By MICK ROBERTS ©
THE war-veteran who established Parramatta’s Rose and Crown in 1841, Robert “One-Armed” Green, was appropriately laid to rest near his pub in the graveyard of the All Saints Church.
Next time you visit this historic pub consider raising a glass to Mr Green.
While the Rose and Crown Hotel falls short by a few decades of the often held belief it was established in 1823, it does however remain Parramatta’s oldest operating pub.
The Rose and Crown, located at the corner of Victoria Road and Sorrell Street, was established in 1841 by Robert Green, who lost his arm in battle while serving in the British Army.
The confusion surrounding the establishment year of the Rose and Crown is explained by the fact that at least three pubs have traded in Parramatta by that name, at three different locations, and at various times.
Let’s try and untangle the confusion.
The first Rose and Crown was opened in O’Connell Street, Parramatta as early as 1817 with Thomas Pierce granted a license on April 19. The Sydney Gazette announced 12 publicans had been licensed in 1817 for the “keeping of Public Houses, and Vending of Wines, Spirits, and Beer” for Parramatta.
Robert Green is often credited as the person who established the current Rose and Crown at Parramatta in 1823. While Green did establish the current Rose and Crown, there’s a simple explanation as to why the often touted establishment year of 1823 is wrong.
Green was 32 years of age when he arrived in NSW in 1827 – a good five years after the pub’s claimed establishment year. He came to Australia on board the Mary Hope as part of the 3rd Regiment, ‘The Buffs’. In 1828, he was working as a footman to Governor Darling, a common assignment for soldiers on colonial duty.
A footman was a domestic servant employed in wealthy or “genteel” households, serving as a key member of the “downstairs” staff. Green’s role was a mix of personal service, and public display, designed to show-off his employer’s status.
For a working-class young man in the early 19th century, a footman position was considered relatively desirable for several reasons, including a generally high salary and the added bonus of food, shelter, clothing (livery), and sometimes tips (“vails”) from guests.
Although Green could not be described as a “young-man”, his disability received during battle was likely the reasons he was given the position of footman to Governor Darling.
The 3rd Regiment, or “The Buffs” (East Kent Regiment), was one of the most historic and senior infantry regiments in the British Army, with a history dating back to 1572. The regiment received the nickname “The Buffs” because it was issued buff-coloured (creamy-leather) waistcoats, breeches, and stockings, and later wore buff-coloured facings on their coats in the 18th century.
The often told story that Green lost his arm in the Battle of Waterloo is unlikely. The 3rd Regiment of Foot did not fight in the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815. While they served extensively in the Napoleonic Wars, the regiment was sent to Canada in 1814 to fight in the War of 1812 and returned to Europe too late to participate in the Battle of Waterloo. So it is more likely that Green lost his arm in one of the other Napoleonic Wars, but not the Battle of Waterloo.
The 3rd Regiment had a significant tour of service in Australia during the 1820s, with detachments assisting in guarding convict ships, based in locations including Sydney, Hobart, Parramatta, and Newcastle.
After his service, Green settled in the Parramatta area, marrying Mary O’Donnell in St. John’s, Parramatta in 1829, and managed a farm known as Rock Farm.
Green was 36, and his new wife, 21 when they first hosted the Rose and Crown on O’Connell Street, Parramatta, in 1831. They would go onto have a large family together.
His connections, especially working for Governor Darling, enabled the newly married couple a number of assigned convict workers to help them operate their first pub on O’Connell Street. They moved into the hotel with their first-born, one-year-year-old, Mary, and a baby son, William in 1831.
Young Mary was destined to grow-up behind the bar, and would eventually take the reins of her father’s pub. More on Mary’s hotel career later in the story.
The Sydney Gazette on June 30 1831 reveals Green was granted his license of the Rose and Crown on Tuesday, June 28, 1831. His O’Connell Street inn was described as containing six rooms, with a large kitchen, a three-stall stable, coach-house, “extensive granary, excellent cellar and a well of the best water”, on 84 rods or 422.45 metres of ground, on which were a quantity of fruit-trees “of the best description”.
