Daylesford is a spa town located in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, within the Shire of Hepburn, Victoria, Australia, about 115 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. First established in 1852 as a gold-mining town, today Daylesford has a population of 2,565 as of the 2011 census. The following descriptions of Daylesford’s pubs were given in the Melbourne Weekly Times on Saturday December 1 1900.
THE ROYAL HOTEL.
Mrs E. Jacobson is the licensee of the Royal Hotel, a house which is one of the best remembered of the district, and occupies a good corner of Vincent street, on the road from the railway station.
Here there is ever a welcome for man – and for the gentler sex also – and beast, and it will not be the fault of the lady in charge if all are not made very comfortable. There are plenty of bedrooms, well lighted and cool, a comfortable suite of smoking and sitting rooms, and all the other arrangements which go to make up a desirable place for a sojourn.
The Royal guarantees to keep its patrons amused and interested in a variety of ways, and those who seek it “just for recreation and to pass the time away” are not likely to be in any respect disappointed.
-Weekly Times (Melbourne Victoria) Saturday 1 December 1900.
The Royal Hotel as it is today after a 1916 rebuild. Picture: Google Streetview
Star Hotel and Coffee Palace 1900.
STAR HOTEL.
A cosy little hostelry is the Star, equipped with the best of liquors, and furnished with a billiard table and other devices for whiling away the hours of ease. Mrs M. Harrison is the proprietress – a lady who has long resided in the town, and who knows well how to make everyone who visits her house comfortable and at home.
The Raglan Hotel, Daylesford in 1900. The pub now trades as the Daylesford Hotel.
The former Raglan Hotel, Dayleford. Picture: Google Streetview.
THE RAGLAN HOTEL.
Mr George Victor is the proprietor of the Raglan, one of the handsomest, most commodious and conveniently situated hotels in Daylesford. It is on the road from the railway station, with an excellent view of the town and its environs, and it is built in the latest and most approved style. Spacious verandahs and balconies running around the main building ensure coolness within, and the furnishing and equipment of the hotel throughout are of the best order. Good ales and spirits, a first-rate table, and civility and attention to patrons are the recommendations that the Raglan puts forth, and in a town which is remarkable for the excellent standard of its houses of accommodation, this hotel certainly does not take a back row.
Victoria Hotel, Daylesford 1900
VICTORIA HOTEL
A really comfortable hostelry is the Victoria, the property of a well-known sport in the person of Mr George Brown (pictured). He is the secretary of the Daylesford Racing Club, and president of the District Football Association, which comprises the Daylesford, Hepburn, Mount Prospect, Eganstown, and Kidd’s Gully clubs. Naturally enough, the Victoria Hotel is a centre of sporting interest, and thither resort all who wish to keep themselves well informed on this ever attractive subject. Situated in the main street, the hotel is commodious and comfortable. Plenty of accommodation is provided for boarders, and a speciality is made of the meals supplied. Mr Brown has had experience in the trade, and claims that none can excel his beef and mutton, to say nothing of the poultry. Bedrooms are very cosy and inviting, there is a pianoforte for the musical, card-rooms for lovers of the game, and a billiard-table adjoining. Visitors for a season will find the host attentive to their wants, and, with over thirty years’ residence, a mine of information on all subjects respecting the district.
Iveson’s Hotel, Daylesford 1900
IVESON’S HOTEL
It is known as Iveson’s, though that is not the name of the licensee, and it is situated in Vincent street, next the Savings Bank. Mrs Upton is the hostess, and a pleasant hostess she is, with a cheery smile and a pleasant word for her friends and visitors. A kindly style goes a long way in the direction of securing a fair share of the trade that is going, and in addition to this Mrs Upton is able to offer the inducements of a comfortable home and the best of attention. These are things required by the wearied city dwellers who seek in Daylesford respite from cares and worries, and who wish to make their brief holidays as thoroughly enjoyable as possible. Mrs Upton certainly does her best to achieve that desirable end.
