Blocks of land in this area of Bacchus Marsh were sold in lots between 1888 and the late 1890s. This map shows sales made in 1888 and 1895.Single page map showing allotments of land bounded by Pilmer Street, Graham Street, Sydney Street and Maddingley Road (Grant Street) in Bacchus Marsh.The area is dissected by Como Street down the central area. 43 blocks of land are shown with the names of buyers or sellers in 1888 written in black in. Buyers or sellers for December 1895 are written in red ink. Part of a set of maps which are pasted into a bound volume containing 76 maps or plans in total. High resolution digital image stored on BMDHS computer network. bacchus marsh victoria maps, land sales bacchus marsh, pilmer street bacchus marsh, graham street bacchus marsh, sydney street bacchus marsh, como street bacchus marsh, maddingley road bacchus marsh, grant street bacchus marsh

The Border Inn located on the corner of Main Street and Graham Street Bacchus Marsh opened in 1851 making it a very early hotel in Victoria. It was built and owned by John Pilmer. The first licensee was James Watt. The building has been added to and changed many times. It was originally a single storey building. A second storey was added in 1863 by John Pilmer. In 1866 the hotel was purchased by Edward Jones. The Jones family owned and operated the hotel until 1939. Additional second storey sections were added in 1883, 1904 and 1936. For a number of years the Border Inn was a stopping post for coaching services between Melbourne and Ballarat. The first licensee of the hotel James Watt was among the first in Victoria to offer a regular coaching service and his hotel was used for overnight accommodation by coach travellers. At the time this picture was taken coach services were still operating between Bacchus Marsh and other locations. The coach in this picture is possibly one of those coaches.This building has been documented as of state significance by Richard Peterson and Daniel Catrice in their 1995 heritage study for the then Shire of Bacchus Marsh. Their assessment of the heritage significance of the building was: "The Border Inn is of state historical significance as a pioneering pre-gold rush building, on the route to the Ballarat goldfields. It is the representative-embodiment of several historical periods and their way of life. It demonstrates a complex changing sequence of patterns of occupancy and architectural styles. Its development at this location, demonstrates the effect of a social movement, the gold rush, as a transport stopover.It is also historically significant for its association with the first rural public transport in Victoria. Locally, the hotel is significance for its association with the first meeting of municipal government, and also for its social significance as a traditional community, visitor focus and meeting place".Small sepia unframed photograph on card with gold border framing photograph. Housed in the album, 'Photographs of Bacchus Marsh and District in 1883 by Stevenson and McNicoll'. The image shows the Border Inn Hotel at an angle depicting the front of the building facing directly to the camera. It is a two storey brick building, with one-story additions at either end. Five chimneys can be seen extending from the building. The bottom storey has a verandah extending onto the footpath. A covered wagon, probably a coach, with four horses in harness is in front of the building. There are several people in the image. Two people are sitting on the driver’s seat of the wagon. Another man is standing holding the reins of the horses. At his feet is a dog. Behind them are two male adults. One is holding a small child. A young boy stands beside him.On the front: Stevenson & McNicoll. Photo. 108 Elizabeth St. Melbourne. COPIES CAN BE OBTAINED AT ANY TIME. On the back: LIGHT & TRUTH inscribed on a banner surmounted by a representation of the rising sun. Copies of this Portrait can be had at any time by sending the Name and Post Office Money Order or Stamps for the amount of order to STEVENSON & McNICOLL LATE BENSON & STEVENSON, Photographers. 108 Elizabeth Street, MELBOURNE. stevenson and mcnicoll 1883 photographs of bacchus marsh and district, hotels bacchus marsh, border inn hotel bacchus marsh, carriages and coaches, stagecoaches, james watt bacchus marsh, john pilmer bacchus marsh, edward jones family bacchus marsh

This plan of town allotments in Lerderderg Street and Bennett Street also includes the location of many of the buildings, shops, businesses and houses which were present in the retail and business area of Bacchus Marsh in the 1890s. The precise date of the plan is not known but it must be sometime between 1891 and 1897. The Post Office and the Wesleyan Church are both shown on this plan. Both of these were constructed in 1890. The plan does not show the Baptist Church in Main Street which was constructed in 1898. Hence the date is sometime between 1891 and 1897.This plan of Bacchus Marsh is one of the most detailed visual representations of the location of shops, businesses and houses in the central part of Bacchus Marsh. It provides very precise locations of most of the shops and houses in the town in the 1890s. A single page paper plan showing allotments of land fronting Lerderderg and Bennett Street. Buildings, businesses and houses along most of the streets are identified by hand written annotations. Streets identified on plan: Lerderderg Street - Bennett Street - Main Street - Gell Street - Young Street - Graham Street. Physical boundaries of the map are: North border - Lerderderg Street - South border - Main Street - West border Gell Street - East border - Young Street. The plan is pasted into a bound volume containing 76 maps or plans in total. bacchus marsh victoria maps, shops bacchus marsh

