Toll Bar Park Playground, Sunraysia Highway, Lexton
A spread out area with some good facilities but fairly basic playground equipment. There is a fenced display of a box wagon and dray in one corner, a historical information board and a lone pine grown in 1968 from a seed descended from Lone Pine, Gallipoli.
The cutest equipment is a wooden steam roller with steering wheel. Inside a big shelter is a BBQ, three tables and fenced plastic toddler structure with shop front, tic-tac-toe and abacus.
Outside the shelter is a see-saw, swings, horizontal bars, rope climbing frame and a small structure with scrambling wall, tic-tac-toe, spiral ladder and straight ladder.
There is also a basketball court, toilets, unshaded tables, tennis wall, water tap with dog bowl and a shelter with two seats around the perimeter.
History of Toll Bar Park
The Lexton Hotel was built on this site by 1852: It was destroyed by fire in 1899. The land was eventually purchased by the former Lexton Shire and the local community developed the park as part of Victoria's 150th Anniversary.
A replica of a toll bar has been constructed at the entrance to the park. Toll bars were set up across roads at strategic locations as a way of raising money to build and maintain roads.
The explorer Major Thomas Mitchell passed near this spot on 25 September 1836 on his return journey from Portland to Sydney.
Lexton Hotel
In 1852 the Lexton Hotel was on this site with John Mylrea as proprietor. The complex consisted of 27 rooms, all Assembly Hall, stables, harness room, groom's quarters and a feed and Coach House. In this same year a temporary Police Station was set up at the Hotel. The Police used a 6 stall stable with a large skillion as Constable's Barracks and a harness roam as a lock-up. Some years later Cobb and Co. used the Lexton Hotel as a staging post making use of stables at the rear of the Hotel. During the early years the Assembly Hall was used by the Police for conducting inquests and by the Lexton Road Board for their meetings.
Tall Bar
A Toll Keeper, appointed by the Road Board, collected taxes from travellers for the privilege of using the road. For example:-
for every sheep, pig or goat the charge was 1/4d
for every head of cattle 1d
for every mare, horse, ass or mule 3d
for every cart, or vehicle drawn by one animal 6d
The closest Toll Bar to Lexton was next to the Ti-tree Spring Reserve at Mt Mitchell on the Sunraysia Highway south of Lexton, now known as Toll Bar.
A brief history of the district
In the beginning: -
The area around Lexton was originally inhabited by the Aboriginal clan 'Galgal balug' (the people with tame dogs).
From Sydney came squatters with flocks of sheep following the wheel tracks left by Major Mitchell's party. Most were travelling towards the Western District. While squatters from Van Dieman's Land, via the Port of Geelong, and 'The Gap' at Waubra were travelling to the Wimmera, and they crossed over the Major's line near this park. This location, then known as Burnbank, became the crossroads of early Victoria in the decade -before gold was discovered.
Burnbank Inn
Burnbank at the junction of the squatters' tracks, soon became a carrier's depot for bullock teamsters. By 1845 David Anderson a stonemason who had become a hawker, decided to build the Burnbank Inn and Store, a blacksmith and wheelwright's shop on the site of the present Pyrenees Hotel. William Millar who had been in partnership with Anderson established a general store a kilometre south of here also in the winter of 1845. By 1848 Burnbank had an official Post Office with David Anderson as Postmaster. By the 1850's the name of Bumbank was changed to Lexton.
Gold
In 1851 James Esmond (credited with being one of the first official discoverers of gold in Victoria) overheard shepherds talking in the Burnbank Inn. The shepherds intimated that gold was being found on Mr Cameron's neighbouring sheep run 'Clunes'. Esmond immediately set out with 2 or 3 others from the Burnbank Inn, travelling along the Major's line until he found the area where the gold was supposed to be. On 7 July 1851 news of Esmond's discovery of gold on the Clunes run was published in the Geelong Advertiser.
When news of the gold find was announced Burnbank, the closest town, became a scene of frenzied activity and excitement. Ballarat was not in existence, nor were any of the other gold towns so Burnbank became a busy centre for government administration. In 1855 the Presbyterian Church opened a school and in February 1860 the Lexton Road District was proclaimed.
Lexton Today
As alluvial gold declined many diggers took up small land holdings and became involved in agricultural production. In the Lexton district the successful production of fine wool still remains the predominant industry today.
Photos:
Location
Cnr Sunraysia Highway and Williamson Street, Lexton 3352 Map
