Blue Mountains "Ancient" #2

This old building is very similar to the "Shamrock Inn" which I posted for MonoMonday last. It is some distance away (within the Hartley Valley) but lies along the original route of the old Bathurst Road. Its slab hut construction mirrors that of the Shamrock which differs only because the latter has a brick façade. The route of the highway through this section of the valley was changed sometime after 1832, when the Victoria Pass was completed. We know that this building was once used as an inn but that may not have been until the 1850s when gold was discovered at Bathurst, encouraging many private settlers in the area to convert their homesteads for use by travelling prospectors.

For some reason this old dwelling has slipped through the information net and no one seems to know too many details. History suggests that it can't have been built much after about 1860 because the gold rush played out quickly and because larger, more purpose-built inns were cropping up by then. On the other hand, its location, design and construction style point more to the 1820s. Bit of a mystery.

In any event it lies derelict and over the past 15 years has slowly begun to disintegrate. Quite frankly I have found that digging into the history of local "ancient" buildings has been so interesting that I have decided to produce a blip series on the subject. This particular posting is also my entry for this week's "Derelict Thursday".

Finally it seems that this is my 1,400th blip. If the recent site downgrade didn't put me off (and it almost did) I guess I'll be around for a while yet.