Author Archives
A journalist, writer and historian, Mick Roberts specialises in Australian cultural history, particularly associated with Australian pubs. Mick has had an interest in revealing the colourful story of Australian hotels or pubs and associated industries for over 35 years. Besides writing a number of history books, Mick has managed several community newspapers. Editorially, he has managed the Wollongong Northern News, The Bulli Times, The Northern Times, The Northern Leader and The Local - all located in the Wollongong region. As a journalist he has reported for Rural Press, Cumberland (News Limited), City Hub Sydney (City News), and Torch Publications (based in Canterbury Bankstown, Sydney).
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Tom’s tall tales from the box seat
By MICK ROBERTS © “Driver Kelly would tell hobgoblin stories by the way, especially of the ‘little one-legged man of Bottle Forest’, whose footprint it was considered uncanny to come across. No one would camp anywhere along the road if… Read More ›
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The rise and fall of billiard saloons and their notorious ‘sports clubs’
By MICK ROBERTS © RELIGIOUSLY, during most of the first half of last century, a steady stream of men could be seen crossing the road, backwards and forwards, from Bulli’s Family Hotel to the billiard and hairdressing saloon, on Saturdays…. Read More ›
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The wild men of the 22 mile camp: ‘Here the visitor must either shout or fight’
By MICK ROBERTS © AMERICA’S Wild West could be considered tame compared to the wilderness separating what is today Sydney’s southern suburbs from the Illawarra region, during the mid to late 1880s. Notorious shantytowns sprang up in the bushland to… Read More ›
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Sutherland’s Railway Hotel, where half-naked, drunken men ‘fought like tigers’, their ‘disfigured faces bruised and torn’
By MICK ROBERTS © THE workers camps that sprang up for the men building the government railway south of Sydney during the mid to late 1880s became notorious for their violence and heavy drinking. The camps, which also included men… Read More ›
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The tragic tale of Sam Russell and his Sydney and Wollongong pubs
By MICK ROBERTS © SAM Russell just wasn’t cut out to be a businessman. To be fair, he had to struggle through the economic depression of the 1840s, but the fact remains Lady Luck just wasn’t on the merchant’s side… Read More ›
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The North Gong Pub: From wayside inn to imposing tourist hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © ALTHOUGH the North Wollongong Hotel has changed considerably in appearance since German immigrant, Theodore Bode opened his little wayside inn on the site in 1878 its principal purpose of providing hospitality remains unchanged. Now a favourite… Read More ›
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The Urwins, pub managers: Headlands Hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © IN the days when the two big breweries ruled the liquor industry, owning most of New South Wales’ hotels, and ‘tying’ clubs and pubs to exclusive beer sales, Bob and Lurline Urwin made quite a name… Read More ›
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The temperance movement: Richard Crabb the controversial anti-liquor lecturer
By MICK ROBERTS © THEY travelled the country preaching the evils of drink; colourful characters with the gift of the gab and often with a tale of their remarkable transformation from drunkard to teetotaller – they were the temperance lecturers…. Read More ›
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The Newnham Brothers: Pioneer brewers
By MICK ROBERTS © THE Newnhams were linked to arguably Australia’s most famous brewery, so a drunken church warden making a scene at one of the three brewers’ funeral in 1862, was a likely epitaph to their largely untold story…. Read More ›
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Hotel Dynasty: Sarah Lindsay and the Scarborough pub
By MICK ROBERTS © OFTEN overlooked in the pages of history, women played a pivotal role in the day to day functioning of Australian inns and hotels. The wives of pioneering publicans were often young and their duties were physically… Read More ›