Historic Blackwood pub to sell for third time in 163 years

Blackwood’s heritage-listed old Royal Mail Hotel is sending a new buzz through the tiny township 89km northwest of Melbourne after hitting the market. 

The 2545sqm property, including the gold rush era weatherboard pub with a corrugated iron roof, at 100 and 104 Golden Point Rd is up for grabs for $340,000.

First National Rayner Real Estate’s Mark Dudley says the building has only changed hands twice since it was built in the mid-1800s and is attracting solid interest from across Melbourne and country Victoria.

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“This is a very special project for those experienced in restoring historic properties and a heart for a bygone era,” he says.

The property is included in the Victorian Heritage Inventory of historical archaeological sites, which forms a record of the state’s non-Indigenous settlement, growth and change.

Dudley says the circa-1855 building sold in 1898 and was held for 114 years.

100 and 104 Golden Point Rd, Blackwood is ripe for restoration.

CoreLogic records show the current owners snapped it up for $250,000 in 2012.

“The buyer will be third in line,” Dudley says.

In the Macedon Ranges between Ballan and Trentham, Blackwood is on the Lerderderg River surrounded by the Lerderderg State Park and Wombat State Forest.

It was a thriving mining town during the 1850s when gold was discovered at nearby Golden Point.

The Royal Mail Hotel was one of at least seven hotels in the area in the 19th century, according to the Heritage Council Victoria.

It operated as a pub from 1865 to the early 1900s, with James Millyard its first known publican. He also worked as a contractor delivering mail between Blackwood and Kyneton.

The Bacchus Marsh Express reported the hotel was almost destroyed by fire in 1878.

While the fire was extinguished before any great damage was done, “most of the roof was burnt”.

The country property is divided into three titles.

In 1899, William Byres bought the business and held the licence until his death in 1913.

That license was rescinded by the state government at the end of 1913 and Byres’ family was awarded 175 pounds in compensation.

Byres’ seven daughters took on the business and ran the old hotel as a guesthouse from 1914.

Dudley says the building has been used for a variety of purposes over the years, including as a dance hall and weekender.

The property is divided into three titles and is attached to power, water and an effluent system.

This article from Leader Newspapers originally appeared as “Heritage Macedon Ranges gold rush pub a rare find”.