UNDERTAKERS do not always take their pleasures sadly, and some of the best parties have been thrown in the workshop of one establishment where wooden overcoats are tailored to measure. One night the drinks ran low, and as it was… Read More ›
“Time gents, drink ’em up”, was the barman’s call as six o’clock approached and the taps were turned off for another day. The six o’clock swill was Australian and New Zealand slang for the last-minute rush to buy drinks before the… Read More ›
Breasting the bar earns Margaret time in the watch house MARGARET Carey, after enjoying a couple of rums at the Strong Man Inn, Parramatta in September 1828, was ordered to spend time in the watch house “until sober” after souveniring… Read More ›
PUBLICAN BURIED WITH THE BAR KEY From time to time there have been curious happenings in Australia in connection with funerals, and the latest ranks with the most piquant. This is how the story goes. A funeral party that came… Read More ›
A Snake in the bar A COUPLE of blokes who enjoyed a morning tipple at their ‘early opener’ down by Circular Quay, got a good laugh out of a frightened barmaid one Autumn day in 1937. When a four-foot snake… Read More ›
The sale of war bonds was a significant aspect of the Australian home front during the Second World War. Administered by the Commonwealth War Loan Office, the war loans scheme encouraged Australians to buy war bonds which would mature… Read More ›
The current Great Northern Hotel at Newcastle opened in 1938. It’s the third hotel of the same name to occupy the site, its predecessors having been in operation since 1864. The hotel was designed by Sydney architects Rudder and Grout and built… Read More ›
A well-dressed man with a shamrock in his buttonhole celebrated “Be Kind to Animals Week” as well as St. Patrick’s Day at Parramatta on March 17 1933. Walking into the Tattersall’s Hotel, at the corner of Church and George Streets accompanied by a beautiful… Read More ›
Re-union of West Australians A very enjoyable smoke social was held recently at the Criterion Hotel, Kalgoorlie, the occasion being a reunion of West Australians and Perth residents residing on the goldfields. Mr. E. McGinn occupied the chair. During the… Read More ›
A genuine Sinn Fein (Irish rebel) flag, over 50 years old, flew outside the Southern Cross Hotel in King William street yesterday in observance of St. Patrick’s Day. The manager of the Southern Cross (Mr. M. C. Flannagan) said the… Read More ›
Thousands rush beer at suburban hotel Four thousand people gathered yesterday afternoon at the Imperial Hotel, Milson’s Point – one of the few hotels open in Sydney. The hotel served English beer at a shilling and six pence a pint…. Read More ›
