WHEN Thirroul’s Rex Hotel opened for business in 1953, it brought to a close a campaign lasting almost 30 years by brewery giant, Tooth and Company, to have a pub in the seaside town. Known today as ‘Beaches’, the pub,… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © ALTHOUGH today you would be hard pressed to believe it, prior to gentrification, Surry Hills was home to some of Sydney’s toughest pubs. The pubs of the inner-Sydney suburb were haunts of the city’s shadiest characters… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © THE Glenrowan Inn where the bushranger Ned Kelly’s ‘last stand’ took place in 1880 is arguably Australia’s most infamous pub. While the history of bushranger Ned Kelly is well documented, the story of the Glenrowan Inn… Read More ›
The priest and the publican By MICK ROBERTS © THE friendly contest of chaffing – perfected and usually kept within the bar-room – spilled outside onto one of Sydney’s busiest streets during the 1980s. Chaffing – the pleasure of teasing… Read More ›
By J. H. HEATHCOTE IN the cool of the evening of December 24 a poorly-clad woman could be seen pushing a home-made cart along the one and only street in a certain far-western township. In the cart was a young… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © Ever wondered why there’s a pub Armidale, a city located in the New England region of northern NSW, named the St Kilda Hotel? We did, so we did a little research. The St Kilda Hotel was opened… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © REGULARS at Thirroul’s Ryan’s Hotel can thank pioneer baker George Whitford for his persistence in establishing their local watering hole. Whitford was determined to have his bakery opened as the village’s first pub, trying for almost… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © A NEGLECTED, ramshackle survivor from our pioneering past, the old Bald Nob inn possesses all the ingredients to conjure up tales of troubled spirits with unfinished business. Under its roof, fortunes were lost and life’s ruined…. Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © ONLY ruins remain of a well-known Tasmanian landmark on the road between Hobart and Launceston. The Halfway House at Antill Ponds was a two-storey stone hotel, which serviced travellers and residents with accommodation, meals and liquor… Read More ›
ABLE seaman E. Wells was featured in this fantastic image published in the Sydney Daily Telegraph on 11 February 1941. The previous day, Wells had disembarked the HMAS Sydney and was enjoying “a long drink of Sydney beer – his… Read More ›
LIKE Victoria’s Sam Knott, who proclaimed ‘I allus has wan at eleven’, NSW also had a famous brewery pin-up-boy by the name of Sam. He was well-known for most of the first half of last century. Although, there’s some debate… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © THROUGH wheatbelt country, to the rugged, but beautiful south-west and Margaret River regions of Western Australia, our February 2025 road trip provided an opportunity to visit a selection of fascinating pubs, explore their history, and discover… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © UPDATE: We are saddened to learn of the passing of publican, Maxine Dragojlo at the age of 69 in June 2025. Our condolences to husband, Peter and family. ARCHITECTURALLY, the Aloomba Hotel is no oil painting…. Read More ›