The old school at 216 Goldsborough Rd, Goldsborough, dates back to the 1860s. A fire-damaged ex-schoolmaster’s house also sits on the land.
A historic ex-school and fire-ravaged schoolmaster’s home in Victoria’s Goldfields region has hit the market with a bargain $99,000-$105,000 range.
The 1.21ha property is in Goldsborough, a small area near the town of Dunolly, about two hours’ drive north west of Melbourne that’s a famous gold mining and prospecting location.
The online listing describes the circa-1860s weatherboard school as needing an extensive renovation, structural work, restumping and new flooring.
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Maryborough Ballarat Real Estate’s Kate Ashton said the old Goldsborough State School and the mostly-demolished nearby home offered a glimpse into the area’s history.
Brick chimneys and a one-time laundry are all that remain of the former home following a fire within the past 12 months.
The school building has been used as storage space for decades, following its closure in 1959.
The current owner purchased the site for £800 in the 1960s.
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The former schoolmaster’s home’s remains, following a fire.
The school closed in 1959 but had 156 students enrolled in 1874, according to records.
The school building has been used for storage since the 1960s.
Ms Ashton said the property at216 Goldsborough Rdcould potentially even have small pieces of gold below the ground, although there were no guarantees.
“Dunolly and Goldsborough is still the largest alluvial gold mining area in the world,” she said.
The old school is within Victoria’s “Golden Triangle” that’s located roughly between Ballarat, Ararat and Wedderburn.
The area is famous for producing the largest alluvial gold nuggets discovered in Australia including a 72kg nugget dubbed Welcome Stranger, found 14 km north west of Dunolly in 1869.
![216 Goldsborough Rd, Goldsborough - for herald sun real estate](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 768 1024"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The block is located in a Farming Zone.
Ms Ashton said all historic remnants and materials at the property, including items inside the ex-school, would be included in the sale.
In 1855, gold was discovered in Goldsborough, and many students who attended the school belonged to families who worked in nearby mines such as the historic Queen’s Birthday Mine.
Because the ex-school address is covered by a heritage overlay, anyone hoping to subdivide the land, demolish one of the buildings or carry out work which could change its heritage appearance would first need to obtain a planning permit from the local council.
The property is covered by a heritage overlay in the Central Goldfields Planning Scheme.
There’s also a dam and trees across the address.
Ms Ashton said that if a buyer was willing to get the permits needed and put in some hard work, the former school could be transformed into a character-filled home, retreat or lifestyle property.
“It’s just a really unique and one-of-a-kind, and I can’t wait to see the transformation, because I’m sure that whoever purchases it will do something that’s amazing,” she added.
She’s seen similar buildings in the area renovated and turned into residences at a cost of up to $200,000, including several off-grid homes.
While power is available at the former school block’s front boundary, it’s not currently connected.
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