Block Arcade, Ballarat

This amazing facade belongs to the Block Arcade in Ballarat. To me, those repeating elements along the roofline and also below the Block Arcade lettering could be stylised Sturt's Desert Peas, the floral emblem of South Australia. Of course I could be completely off the mark. Ballarat is in Victoria and Victoria is the only mainland state of Australia where Sturt's Desert Pea does not grow. Ballarat is, however, on the main route from Melbourne to Adelaide and the Block Arcade is in the main street of Ballarat, Sturt Street.

Reference: Floral Emblem of South Australia

A Weatherboard House in Ballarat

There are many weatherboard houses in Australia that look more or less like this one. Those for earlier times often have corrugated tin roofs but this one has tiles.

It also has a lovely low brick wall using different colours to create an interesting pattern.

My favourite part of the house, however, is the wall at the front of the verandah with a simple Art Deco motif created with dark bricks against the cream colour of the background wall.

A Musical House in Ballarat

I've always liked this house in Ballarat.

It has a deco feel to it. The two rooms at the front of the house have rounded corners and rounded windows but it is the fence that is the real killer for me.

It consists of black musical notes and ballerinas in red, blue, green and yellow. I can't read music so I don't know if the notes are a particular tune or just for the design. The small gate bears a large treble cleft and the arch above the gate carries more notes and a pair of ballerinas holding the street number.

The wire-screen door, of course, has more musical notes and a dancer in red while the metal railing leading to the door features a pirouetting ballerina in blue.

Eureka Stockade Hotel, Ballarat

I wrote about the Eureka Stockade Hotel back in October 2008. The hotel is a modest Art Deco pub named to commemorate one of the most important events in Australian history, The Eureka Stockage. The Stockade took place in 1854 literally just up the road from the pub.

I mentioned at the time that the pub had been painted but looked a bit dull, even naked, so I was pleased to see on a recent visit to Ballarat that a new paint job has the building looking like a million bucks.

The new colours are more like those of the Southern Cross Flag that flew over the Stockade than the dull grey that the pub has been in recent years.

Walter Davis Store, Ballarat

This extraordinary shopfront is in the Bridge Mall in Ballarat. According to a history of the Davis family by Dr Trevor Batrouney this store was established in 1920 and it is great to see it still going strongly 90 years later.

I don't know if there is any relationship with the Davis's Buildings that I posted yesterday. Dr Batrouney's article mentions another Davis store in Bridge Mall but not one in Sturt St. I wouldn't be surprised. The Davis family appear to have been a large part of the Ballarat business scene for the past century.

Reference: The Davis Family, Ballarat by Dr Trevor Batourney, Australian Lebanese Historical Society of Victoria

Davis's Buildings, Ballarat

This weekend is Heritage Weekend in Ballarat.

As you might expect in a city built on the back of a mid 19th Century goldrush, Ballarat has a lot of grand Victorian buildings but there are also a selection of interwar Art Deco shops particularily in the Bridge Mall and along Sturt Street.

This the Davis's Buildings in Sturt St as designated in wonderful deco lettering on the upper portion of the facade but is currently occupied by Owen Williams, a Ladies' & Gentlemen's Outfitters.

UFS Pharmacy, Ballarat

Flats, Ballarat

I love the wall that runs down the side of this block of flats in Ballarat. The three storey block is cut into a hill so the wall which runs alongside the footpath needs to step down from the back of the property to the street running along the front.

Otherwise the building is symetrical around a central tower topped with a flagpole. Each flat at the front has a small rounded balcony.

It's a shame the flat at the bottom right has installed a shutter which is completely out of character with the rest of the building.

Eureka Stockade Hotel, Ballarat

You may not be surprised to know that the Eureka Stockade Hotel in Ballarat East is close to the site of the Eureka Stockade but not that close. It is however a great little deco pub.

This picture was probably taken in December 2004 when I was in Ballarat to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the miner's uprising and the taking of the stockade just before dawn on December 3rd by heavily armed troopers and police.

The pub looked a bit run-down then with the paint peeling from the Foster's Lager signage around the verandah but the deco parapet partially hiding the standard hip roof is pretty good.

It has been painted since then and I think it looks a bit naked now. I guess Carlton & United Breweries didn't contribute towards the new paint job. Maybe it hadn't been finished because it is unusual not to have the name of the hotel prominently displayed.

Maybe it is the beer-drinker in me but I do prefer the Foster's version.