Gold Rush-era buildings at Burrumbeet

Historical buildings at Burrumbeet, northwest of Ballarat, were recorded along the route of the Western Highway in 2011 and excavations took place in 2012. Picnic Hotel was established as one of the main commercial premises at Burrumbeet in 1856 and Harp of Erin Hotel was also operating at around this time, when traffic passed through this district on the way to the goldfields to the west. A third site may be the location of the toll gate situated along this important travel route. Investigation of these sites located structural remains and large amounts of artefacts including ceramics, glass bottles and coins dating from between the 1830s and 1880s.