Author Archives
A newspaper journalist, writer and local historian, Mick Roberts specialises in Australian cultural history, particularly associated with the Australian hotel and liquor industry. Mick has had an interest in revealing the colourful story of pubs, inns and associated industries in the Sydney and Illawarra regions of NSW for over 30 years. He is currently working on a comprehensive history of the hotel and liquor industry in the Illawarra region of NSW. Besides authoring a number of history books, Mick has owned and operated several community newspapers. He was one time editor of 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 Limted), Sydney based, City News, and is now with Torch Publications.
-
Feature pub: Former Aberdare Hotel, Weston, NSW
THE Aberdare Hotel at Weston, NSW, was built by Englishman, John Champion who came to Australia at the age of 21 in 1876. Champion was coal miner, who later went into business, hosting the Rose, Shamrock, and Thistle Hotel at… Read More ›
-
Feature pub: AB Hotel (Ancient Briton) Hotel, Glebe, NSW
Originally named the Ancient Briton, this Sydney hotel has served the local community since the 1860s. It remains trading at 225 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe. “From 1898 Tooths began its move to control the drink trade in Glebe and by… Read More ›
-
Tragic death of the founder of Prospect’s Royal Cricketers’ Arms
FORMER publican, Jim Manning had been missing for over 24 hours when his son discovered his blood saturated body in bushland in Sydney’s west in 1927. Jim’s death at the age of 73 was a tragic end to the life… Read More ›
-
The North Queensland pub named after the tragic death of Aboriginal woman, Kowaha
I SUPPOSE a pub named after a tragic event in Australian history, should share a few stories of misery alongside its tales of cheer. The Leap Hotel, located on the Bruce Highway, about 20 kilometres north-west of Mackay in north… Read More ›
-
Melbourne’s historic Mitre Tavern has served-up beer for over 150 years
YOU could be forgiven for thinking you are looking at an old English inn, and not an inner-city Melbourne pub when first setting eyes on the Mitre Tavern. Melbourne City Council documents it as its oldest building. Less than five… Read More ›
-
Pub compliance crackdown this Australia Day
Liquor & Gaming NSW inspectors will be active over the Australia Day weekend to check venues are complying with liquor laws and COVID public health orders. Liquor & Gaming NSW Director of Compliance, Dimitri Argeres, said inspectors will be out targeting… Read More ›
-
Road Trip: The pubs of far north Queensland’s back country
By MICK ROBERTS © THEY’RE a hardy bunch, those who call far north Queensland’s back country home. They have to be. It’s harsh country, as we discovered on our road trip to Chillagoe, 200km west of Cairns, late in 2020…. Read More ›
-
Two men killed and pubs destroyed during 1934 Kalgoorlie racial riots
AN outbreak of disorder and violence occurred in the Western Australian goldfield towns of Boulder and Kalgoorlie as a sequel to the death of an Australian born man after a quarrel with an Italian in January 1934. The mob looted… Read More ›
-
Constables caught-out having after-hour New Year’s Eve drinks at Erskineville’s Imperial Hotel
FOUR Sydney police constables were caught-out on New Year’s Eve 1930 when they called into an Erskineville pub for after hours’ celebratory drinks with the publican. Constables Robert Ramsay, Alfred Costello, William Mowbray and William Grover were each fined 10… Read More ›