An enigmatic building has hit the market in a booming Aussie town, prompting intrigue about its previous life.
Standing out among the workers' cottages in Eaglehawk, a suburb in Bendigo’s northwest, the 19th century commercial-style building at 15 Haggar Street is destined for its next chapter after being listed for sale this week.
The building once served as a local fire station in nearby Long Gully, but it was decommissioned in the 1930s and disassembled before being moved brick by brick to its current site on the 806sqm suburban block.
A former fire station transformed into a Buffalo Lodge hall has hit the market in Eaglehawk, a suburb of Bendigo. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
The prominent RAOB signage on the facade refers to the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, a fraternal organisation with a history dating back more than 200 years.
Formed by actors and entertainers in London’s West End for social and benevolent purposes, the male-only organisation quickly spread across England and the Commonwealth, reaching Australia by the 1870s.
Groups would meet regularly to socialise and raise funds for members in need, with elaborate rules, passwords, titles, badges and initiation ceremonies giving meetings a sense of occasion.
The building occupies a spacious 806sqm block. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
As members with mobile occupations such as miners, railway workers and tradespeople moved to new areas, they established lodges – the order’s term for a branch or chapter – often meeting in private rooms at hotels or pubs.
Mature lodges with sufficient membership and funds typically purchased land and constructed a lodge hall, or as in the case of the Eaglehawk hall, converted existing buildings.
Signs remain of the building's past use as a meeting place for the local chapter of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, a fraternal organisation dating back centuries. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
In its heyday in the 1950s, there were 12,000 members at 340 lodges across Victoria, but membership has declined in the years since to just a few hundred.
While the Eaglehawk hall no longer appears to be in use for lodge meetings, several signs of its curious past remain.
In its heyday, the building would have hosted regular meetings which included elaborate intiation ceremonies, secret passwords, socialising and fundraising. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
Ornate arch-shaped certificates are displayed on one wall, while a large desk is emblazoned with ‘WP’, referring to Worthy Primo, the title of the lodge’s presiding officer.
Apart from the main hall, the building also includes several antechambers, a kitchen, two bathrooms and storage areas.
Selling agent Amy Sim of McKean McGregor Real Estate said the property had great future potential, but did require some maintenance, noting that potential purchasers should arrange a building and pest inspection.
The property includes a basic kitchen and two toilets. Picture: realestate.com.au/buy
The $290,000 to $310,000 price guide – which Ms Sim said represented the property’s land value – is roughly half Eaglehawk’s median house price of $600,000.
Home buyers and investors have flocked to regional towns across Victoria in recent months, with extra demand for affordable homes causing prices to rise faster than in Melbourne.
Property prices in the Bendigo region have risen about 8% in the past year, according to PropTrack data, with house values in Eaglehawk up 15%.
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