Author Archives
A journalist, writer and historian, Mick Roberts specialises in Australian cultural history, particularly associated with the Australian pubs. Mick has had an interest in revealing the colourful story of Australian hotels or pubs and associated industries for over 30 years. Besides writing a number of history books, Mick has managed several community newspapers. Now semi-retired, he has edited 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 worked for Rural Press, Cumberland (News Limited), City Hub Sydney (City News), and Torch Publications (based in Canterbury Bankstown, Sydney).
-
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 ›
-
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 ›
-
Resurrection of Clifton’s lost pub: return of the Imperial
By MICK ROBERTS © We were invited to a ‘meet and greet’ at a derelict looking pub at Clifton, on the NSW South Coast in 2015 to hear plans for its restoration and transformation into an eatery and function centre…. Read More ›
-
Old Ted: The ghost of Bulli pub
By MICK ROBERTS © MISSING trays of glassware and boxes of spirits, mysteriously turning-up later, cutlery re-arranged in the dining room, locked doors found wide open, eerie taps on the shoulder, and weird sounds throughout the middle of the night,… Read More ›
-
Bellambi’s ‘other hotel’ was a harbourside pub frequented by hard-drinking waterside workers and sailors
By MICK ROBERTS © WHILE many who call Bellambi home know of their historic watering hole by the railway station, some may be surprised to learn of their first pub, down by the sea. Today’s Bellambi Hotel – opened in… Read More ›
-
Parramatta Road’s Bald Faced Stag
By MICK ROBERTS © SEVEN kilometres from the heart of Sydney, along the Parramatta Road at Leichhardt, is one of the city’s oldest trading pubs. Although built in 1926, the Bald Faced Stag Hotel has served up beer under several names… Read More ›
-
Kent brewer, Henry Heathorne was called to save Jamberoo’s ailing Woodstock from failure
By MICK ROBERTS © WHEN 52-year-old Henry Heathorne arrived alone in Sydney from Portsmouth on the ship Candahar in the winter of 1842, he had a tough job ahead of him. A Kent brewer, Heathorne had been called upon by… Read More ›