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 ›
Observer Hotel, The Rocks, Sydney By MICK ROBERTS © ALTHOUGH right-handed, when I drop into the Observer Hotel at Sydney’s Rocks, I like to drink a beer using my left hand. The gesture is in memory of a left-handed drag-queen… 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 MICK ROBERTS © Have you wondered about that old weather beaten bloke standing at the bar in those Carlton and United Brewery posters? You know, the one proclaiming ‘I allus has wan at eleven’? His name was Sam Knott… Read More ›
BEFORE the days of steel kegs, Northern Territory publicans had an ongoing battle with termites attacking their timber beer barrels. With nests rising like skyscrapers to heights of three metres or more, there are some weird and wonderful stories told… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © THE pubs of the Northern Territory are full to the brim with terrific tales – some tall, some true – but most of all, entertaining; Like the one about when the host of Mataranka Hotel, Nellie… Read More ›
THE following story, published in the Maitland Weekly Mercury on December 24, 1927, gives a glimpse into the inns and taverns trading in the lower Hunter Valley of NSW, between the years of 1847 and 1851. Inns and taverns of… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © THE Cropper family had a tragic start as hoteliers in the New England region of NSW. The family helped establish the historic Marshal MacMahon Hotel at Wallabadah, about 18 kilometres south of Tamworth, when William Cropper… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © DEFYING the odds, Margaret Tabitha Radestock was a successful hotelier, who despite an abusive husband, and antiquated licensing laws, became a wealthy and respected South Australian businesswoman. The daughter of German winemakers, Margaret, after almost 20… Read More ›
SYDNEY publican William Ryan seems to have a penchant for historic, landmark inner-city hotels. Ryan has bought one of the oldest pubs in Newtown. He has taken the reins of the King Street institution, Kuleto’s Bar, sold by Donna Asensio late… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © THERE are some pubs that even the bravest men would fear to tread. The North Illawarra Hotel at Austinmer, south of Sydney, had that reputation. A coal miners’ pub, it was one of the toughest in… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © WHAT could be a more fitting story for Surfers Paradise then the rags-to-riches tale of a barber, who rose to become one of Queensland’s most successful businessmen through clever exaggeration, media manipulation and showmanship? James Freeman… Read More ›
WE’RE entering our 10th year of publication! Who would have thought it’s been a decade since ‘Time Gents, Australian Pub Project’ began bringing you the colourful yarns, our road trips and stories about this country’s wonderful watering holes. To mark… Read More ›