In 1831, O’Connell Street in Parramatta was a developing thoroughfare on the north bank of the Parramatta River, located near the area that became a significant educational and residential precinct. It was situated opposite the current Parramatta Park, near the area known as North Parramatta.
The couple had been at the helm less than a month when the Sydney Gazette reported on Tuesday, August 2, 1831 that Mary Green had been the victim of “a rascally hoax”.
On Thursday evening last, about half-past six o’clock, a man dressed in a bluejacket, white trousers, and a black hat, went into the Rose and Crown public-house, kept by Mr. R. Green, at Parramatta, and enquired of Mrs. Green if she had any tobacco, which she answered in the affirmative; he ordered her to weigh him a pound and a half, and lend him a bottle, in which he ordered her to put three half-pints of rum; he also purchased a yellow silk handkerchief and three loaves of bread, and then asked her to put them together, and he would call for them, as he had left his cart to be repaired, and was going for it; that he lived with Mr. Hall, of Black Town, and had been down to Sydney with butter, which article Mr. Hall had agreed to supply Mr. Cummings, at the hotel, during the winter, at 1s. 6d. per pound. In about a quarter of an hour he returned, bringing with him three small parcels, very neatly packed up in writing paper, two of which be informed Mrs. Green were Mr. and Mrs. Hall’s miniatures, and the other he believed was a valuable silk scarf, which had just arrived from England. The property he received amounted to 17s. 8d. and he desired Mrs. Green to give him a pint of beer; when she turned round to draw it he took up the tobacco, &c. which he had tied in the silk handkerchief, and went away, leaving his three parcels on the table, which on being examined by a constable, turned out to be tea tree bark, cut square, and packed up.
The Greens had barely settled into their new O’Connell Street inn when the property was advertised for sale in September 1833. As a result the one-armed publican relocated his business to new premises in Parramatta. He acquired a lease of a property more centrally located in the rapidly growing township.
NSW Government records show Green “transferred” or removed his license of the O’Connell Street pub to Macquarie Street on December 30 1833.
Parramatta historian, Gary Carter, who published the book “About that Shout”, a history of Parramatta pubs, tells me Green’s new Rose and Crown possibly sat at the corner of Smith and Macquarie Streets. There the Greens remained for the next eight years, adding two more girls to their family of a boy and two girls.
Robert and Mary Green and their five children, aged between two and 11 years of age, shifted house again in 1841. Robert bought land at the corner of Pennant (now Victoria Road) and Sorrell Streets, Parramatta, where he built a hotel and acquired a license. He closed his Macquarie Street public house, and was granted a new license for his inn, which he gave the sign, ‘Rose and Crown’ – His third Parramatta pub by that name.
Green’s new inn would evolve into today’s Rose and Crown Hotel on Victoria Road.
Two generations of Robert Green’s family would host the Rose and Crown.
As mentioned earlier, after his retirement as hotelier, the Greens’ eldest daughter, Mary would take-over the management of the Rose and Crown.
After the marriage of 19-year-old Mary to 24-year-old Jesse Hack in 1849, the ‘Old Buffer’ retired from business, settling with his wife, Mary, into a quieter life on their property, ‘Rock Farm’, about 5kms from Parramatta along Kissing Point Road.
The area, sometimes referred to as ‘Green’s Estate’, would be in today’s suburb of Telopea. Rock Farm was known for its fertile land, orchards, and vineyards, with Vineyard Creek flowing through the area.
Like his bride, Jesse Hack also had been brought-up in pubs. Born in Sussex, on the English Coast, not far from Hastings, Hack’s father was host at the Victoria Hotel, in Hollington, England.
Hack was 18 years of age when he came to Australia in 1842, and after a while spent in the Hunter region, he settled at Parramatta. Besides a competent publican, he was also said to have been a talented musician, and was a member of the Parramatta Minstrels, playing the ‘hand-bells’ and other instruments.
