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Eyres House is an heritage house, located at 810 Ligar Street Soldiers Hill in the Victorian gold rush city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Later named Balmoral, the house was constructed between 1901 and 1905 for Joseph Bryant, and having passed through as series of private hands, is now under the ownership of the Ballarat Health Services and used as a day centre and intermittent residential service for people with memory loss and confusion.

History

Joseph Bryant J.P.

In 1901 Joseph Bryant commissioned a fine residence to be built on Soldiers Hill, which, at the time, was on the outskirts of Ballarat.

Joseph Bryant (1849-1917), an Englishman from Altarnun in Cornwall, England, who arrived in Australia in 1863, had been very successful as investor and mine manager in the gold mines at Clunes , including the North Clunes Mining Co.,one of the richest in the district in its day

and commissioned local architect F.W. Turton to build a large residence in the "American-Swiss" style, according to an article in Ballarat and District 1901. The house was designed around a central skylight foyer with rooms and corridors radiating of it.

Originally on the outskirts of Ballarat, the property took up the entire block between Gregory and Howitt Streets, with an elaborate fence across its front. The residence in Ligar Street dominated the landscape, with only a few villas in Howitt Street, but otherwise in open country.

The house was constructed in what we now refer to as the Federation, architectural style in Australia that was prevalent from around 1890 to 1915.

Broadly speaking, it is the Australian version of the Edwardian Style, but differed from the Edwardian in the use of Australian motifs.Cream painted decorative timber features and elaborate fretwork, tall chimneys, leadlight windows and a Tudor type look, especially on gables, is very much part of the Federation style and is particularly evident at what is now Eyres House.

His first wife having died in 1884, Joseph Bryant lived at, what was to become known as, Balmoral with his second wife and seven children - six from his first marriage and one from the second. The house originally had seven bedrooms, some which have now been converted into the bathroom and toilet.

His brother R.F. Bryant, also a wealthy mining investor and Director of gold mining companies, had a large Victorian house in Havelock Street, Soldiers Hill, Ballarat, which he built in 1886, and some of his descendants still live there.

There were a number of grand homes in the area, including The Grange in Lyidiard Street North, Ballarat. The only indication of its existence is a short eponymous street leading into the houses and town house that now occupy the subdivided site.

Joseph Bryant and with his brother R.F. Bryant had borne the brunt of the miners' anger during the Clunes Riot of December, 1873 against the importation of Chinese strike breakers. "The miners,'accompanied by troops of women and children proceeded to the residences of several miners who had rendered themselves obnoxious ... by continuing work ... . Warnings were given those offending men to leave town ... 'They then marched to Mr. Bryant's home to demand his resignation as mine manager. However, some of the men claimed consideration for Bryant's family, and Bryant assured them that ' he had all along been opposed to bringing Chinamen'. He was allowed to stay.

This may have been part of the reason for the Bryant brothers' move from Clunes and into Ballarat.

Adam Lindsay Ronaldson

"A property known as the; Ballarat North Mansion, erected eight years , ago by Mr. Joseph Bryant, a mining investor, at a cost of £500, has been sold by Messrs. Chas. Walker and Co., auctioneers, to Mr. Adam Ronaldson, implement maker, of Creswick-road."

The Ronaldson family lived there from 1912 until 1918, after the death of Adam Ronaldson in 1916. . It was Ronaldson who gave the house the name Balmoral.

Arthur Richard Stewart J.P.

Arthur Stewart, mill owner and produce merchant from Newlyn, Victoria, bought the house in 1921, however, they were not able to have access for several months as there was an existing lease. They lived there with their six children from the 1920's to about 1940. Mr. Arthur Richard Stewart, Justice of the Peace, was President of Creswick Shire and then Mayor of Ballarat

Lewis

Mr. & Mrs. Lewis and their two children lived in Balmoral from about 1940 until about 1960

Ballarat Health Services

Balmoral served as a private residence until around 1960 when Ballarat Health Services' Queen Elizabeth Home purchased the house and renamed it Eyres House in recognition of the contribution the Eyres Family had made to the organization.

Eyres House became a hostel for women with intellectual disabilities until the mid '80's. and continues to operate as a haven for people suffering from dementia and their families.

Walled Garden

The residence still has its walled garden, which is feature that is very unusual to find in such heritage homes in Ballarat. The walled garden grew vegetables and fruit trees, and is now an important facility of residents of Eyres House.

References

1. Mount Magnet Miner and Lennonville Leader (WA : 1896 - 1926) View title info Sat 5 Nov 1898 Page 3 Police Court
2. The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) Thu 23 Jul 1885 Page 4 NEW NORTH CLUNES COMPANY
3. Shepparton News (Vic. : 1914 - 1918) Mon 12 Nov 1917 Page 2 THE LATE MR. J. BRYANT. manger of the New North Clunes Mining Co.,one of the richest in the district in its day.
4. On 24th June last, Mr Gilbert tendered his resignation as mining manager, and Mr Joseph Bryant was appointed in his stead
5. The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Mon 21 Jan 1889 Page 6 THE GENERAL ELECTION. Mr. Joseph Bryant, mine manager of the New North Clunes Company
6. Dr. Anne Beggs Sunter, The Courier Extra, 20 May, 2004 "A Secret Garden"
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/Federation_architecture
8. The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) Thu 12 Jun 1884 Page 3 CLUNES. untimely death of Mrs Bryant, wife of Mr Joseph Bryant, late manager of the Lothair and Bute and Downes mines
9. The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) Mon 28 Oct 1895 Page 4 MINING MEETINGS. Robert F. Bryant, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Joseph Bryant, Mine Manager of the Morning Stare Quartz Company at Mount Magnet, W.A.
10. The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) Wed 10 Dec 1873 Page 2 RIOTS AT CLONES.
11. The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Sat 31 Aug 1912 Page 19 COUNTRY NEWS. COUNTRY NEWS BALLARAT
12. PROV Index to Wills, Probate and Administration Records 1841-2013
13. Adam L Ronaldson Manufacturer Ballarat 15 Jan 1916 145/810 VPRS 28/P3, unit 645; (21 pages, please note inventory of Balmoral on page 8) VPRS 7591/P2, unit 547 (9 pages
14. The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) Tue 14 Feb 1922 Page 1 DISASTROUS FIRE
15. The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) Thu 14 Nov 1918 Page 5 Advertising
16. The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 - 1924) Sat 22 Oct 1921 Page 9 PRESIDENT A. R. STEWART
17. http://www.ballaratgenealogy.org.au/resources/mayors-of-ballarat
18. https://www.bhs.org.au/node/499
19. Dr. Anne Beggs Sunter ibid

External Links

Category:Houses in Victoria (Australia)

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