On this bustling corner, history whispers its tales. It’s a story carved in stone, told on a plaque. This is the Whitehorse Hotel Cairn, a monument to a significant piece of Box Hill’s past. The Whitehorse Hotel, a coaching inn on this very spot, stood proudly from 1853 to 1933. It was a bustling meeting place for coach passengers travelling the Corduroy Road, and a popular spot for locals. The hotel even had a tollgate right outside its doors! A white timber horse graced the pub’s public bar, a testament to the hotel’s name. This iconic emblem was a symbol of prosperity, and its story is entwined with the town.
And now, this spot of history is marked by a cairn. It stands as a reminder of the Whitehorse Hotel, a reminder of the past. Stand here, and you can almost hear the clinking of glasses, the chatter of coach passengers and the horses’ hooves on the cobblestones. Imagine the life that once pulsed on this very corner.
The Whitehorse Hotel Cairn stands not only as a tribute to the inn but also to the Golden Jubilee of the City of Box Hill. It was unveiled on the 28th of April 1977 by the Mayor of Box Hill, Councillor K.C. Lear, J.P. Look close at the plaque. There’s a fascinating detail: it was on this very corner that the first brick building in Box Hill was erected.
This spot evokes the past, a reminder of the Whitehorse Hotel and the town’s growth. While the pub itself is gone, its memory lives on in the very name of the road: Whitehorse Road.