Armidale’s International Hotel was once popular with thirsty railwaymen, stock salesmen and drovers

International Hotel Armidale NSW 1924 NBA ANU
International Hotel, Armidale, NSW, 1924. Picture: Noel Butlin Archives, Australian National University.

WHEN the International Hotel closed for business in 1928 there were 14 pubs trading in Armidale, on the NSW Northern Tablelands – a town with a population of between 6,000 and 7,000!

Sadly now consigned to the pages of history, the International Hotel was located at 140 Miller Street, Armidale. A shopping centre now occupies the site.

The hotel was opened in 1883 by Mary Ann Connelly, concurrent with the nearby railway. It was advertised as the “closest hotel to the station” and sat on what was at the time the main route into Armidale township.

The pub sat on the Great Northern Road, near a level crossing – the obvious place to spend time when the gates were closed.

During the 1920s the freehold of the pub was owned by William Joseph Doyle. Arthur William Chapman was licensee when the hotel was forced to shut by the NSW Licensing Reduction Board. It closed for business on June 30 1928.

In the broader Armidale police district, which had an estimated population of 10,200, there were 18 pubs trading in 1928 when the International Hotel closed.

Interestingly, the International Hotel was officially just outside the Armidale municipality, and at the time of its closure, was the only pub “on the other side of the rail line”.

The pub was said to have been a favourite with railwaymen, stock salesmen and drovers.

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 DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD

Don’t have PayPal? Instead, you can support my work with 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 research.



Categories: NSW hotels

Tags:

3 replies

  1. This hotel was built/formerly owned by my ancestor, Mr Augustus Stahlhut. Changed hands to Mr Doyle in 1885.

  2. Can you give us a precise location?

    • Hi Mick, 140 Miller Road Armidale, now a lot of shops (Furniture Plus, Lincraft and BCF) in the approx location where the pub stood.

What's Your Thoughts?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: