By MICK ROBERTS ©
ARTHUR Edwin Lawes was pictured in the Daily Telegraph on December 22 1927 working behind the bar of his Sydney pub.
Lawes was licensee of the Australian Hotel from 1920 to 1928. Born in Penrith in 1884, Lawes married Florence Haughton in 1905 before serving as a Sydney City Council Labor alderman from 1924 to 1927.
Later in life he was a hotel broker and was chairman of the board of directors of the St George Leagues Club. He had an unsuccessful tilt at running as an alderman in the Rockdale Council elections for the Labor party in 1932.
Lawes died at St George Hospital aged 70 on December 11 1954 and was survived by his wife, Florence, three sons and a daughter.
The Australian Hotel sat on the north-east corner of Kent and Market Streets, Sydney. The Australian Inn had traded on the corner from at least 1840.
The hotel’s name was changed to Mallets Hotel in 1957 after long-time owner, Doyle Mallet, before yet another name change on 1967 to the Tasman Inn.
The hotel was purchased by Ryans Hotel in 1969, with Peter John Ryan at the helm for many years. At its closure in 1970, the pub was simply known as the Ryans Hotel.
The hotel was extensively damaged by fire on February 17 1973 and closed for business. After more than 130 years, the pub sadly never re-opened following the fire.
The license of the hotel was removed to the corner of Little Spring and Berry Streets North Sydney as a tavern on October 25 1974.
© Copyright Mick Roberts 2019 – 2026
* Story updated September 2026
Do you remember the Australian Hotel in Market Street Sydney? Do you have any memories you would like to share? Scroll down to the comments section
Subscribe to the latest Time Gents stories
PAYPAL BAR TIP
If you would like to support my work, you can leave a small ‘bar tip’ here of $2, or several small tips, just increase the amount as you like. Your generous patronage of my work and research, however small it appears to you, will greatly help me with my continuing costs.
$2.00
OR DONATE BY CREDIT CARD
Don’t have PayPal? Instead, you can support my work by leaving a secure $2 debit or credit card donation here, or you can increase the amount after clicking or tapping into the icon below. Your generous patronage of my work and research, however small it appears to you, will greatly help me with my continuing costs and research.
Categories: Sydney hotels
A barmaid was shot and killed in this hotel .
Do you know what year?