John Gillies, a blacksmith from Scotland, arrived in Victoria with his young family in 1849.
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A man with a keen business sense, he set up a smithy, first in Glenorchy then in 1850 in Horsham.
When gold was discovered, he went to the diggings where he was moderately successful.
Returning to his family in Horsham in about 1855 he decided to invest in land and accommodation.
He built the Wimmera Hotel in 1858 on land at 95 Firebrace Street.
In 1869 he bought almost the entire block bounded by Roberts Avenue and Urquhart, Pynsent and Firebrace Streets, on which he built Horsham's first flour mill.
Gillies eventually went on to own six hotels, the White Hart being his final and best one.
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He built it on one corner of his block, at 55 Firebrace Street.
First licensed on 15 December 1882, it was designed by Gillies' architect son, Henry, as a solid brick, two-storey structure, built to last.
In common with the needs of the time, the public areas and bars were small but the accommodation and stables were spacious.
The hotel had about 12 rooms, the best of which was the corner room giving views along Firebrace Street and Roberts Avenue.
An experienced publican, William Robinson, leased the hotel from Gillies from 1883 to 1894, beginning a string of publicans who stayed for long terms.
In 1887 the White Hart was granted a late licence till 2.30am to cater for arrivals on the Melbourne-Adelaide train.
In October 1895 the White Hart hosted its most famous guest, American writer Mark Twain and his family.
Twain described Horsham in his 1898 book, "More Tramps Abroad".
In 1905 Mrs Annie Church, a dynamic businesswoman, took over as licensee of the White Hart and a year later purchased the freehold of the property from the Gillies' estate.
She embarked upon an expansion plan, purchasing additional land, increasing the stabling area, building a garage space for buggies and vehicles and constructing an external dining room and Ladies Parlour.
Interior walls were removed to create a billiard room.
In 1908 she added a second storey to the eastern end in Roberts Avenue and a separate shop at the southern end of the Firebrace Street frontage.
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An apartment was built above this shop.
The shop was rented out to small businesses such as a dressmaker, a tearoom, a piano supplier and a dry-cleaning agency.
Annie Church died at only 45 years of age in 1910 and her son, George William Church, took over.
The hotel's description at the time was "38 bedrooms, two dining-rooms, eight parlours, a billiard room and extensive stabling".
The hotel was valued at 7,500 pounds (equivalent to about $6 million today).
On 12 December 1913 James Joseph "JJ" Donovan took over as licensee of the hotel.
He quickly established himself and his family as model publicans.
In 1923 he retired to Adelaide and the licence was taken up by his son, James Francis Donovan.
In August 1935 James bought the freehold of the White Hart from his father.
Three months later he sold the hotel to Carlton & United Breweries while retaining the licence.
In June 1939 an article in the Horsham Times described Donovan's ejection of a particularly inebriated person with the line, "he sailed through the air with the greatest of ease".
A third generation Donovan, James John "Jim" Donovan, became the licensee from 1947 until Dot and Len Butler bought the lease in 1951.
The Donovan family had managed the hotel for 38 years.
In those days before motels became popular the hotel trade was very prosperous.
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Clem and Doreen Righetti became licensees in September 1955, beginning an 18-year family association with the hotel.
Clem Righetti died on 20 November 1969, after which Doreen became licensee.
In 1960 the owners of the freehold, Carlton and United Breweries, decided to modernise the hotel.
The need for this was becoming increasingly obvious as the male toilets were still located outdoors, the public rooms were too small by modern standards, the dining room was an exterior wooden structure and all heating and cooking was by wood fires.
The renovations began on 2 June 1960 and took several months.
Internal areas were enlarged by the use of archways.
The separate shop in Firebrace Street was gutted and incorporated into the hotel.
The upstairs area was completely replumbed with hot and cold water installed in each room.
Externally, the original residential entrance in Roberts Avenue was converted to a window and a new entrance created in Firebrace Street.
The old stables were demolished and the land sold off.
The hotel's verandahs and balconies were removed to comply with Horsham City Council's by-laws.
Worrall and Lorraine Dunn purchased the hotel in September 1985.
Throughout 1987 and 1988 they rebuilt the bar area and opened up the walls on either side of the "Blue Room" - the saloon bar on the Roberts Avenue side.
The dining area was also extended eastwards and toilets added.
Since those days the White Hart has changed little.
It has 15 rooms available for accommodation, 5 of which are doubles.
Bruce Hartigan, the present licensee, took over in December 2015 and has maintained a high level of service and quality despite the difficulties of running a hotel during the current coronavirus pandemic.
Subject to health rules governing the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Horsham Historical Society is open to the public on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, at 33 Pynsent Street, Horsham.
Email: horshamhistorical@gmail.com.
Photos are available for sale.