The Ironclad Hotel is historically significant as the site of one of the first two permanent buildings erected in the Marble Bar Town site. It has been the hub of the town from the gold rush era until today. It is the famed setting for many colourful characters, notorious pranks, tall stories, lost fortunes, happy celebrations and memorable wakes. The Ironclad Hotel is synonymous with Marble Bar. It has an unbroken link with many eras of rich history.
The Ironclad Hotel on lots 15 and 16 of Marble Bar town site is a complex of buildings of various styles and ages with frequent additions and renovations over the years. The hotel is situated on the main road of Marble Bar and is a significant landmark in the town. The building has a corrugated iron roof with corrugated iron walls retains its original facade today.
There is no doubt that a hotel has traded continually from this site since 1892 and records reveal that it has traded under the name Ironclad Hotel since November, 1893. The Hotel has always incorporated a public bar and verandah on the Francis Street frontage and efforts have been made to maintain some integrity of design with early Hotel photographs. It is highly likely that the Hotel was named after the richest reefing claim then, the Ironclad Lease, which had been granted in that name in November. 1891. (SAWA Mines Dept.,Cons 4136.) The hotel was one of only two permanent structures noted by E N Geyer on 15/3/1893 on Marble Bar town site sketches
