The Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Junction, before the balcony was removed. Picture: Harvey History Group
By Kirwan Ward
OVER the bar in the Brunswick Junction hotel [WA] the radio was blaring forth tidings from Kalgoorlie.
The field for the Fourth Division of the Lamington Plate was at the barrier behaving like a gaggle of temperamental prima donnas.
At the magic sound of the commentator’s voice, bar-room conversation stopped as though switched off by some unseen hand.
Punters stood with schooners poised midway between the lift and swallow positions.
One horse, which bore the curious name of ‘Upsidedown’ was evolved in the general backing and filling at the machine.
“Upsided own has backed away,” said the radio. “Now he’s facing up. Now Upsidedown is side-on.”
And over in the corner by the dartboard an impatient parishioner gazed gloomily at his empty pot and growled: “Why don’t the so-and-so turn inside out and be done with it.”
– ‘Peepshow’ Perth Daily News September 3 1947
History
Brunswick Hotel, n.d. Picture: Harvey History Group
Brunswick Junction is a town in the South West of Western Australia, situated along the South Western Highway between Harvey and Bunbury. It had a population of 772 people at the 2016 census, down from 797 at the 2006 census.
The Brunswick Hotel was built in 1906, with Joseph Edgbert Brown the first host when in September 1906 he was granted a wayside licence and a billiard licence.
In the application for the licence the hotel was described as ‘containing bar, two sitting rooms, bagatelle room, dining room, kitchen, and six bedrooms, exclusive of those required by the family, rented by me from S. Copley, and occupied by myself and now licensed under the sign of the Brunswick Hotel’.
The reference to S. Copley indicates he was the owner of the property. It was not the first hotel in the townsite as the timber Black Swan Hotel managed by Paddy O’Brien had previously existed on the east side of the railway line.
The Brunswick Hotel suffered considerable damage in the 1960s as the result of a truck colliding with the building. The resulting damage may have been the reason behind the removal of the upper balconies.
Brunswick Hotel after truck collision, 1960s. Picture: Harvey History Group
Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick Junction. Picture: Google Streetview
Categories: Western Australia hotels
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