Accident near Griffith's Hotel 1859

Arrival of Geelong mail - Main road, Ballaarat, 1854. Artist S T Gill, Courtesy of the State Library of Victoria Collection.

Accident.—Last Friday evening,  opposite Griffiths' hotel, a lot of children, were playing in the middle of the road, when a stupid fellow, driving a team, knocked one of them down. The team was sent to the right about, and then a farther accident took place, for he backed his cart in such a manner as to plant the hoofs of one of his horses right upon the legs of one of the girls. The father and mother naturally looked about them, to apprehend the fellow, but, having found that the child was likely to recover—and   recover she did since—he was permitted to take his departure; Nevertheless, these sort of driving, particularly in public thoroughfares and amongst children, are exceedingly indiscreet and improper. Today we have neither time nor room to advert to them, but on some future occasion we shall have a word or two upon the subject. We have no objection to a good whip. On the contrary, we like a dashing, rattling sort of style, but then it must be done on a public road, and not in a crowded thoroughfare like ours, where you have thousands of men, women, and children meeting you at every step.

INDIGO. (1859, January 6). Ovens and Murray Advertiser (Beechworth, Vic. : 1857 - 1918), p. 3. Retrieved October 9, 2013, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article117925256

This news article about an accident involving a horse-drawn vehicle and a child "opposite Griffiths'  Hotel" contains an interesting hint that George Griffith might have acquired his own business premises at the new diggings at Indigo, later known as Chiltern.