatre (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  2. "Rivers - Assessment of River Condition - Victoria". Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  3. Oulton, Margaret (1995). A valley of the finest description : a history of the Shire of Lexton (3rd ed.). [Lexton, Australia]: Shire of Lexton. p. 195. ISBN 0-9588720-0-7. OCLC 84744493.
  4. "Welcome to the Amphi". The Amphitheatre Hotel. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  5. "Advertisement". Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser. 4 August 1857.
  6. Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 25 January 2021
  7. "Maryborough Ararat Line". Vicsig. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  8. Welcome to Amphitheatre Primary school
  9. Australian War Memorial. "Amphitheatre Anzac Avenue". Places of Pride. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  10. "Arbor Day at Amphitheatre". Avoca Free Press. 9 June 1917.
  11. "Death at 88". Young Witness. 26 March 1920.
  12. "Advertising". Avoca Mail. 18 June 1864.
  13. Lucas, Clive (1984). Conservation and Restoration of Buildings: conservation of roofs. https://www.nationaltrust.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/C-R-of-Buildings.-Conservation-of-Roofs.pdf: Australian Council of National Trusts. pp. 12, 14.CS1 maint: location (link)
  14. "Daring Outrage at Amphitheatre Hotel". Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser. 9 September 1857.
  15. "Lexton District Road Board". The Star. 18 July 1862.
  16. Oulton, Margaret. (1995). A valley of the finest description : a history of the Shire of Lexton (3rd ed.). [Lexton, Australia]: Shire of Lexton. p. 199. ISBN 0-9588720-0-7. OCLC 84744493.
  17. "Amphitheatre". Avoca Mail. 29 October 1864.
  18. Victoria Government Gazette No 96/1864. 18 March 1864. p. 677.
  19. "Advertising". Avoca Mail. 25 February 1864.
  20. "The Old England Eleven". Bell’s Life in Victoria. 17 October 1863.
  21. "Advertising". Ballarat Star. 7 August 1883.
  22. "The Avoca Free Press". Avoca Free Press. 4 February 1914.
  23. "Other Districts". Argus. 27 May 1924.
  24. "Amphitheatre". Victorian Places. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  25. Baragwanath, Pam and James, Ken (1973). These Walls Speak Volumes: A History of Mechanics' Institutes in Victoria. Camberwell. pp. 26–27.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. Victoria Government Gazette No 72/1895. 21 May 1895. p. 1834.
  27. Avoca and District Historical Society Inc. "Index to Pyrenees Pioneers".
  28. "Advertising". Avoca Mail. 31 March 1866.
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