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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Plaza Hotel, Sydney had the first fully automated glass washing machine in NSW
THE first automated glass-washing machine in New South Wales, and the second in Australia, was installed in the bar of the Plaza Hotel, above Wynyard Railway Station, George Street, Sydney in 1946. When Plaza Hotel manager, Alphonse Parer switched on… Read More ›
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Broadway Hotel’s ‘temporary bar’ served-up beer for almost five years at Kingaroy
THIS grand structure was branded Queensland’s strangest hotel in 1934. The “temporary bar”, served the licensing purposes of the Broadway Hotel, near Kingaroy, Queensland, after the original pub was destroyed by fire in 1932. While normally there’s a limited time for temporary… Read More ›
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Coal miners’ world beer drinking record: 15 men drink 600 gallons of beer in 15 days!
By MICK ROBERTS © A SOCIAL club, made-up of coal miners, caused quite a stir when they set-up camp at what they named “Froth Blowers Retreat” at Towradgi Beach, just north of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of NSW, for… Read More ›
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Body of forward thinking hotelier exhumed after suspicious death
The death of pioneering publican Reg Tolley By MICK ROBERTS © THE suspicious death of a publican – who at the time was making pioneering improvements in the way Australians were drinking in pubs – made headlines around the country… Read More ›
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Singing publican drops dead on stage
By MICK ROBERTS © THE Dapto Agricultural Hall had a ‘full house’ on the evening of Wednesday October 6 1897. The enthusiastic audience had gathered in the small rural community, located in the Illawarra region, about 100km south of Sydney,… Read More ›
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Roast beef, crisp brown spuds and a few ‘long-uns’ at the Cecil Inn
By MICK ROBERTS © IN a secluded, heavily timbered valley in the Victorian Highlands, about 20 km north-east of Morwell, once traded a small timber inn, famous for serving-up to its guests mouth-watering roast beef, crisp brown potatoes, and ‘long-uns’… Read More ›
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The pub on the edge of the Nullarbor: The Globe Hotel, Fowlers Bay
By MICK ROBERTS © NESTLED in the shadows of the ever-shifting sand dunes, on the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain, once traded a South Australian pub frequented by thirsty camel drivers, teamsters and merchant sailors. The Globe Hotel, Fowlers… Read More ›
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Roll-up, roll-up, a pub once owned by the circus: Ballina’s Occidental Hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © SOME would describe rowdy nights at the pub – especially towards ‘last drinks’ – as a bit of a circus. So, it seems kind-of appropriate the matriarch of the famous Perry Brothers Circus, Mary Ellen Perry,… Read More ›
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Outback sands reclaim ‘The Beer With No Pub’, at Yanco Glen
By MICK ROBERTS © SADLY the striking red sands and hardy outback desert shrubs have reclaimed where once the Yanco Glen Hotel served-up icey cold beers to weary travellers. Made nationally famous by the iconic promotional photograph of legendary country… Read More ›
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The story of Ann Jones, Ned Kelly and the Glenrowan Inn
By MICK ROBERTS © THE Glenrowan Inn where the bushranger Ned Kelly’s ‘last stand’ took place in 1880 is arguably Australia’s most infamous pub. While the history of bushranger Ned Kelly is well documented, the story of the Glenrowan Inn… Read More ›