UPDATE TUESDAY MAY 30:
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Demolition crews have almost finished clearing Sovereign Hill's 'John Pearce House' less than 24 hours after the City of Ballarat announced it could not be saved.
The council issued an emergency demolition order for the severely fire-damaged house at 89 Magpie Street on Friday, May 26, but waited until Monday to tell the community.
Heritage advocates protested the decision because of the former mine manager's cottage's aesthetic and cultural heritage values.
But by lunchtime Tuesday, very little was left standing.
MONDAY MAY 29, 6PM:
Heritage advocates are urging authorities to reconsider demolishing an 1890s cottage representing an important part of Ballarat's gold mining history and the development of Golden Point.
Ballarat Heritage Watch members voiced shock and disappointment following a City of Ballarat announcement on Monday afternoon that a former mine manager's cottage at 89 Magpie Street would be demolished for public safety reasons, despite being in the process of gaining heritage protection.
The group maintains the house, which was severely damaged in a fire on May 2, should be rebuilt and restored for its cultural heritage as well as its physical attributes.
The house was built on a miner's right and was originally occupied by John Pearce - the manager of several mines in the Golden Point area.
IN THE NEWS
Former Heritage Watch president Anne Beggs-Sunter said its design was "typical of a lot of examples of houses that were built for the mining community in that period" such as Victory House.
Ms Beggs-Sunter said the news of the demolition was "awful" as the house had "a very close connection to the genuine gold mining history of Ballarat".
"John Pearce was a Cornishman and there's a very strong association with the Cornish population who were very good miners, so they very heavily settled that Golden Point area," Ms Beggs-Sunter said.
"So, it's got great historical significance because of that association with the development of Golden Point and gold mining in Golden Point."
Ms Beggs-Sunter said the building's current owner - Sovereign Hill - had the resources to restore it, and that this is something the museum's first curator would have endorsed.
"The first curator of Sovereign Hill, Peter Cuffley, he actually lived in that house in the early 1970s when he was working at Sovereign Hill and he was a great advocate for preserving historic cottages and historic gardens," she said.
"Given Sovereign Hill has got these amazing people who work for them in terms of rebuilding the heritage-like buildings of the 19th century, they've got excellent skills available to rebuild and that was what we thought they were going to do."
Heritage Watch president Stuart Kelly questioned why the building could not simply be fenced off to keep the public out while restoration works took place.
"Obviously, they've got to make sure things are safe for the public but given that this is not in the middle of the main street, you would think it could've been fenced off fairly easily and protected that way," he said.
Mr Kelly said it was not the first time a historically-significant building had been "left to be neglected and then ended up being burnt" and that the council needed to "make funding available sooner rather than later" to facilitate heritage overlays for hundreds of "unloved" houses and properties across Ballarat vulnerable to the same fate.
"It's very disappointing that there have been a number of fires around Ballarat that have taken buildings that then needed to be removed," he said.
"And often they're ones where people have wanted to demolish them anyway."
Pepe Howard - son of the late Bill Howard who lived in the house from 1988 until his death in 2014 - said he would be sad to see it go.
According to Mr Howard, Sovereign Hill bought the property from Bill and "said he could live there rent free until he passed away and then they'd take possession".
"Ever since they've taken possession, they've just abandoned the place," Mr Howard said.
"They could've done so much, they could've turned it into maybe a B&B for Sovereign Hill guests, they could've put a little museum area, anything, but no they just let it rot."
Mr Howard has memories of playing tennis on "beautiful" courts out the back in the early days, as well as family Christmases in the house, and afternoons spent looking out over the east of Ballarat East from the top of the three-storey tower his dad had built in the late 1990s.
"It's just a shame, I mean my dad lived there 'til the end of his life and it had a bit of a special meaning," he said.
"For anyone, where their parents lived you kind of think it'll be there forever but now, there's just gonna be an empty block there.
"But I mean it is what it is - there's nothing you can do once a decision's been made."
PREVIOUSLY:
The City of Ballarat has ordered Sovereign Hill to demolish a historically-significant house after it was gutted by fire earlier this month.
The five-bedroom house, at 89 Magpie Street, was subject to a Heritage Overlay amendment, but had been empty for several years and was vacant at the time of the fire on May 2.
In a statement, council's development and growth director Natalie Robertson said an emergency demolition order had been issued after a structural report revealed it must be demolished "in the interests of public safety".
The structural report was prepared by the landowner, she added.
Council requested the Heritage Overlay amendment in February, for permanent heritage controls, however "the Minister for Planning has been advised of the circumstances and at this stage the public exhibition for the Heritage Overlay amendment remains scheduled for July".
Sovereign Hill chief executive Sarah Quon said in a statement "demolition has been arranged with a heavy heart".
"While we are dismayed by the fire and the damage it caused, safety is paramount," she said.
"The reality is that the damage was far worse than first thought so there is really no option."
The house, understood to have been built in the 1890s, was formerly known as the John Pearce House, after a mine manager who lived there before WWI.
John Pearce House was sold to the adjacent tourist attraction in 2014 after the death of its last occupant Bill Howard, who had lived there since 1988 and built a distinctive glass lookout tower at the rear.
The fire started about 10.19pm, with police initially treating it as suspicious.
It took at least six crews wearing breathing gear more than 90 minutes to bring it under control.
The Italianate weatherboard Victorian home and nearby sheds were covered in graffiti and several windows had been boarded up.
Police are yet to charge anyone over the suspicious fire.
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