Robert ‘One-Armed’ Green died at Rock Farm, on December 28, 1857 at the age of 62, leaving his widow, Mary, and a large family. Mary died on September 17, 1886 at the age of 57 at Rock Farm and was buried with her husband in All Saints’ Church, Parramatta.
The Hacks hosted the Rose and Crown until 1866 when they took-over the license of the White Horse Inn at the corner of George and Church Streets, Parramatta, which they hosted for over 20 years. In an interesting interview with the Cumberland Argus on January 18, 1899, on his 74th birthday, Hack recalls his eventful life.
Who does not know the genial and kind hearted Jesse, who ran the White Horse for over 20 years. He came to Parramatta on Christmas Day 1842 and has been in the old town almost ever since… We had a yarn to the veteran a few days-back. We had not dropped across him for years, and felt glad at having the opportunity of talking about old times.
“You look as young as ever,” we remarked.
“Yes,” he replied, “I believe I don’t look as old as I really am. An insurance agent bailed me up a few days ago and wanted me to take out a policy. I told him I thought it was rather late in the day, but he pooh-poohed the idea and remarked “Why, you are a comparatively young man.” He flattered himself that he was a fair judge of a man’s age; but when he heard that I was 74, he did not think so much of his judgment in that particular respect.
“Yes,” he continued, “I’m not so young as I was. I saw in The Argus a short time back, a notice of Mr. R. Harper’s golden wedding. I remember it well. I played at the wedding — the flutina, I think, or the violin. I was never stuck for an instrument, you know. In those days I was looked upon as a musical factotum: I was in the first volunteer band – played the euphonium. I also ran a string band, and, as you know, played the hand-bells with Dig McCroban and others. I had a good tenor voice in those days.
“In 1851, the gold fever was raging in California and off I started. A lot of Parramatta boys went in the same vessel. We had a jolly trip, I can tell you. Mr. John Taylor, who was a rattling comic singer, was with us.
“We touched at Honolulu and gave a concert there. On arriving at ‘Frisco we heard the news of the discovery of gold in Australia. A vessel that left after us arrived before us, and brought the news. The ship I travelled in turned right round and brought diggers and cargo to Australia. The skipper invited me to come back with, him, and so I never saw California. Mr. Taylor and others went on to the diggings and stayed there some time.
“When I landed I started straight for Bathurst with two loads of oranges from [his father-in-law] Mr. R. Green’s orchard on the Kissing Point Road. That was a famous orchard in those days. I was seven or eight days on the road. And what roads! I made a good thing out of the oranges — sold the bulk. They were bringing about 4s a dozen. In Melbourne at that time they were 6s a dozen.
“In 1852 I went to Bendigo and worked on the fields for a time, doing fairly well.”
“When I pass by the old White Horse, I often think of the many years I spent there. I was there so long that I began to think the place belonged to me; but that idea was rudely dispelled…”
The Hacks hosted the old White Horse until 1885, and in 1886 unsuccessfully attempted to open a new hotel in Smith Street Parramatta. When that venture failed, Hack hosted a hotel at Manly for a short period of time before he was declared insolvent and returned to Parramatta.
Hack lived out his remaining years in Parramatta where he died at his Wentworth Street residence aged 85 years. His widow, Mary died in 1918, aged 89. They left 40 children, grandchildren and great children. Mary was buried in All Saints’ Cemetery, Parramatta, alongside her late husband.
After the Hacks left the Rose and Crown, the hotel closed in 1866, and it remained unlicensed until 1867.
The pub reopened in October 1867 with widow, Hannah Donnelly as licensee. Donnelly remained at the pub until 1869, when one of the longest hosting publicans took the reins of the pub.
Samuel Lawrence was 58 when he was granted the license of the Rose and Crown in 1869. Born in Rye, Sussex, England about 1811, he married Sarah Ann Neeves in 1836 in Brede, Sussex, before his family emigrated to Sydney in 1841.
