On June 7, 1860, when the roads were only rough bush tracks, the Department of Roads and Bridges Office in the Victorian Government, called for tenders for the erection of Toll Gates in the Western District.
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The idea was that tolls collected would help pay for the upkeep and formation of the local roads.
The Government decided to erect a Toll Gate at Armstrongs, adjacent to the Junction Hotel on the road from Ararat to Pleasant Creek (now Stawell).
The site of the Junction Hotel was located 1.2kms from the Armstrong sign on the Western Highway, heading towards Ararat, not far from the Old Brewery Road turnoff.
The contract for building the Toll Gate at the Junction Hotel was awarded to a Peter Gunn for the sum of £422 on July 17, 1860.
Then in January 1861 the first lease of the Toll Gate was awarded to a Mr J Holmes at a yearly premium of £343.10/-
The tolls that were authorised by the Government were levied on animals, vehicles and travellers and were maximum charges.
At the Shire of Stawell meeting on December 7, 1868, the following special order was made, "That the Toll Gate known as the Junction Toll Gate on the road from Stawell to Ararat at Armstrongs be removed and re-erected at a point on the same road near the Allanvale Homestead."
This was possibly due to the numerous complaints from the Toll collectors about travellers taking the back roads and even opening fences, to avoid paying the toll.
The Toll Gate remained operational at this location until on January 17, 1878 when, in the Pleasant Creek News (now The Stawell Times-News) the Shire of Stawell called for tenders for the purchase and removal of the Toll Gate and associated buildings and fences.
On February 6, 1878 it was reported that there was only one tender submitted for the purchase of the old Toll Booth at Great Western.
That tender being from Mr Blampied of St Peters Vineyard for the sum of £20.
And so the era of the Toll Gate at Great Western was over.
The Toll Gate was removed and re-erected at the St Peters Winery on the banks of the Concongella Creek at the end of Cubitt Street.
Some of the local children used it as a cubby house, but by 1943 the condition of the building had deteriorated to such a state that demolition was an option.
It is thought that in February 1945 the Toll gate was restored by a Mr John Kofoed under the supervision of Mr Frank Drage and relocated to its present position in the entrance foyer of the Great Western Mechanics Institute.
The structure was handed over to the Hall Committee and left in the hands of Eric Thomson, Frank Drage and J. Dunn.
A grand 'Old Time Night' was held in July 1945 to celebrate the placing of the structure.
The Victorian division of the National Trust of Australia has classified the toll gate as "An object of Interest"
It can be viewed through the glass doors at the Great Western Public Hall.