Bacchus Marsh Express of 7 November 1874 reports that this building was designed and erected by Mr Jeremiah Ryan for Mr H. G. Salter, draper. Mr Salter gave the name of "Hall of Commerce" to the building, a term in common usage at the time. The building was of a substantial size. In the Express of January 4 1879 Messrs Basham and Bradley advertised a wide variety of goods including drapery, millinery, ready-made clothing, boots and shoes and furniture. At the front of the building was the first pavement in the township. This photo forms a contrast with the photograph (also taken by Stevenson & McNicoll in 1883) of Timmons Clothier and Draper, but depicting an older building from 1857. This business was on the verge of closure, Mr Timmons conducting his business as a travelling salesman, taking his goods by horse and cart to outlying districts. The image provides an example of the growing scale of retail development in Bacchus Marsh in the late nineteenth century.This photograph is a record of a prominent commercial building that has undergone substantial change. The image shows the original upper floor which was destroyed by fire in 1928.The building retains its usage as a commercial premises.Small sepia unframed photograph on card with gold border framing photograph. Housed in the album, 'Photographs of Bacchus Marsh and District in 1883 by Stevenson and McNicoll'. Photograph of a two storey brick building with a front verandah. Various signage on second storey front and side, and on verandah, including: Hall of Commerce. Boots & Shoes. Men and Boy's Clothing. Furniture and Bedding. J. Carter Outfitter. Basham & Bradley. Milliners and Dressmakers. General Drapers. General Drapery. Warehouse. Latter signage obscures earlier signage. The photographer has captured a young girl sitting on a bench at the front of the store.On the front: Stevenson & McNicoll. Photo. 108 Elizabeth St. Melbourne. COPIES CAN BE OBTAINED AT ANY TIME. On the back: LIGHT & TRUTH inscribed on a banner surmounted by a representation of the rising sun. Copies of this Portrait can be had at any time by sending the Name and Post Office Money Order or Stamps for the amount of order to STEVENSON & McNICOLL LATE BENSON & STEVENSON, Photographers. 108 Elizabeth Street, MELBOURNE. Handwritten: Hall of Commerce. Cr. Main + Graham Sts built 1874 by Jeremiah Ryan. Destroyed by fire 1928. Courtesy Mrs. Jeremeas. Photo 1883.stevenson and mcnicoll 1883 photographs of bacchus marsh and district, shops bacchus marsh vic., bacchus marsh hall of commerce

Anglican (Church of England) services began in Bacchus Marsh as early as the 1840s. In 1855 an imported iron building from England became the first permanent Anglican Church building in Bacchus Marsh. It stood close to the location of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church erected in 1877 which still stands in 2025. It was in use between 1855 and 1877. These type of iron structures were cheaper to erect and could be dismantled and moved to other locations when necessary. The Iron Church was brick-lined and could hold between 150 and 200 people. The Church was opened on 4 July 1855 by Hussey Burgh Macartney, Dean of Melbourne. It was later consecrated by Bishop Perry on 28 July, 1861. The cost of construction was around 1,000 pounds. In 1877 the Holy Trinity Church was erected. The Iron Church was dismantled and sold to to two local businessmen, George Marshall and James Reid. It was re-erected in July 1877 without its brick lining or steeple and is presumed to have been used as a shed at a location in Graham Street known as 'Webster's Brothers Yard', (14 Graham Street). Over time the structure deteriorated to the point that it could no longer be used. Remnants of the Iron Church could be seen for many years. In 1995 the remnants were described by Peterson and Catrice in the Heritage Study of Bacchus Marsh Shire in the this way, 'on the rear boundary, now used as an outbuilding, is the surviving fabric of the former "Iron Church". This has a gabled roof and had four pointed windows at sides. It is all clad in corrugated iron. Access was not possible, but a 1977 photograph shows Gothic tracery in a window'. This is a rare image of a prefabricated building in mid-nineteenth century Victoria. Prefabricated buildings were widely used in the early Colonial period of Victoria as a cheaper building option for new and developing communities. Most of these buildings did not survive in the long term and photographic evidence of these type of structures is an important record of an aspect of Victoria's architectural history.Small black and white 'carte de viste' style photograph mounted on card. The image depicts the first permanent Anglican Church building in Bacchus Marsh, the Trinity Church, also known as the Iron Church. The date of the image is thought to be about 1867.anglican church bacchus marsh, churches bacchus marsh, trinity church bacchus marsh, bacchus marsh iron church, prefabricated buildings

Bacchus Marsh Express of 7 November 1874 reports that this building was designed and erected by Mr Jeremiah Ryan for Mr H. G. Salter, draper. Mr Salter gave the name of "Hall of Commerce" to the building, a term in common usage at the time. Following the fire of 1928 which destroyed the upper floor of the building, the ground floor was refurbished and new businesses set up. Among these were Percy Drury's Fruitery and Confectionery and Rogers' Bakery.This photograph is of the former Hall of Commerce, located on the corner of Main and Graham Streets. (For further information see VC729.) It shows the businesses operating in this building after the fire of 1928 which destroyed the upper floor. The streetscape shows a series of four businesses fronting Main Street. From L to R: G.H. Anderson. Store; Baker and Pastrycook; Confectioner and Fruiterer; The Central. Teas & Luncheons. On two awnings suspended from The Central name sign are the words "Teas & Luncheons" and "The Central". Outside the second shop can be seen various portable advertising signs, such as those used to advertise the latest news. One man reading a newspaper stands in front of this shop; five more men are ranged along the frontage, one wearing the apron commonly worn by greengrocers. Above the entrance to the tea rooms is the sign "CAFE". Other signs on the windows read "Dining Room", "Luncheons. Grills. Home Made Pies. Scones." On the corner of the shop is a two-sided sign reading " Home Made Pies, Cakes & Scones. Cool Drinks. Ice Cream." A delivery vehicle stands outside Anderson's store. Both pavement and street are made. On the back of the photo in pencil: Main St. Cr Graham St. (Hall of Commerce). Anderson's Border Store. Newsagency. Bakery (Rogers). Fruiterer (P. Drury). The Central. mr jeremiah ryan, hall of commerce, small businesses, tea rooms, cafes, delivery vehicles, advertising signage