The couple had an uneventful 16 years as hosts at the Rose and Crown before Samuel’s death at the age of 75 while licensee in 1885. His wife briefly held the license after her husband’s death before the pub closed again in 1886.
The Rose and Crown was purchased by William Henry Neich for £1030 from the estate of the late Robert Green in May 1887. The property was described as being constructed of brick and having about 47 metres (155 feet) frontage to Pennant Street and 33 metres (110 feet) to Sorrell Street.
The Neich family were Sydney hotel royalty. William Henry Neich was granted the license of the Rose and Crown in June 1887 after hosting the nearby Royal Oak. He was born in his father’s pub on Parramatta Road Burwood in 1854, and was 33 years of age when he and his wife took-over the Rose and Crown.
William was the son of Emanuel Neich (1807–1893), a prominent colonial-era Sydney publican who arrived from Genoa, Italy, in 1826 after mistakenly boarding a ship he believed was bound for Holland. He famously ran the notorious Black Dog Hotel in Cumberland Street, The Rocks, around 1830 before establishing the successful Bath Arms Hotel in Burwood.
In 1834, Emanuel Neich married Mary Comer before her father gifted them the Bath Arms Hotel in Burwood (on Parramatta Road), which he ran for decades, becoming known as the “Grand Old Man” of the district. He was married three times and had a total of roughly 25 children. Neich was known as a model hotel-keeper, a champion quoits player, and a generous supporter of the poor. He died in 1893 at his residence, the Bath Arms.
More on Emanuel Neich at The Time Gents’ story: Accidental Australian was given his pub as a wedding present.
Meanwhile William Neich began work on upgrading the old wayside inn in preperation for its re-opening. He applied to Parramatta Council to attach a balcony to the brick hotel, which indicates that it was already two-storey building. However, Council’s overseer of works reported that, by direction of the council, he had visited the premises and found that the buildings encroached on the alignment. He recommended, therefore, that the application of the proprietor for leave to erect a verandah and balcony in front of the premises could not be entertained.
Neich renewed the license of the Rose and Crown on June 3 1887.
Neich was a “strict cold water man”, who never drank alcohol. Needless to say, his hostelry was held in high regard and had a spotless reputation. Neich was also said to have been a keen sportsman, and a man of diligence and sincerity. He hosted the Rose and Crown for 25 years from 1887 to 1902 before his retirement. He died at the age of 56 in 1910.
The Rose and Crown was bought by brewery giant Tooth & Company in December 1910, and the following year tenders were called for brick additions, adding to the hotel taking on much of its current appearance.
The brewery owned the Rose and Crown’s freehold until March 28 1983 when it was sold to Nimbio Pty Ltd (Mr and Mrs Wilson and I. McLean) for $425,000.
The pub was bought in 2022 by Warren Livingstone, founder of sports tourism group the Fanatics, for $42 million. Livingstone bough the pub from The Pub Invest fund, which was being liquidated.
Today the Rose and Crown Hotel continues as a community-focused venue offering casual dining, drinks, and a relaxed atmosphere. Customers can enjoy traditional pub fare, including pizza and Australian cuisine, available for lunch and dinner, along with outdoor seating.
Do you have a story or memories of the Rose and Crown you would like to share? Scroll down to the comments to add to the history of the Rose and Crown.
Rose and Crown Inn, Parramatta
Licensees 1841 – 1940
1841 – 1849: Robert Green
1849 – 1865: Jesse Hack
1865 – 1866: George Neil
License not issued in 1866
October 1867: Rose and Crown Inn reopened
Oct. 1867 – 1869: Hannah Donnelly
1869 – 1885: Samuel Lawrence
1885 – 1886: Catherine Lawrence
License not issued in 1886.
June 1887 – 1902: William Neich
April 1902 – 1910: William Main
Dec. 1910 – 1914: George Naylor
1914 – 1915: John Brennan
1915 – 1917: William R Wallington
1917 – 1940: Michael Farrell
1940 – Ivy M. Standing
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Categories: Australian Hotels, NSW hotels, Parramatta Hotels, Sydney hotels
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