Mineral Springs Hotel 1900
MINERAL SPRINGS HOTEL
Most people who have visited Daylesford district knows the Mineral Springs Hotel and Parma House. Indeed, not to know Rolleri’s argues yourself unknown. This season, however, regular trippers to the springs will hardly recognise the hotel portion of the establishment. The old building has been pulled down, and is replaced by a pretty edifice with greatly enlarged accommodation. Overlooking the valley in which the springs and baths are situate, Parma House is one of the handiest and best placed of the tourists’ resorts. A straight footway of 200 yards leads down to the waters, and the laziest of mortals cannot make an excuse for re-fusing to quaff of the life-giving streams or indulge in the luxury of a bathe. The private boarding house stands within five acres of ground, and has a vineyard and orchard attached, to the luscious fruits of which visitors ate welcome. All the requisites of a first-class establishment are provided, and it is the aim of Mrs K. Rolleri, the proprietress, to make everyone enjoy fully their stay with her. Coaches and cabs leave Daylesford railway station for Parma House and the hotel on arrival of all trains, and in addition to these conveniences, picnic parties are arranged in the season to Clunes reservoir, Newlyn, Loddon Falls, Glenlyon, Mt. Franklin, and Sailor’s Falls. A sumptuous luncheon is provided for the parties, so the happiness of the day’s outing is assured.
American Hotel, Hepburn 1900
AMERICAN HOTEL, HEPBURN
The picturesque little township of Hepburn, which gives its name to the springs, and is only distant from them a little over half a mile 9from Daylesford), possesses a well known and popular hostelry, the American Hotel. Equally well known and popular is its proprietor, Mr Robert Righetti, who knows every square yard of the district, and as a guide, philosopher, and friend on a shooting excursion is without a superior. The American is a very comfortable house, with good accommodation for boarders at exceedingly reasonable rates, and with an excellent stock of liquors. Cobb and Co.’s Daylesford cabs leave and arrive at the hotel every two hours, so that visitors may run in and out of the principal town as they choose. A bil-liard table is not the least among the attractions of the American, and supplies a pleasant means of ekeing out an enjoy able holiday.
Newmarket Hotel, Kyneton 1900
NEWMARKET HOTEL, KYNETON
On the direct road from the station, and a favourite resort of commercial travellers who visit Kyneton and “who know a good thing when they see it,” is the Newmarket Hotel. It occupies a central and commanding position, and externally and internally it is a house that was evidently designed for comfort and convenience, rather than for show. Mr James R. Hardman is the proprietor, and in a residence of eleven years in the capacity of landlord has grown to be highly appreciated; while Mrs Hardman attends to the duties of the housekeeping in a manner that gains her the grateful thanks of lodgers and visitors.
The Daylesford Hotel, Daylesford. Picture: Google Streetview
Central Springs Motel. Can anyone tell me if this was once a pub, and if so, what was its name? Picture: Google Streetview
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Categories: Victoria hotels
Your reference to the Raglan Hotel and Daylesford Hotel Being the same building are not correct. The first is on the corner of Howe Street, Camp Street and Raglan Street. The building for the last 70 years was always referred to as Raglan Flats. Might have been a pub in early days. The Daylesford Hotel is on the corner of Howe and Albert Street some distance away from the other and not to be confused with the Royal Hotel on the corner of Albert and Vincent Street. Google maps will confirm these details.
Thanks for the correction Colin.I’ll update and correct the post… I just checked Google maps as suggested. The two pubs are very similar in architecture, but you’re on the money! Thanks. Do you know if the motel, Central Springs Inn opposite was also a pub?
Central Springs Inn was never a hotel. Was built and ran as Kings Grocery and Store
Great work. You’re missing a little info on the Victoria Hotel. My fourth great grandfather John Lavezzolo got the ball rolling on that pub on the site of his bakery and it was completed by 1860. I’d have to go through research to find the rest of the info but he passed in 1971. Quite a controversial figure about Daylesford at the time.
Typo it was 1871*. His grave is the first plot as you enter Daylesford cemetery.