Over Dot Mayfield’s long career as a barmaid she estimated that she pulled an incredible 29 million beers – the equivalent to 10,000 kegs!
When interviewed for a newspaper story in 1972, Dot’s son had calculated that she had walked at least 22,500 kilometres up and down behind the bar serving customers over more than 20 years working in Sydney pubs.
Born in Auburn in 1924, a young Dot Newman was employed as a bootmaker before her marriage to Ronald Mayfield in 1944, and their eventual relocation to South Australia.
After her husband’s death, Dot returned to Sydney during the 1950s, where she worked at a number of Sydney pubs before settling into the bar of the Bayview Hotel, Gladesville.
Established in 1879, the Bayview Hotel is located 10kms northwest of the Sydney CBD. The current pub was built at a cost of £10,000 in 1928 and replaced an already imposing two storey structure on what was then known as the Great Northern Road.
The two storey brick building was designed by architect G. W. Pettigrew from the firm Pitt and Morrow and continues to trade on Victoria Road.
Dot worked at the Bayview Hotel through the 1960s and later gained a job at the newly completed Greystanes Hotel, after its completion in 1970.
The veteran barmaid was interviewed by the newspaper, Fairfield Broadcaster for the following story, published on May 23, 1972.
Dot Mayfield has walked across Australia and back in her job as barmaid during the past 20 years — and if she has her way she just might do it again.
Mrs Dorothy (please call me Dot) Mayfield, of Vincent Street, Merrylands, has just made some interesting calculations of her time in the pub trade. Dot and her electronics engineer son, Don have made a study of 20 years of serving customers from four different hotels in Sydney.
“Don does these things in his spare time, just for fun,” Dot explained. “He reckons I must have walked at least 25 million yards or 14,000 miles up and down behind the bar serving customers over the years,” she said.
Even more startling was the amount of beers Don claims Dot has pulled over the years.
“Don’s figures say I have pulled 29 million beers or 10,000 kegs!”
Dot lived the early part of her life at Gladesville, after being born at Auburn. Oddly enough, she went to school in a building which stood next door to the Bayview Hotel — where she later began her trade as a barmaid.
She had two brothers and a sister and her mother still lives at Gladesville. Her father, Doug, died four years ago. Dot left school at 14 and spent a couple of years wandering about on trains, throughout the State. Her father was on the tramways and he was issued with free passes each year which enabled Dot to visit relatives who lived up the country.
When the war broke out she joined the array at 18 and was attached to the signals branch and served all over Australia. She spent four years in the army, where she met her husband, Ron. After they married they went to live in South Australia where Ron was an electrician. She stayed for about seven years and when Ron died she moved back to Sydney to her family.
Dot began her long and interesting work in the pubs and after a couple of years at the Bayview, she obtained a house in Merrylands and moved out here. She has now settled at the Greystanes Inn, where she is happy and intends to stay. Dot likes her work as barmaid and said, “I would never give it away — oh no, not ever.
“Not unless I win the lottery, of course.”
Dorothy Madeline Mayfield was living at Merrylands when she died at the age of 74 on September 11, 1998.
* With thanks to Neale Ferguson for researching additional information on Dorothy Mayfield’s life.
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Categories: Barmaids, NSW hotels, Sydney hotels
The pub is The Bayview. Small edit needed