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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Crown Hotel gas explosion killed Surry Hills’ newspaper vendor
By MICK ROBERTS © FATE dealt an elderly pensioner a cruel and fatal blow outside a Sydney pub just three days before Christmas, 1948. Like today, Surry Hills at the corner of Crown and Cleveland Streets, outside the Crown Hotel,… Read More ›
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Discover the Royal Hotel Singleton: A historic family pub
LOCATED in the NSW Hunter Valley, the Royal Hotel at Singleton, is one of the region’s oldest pubs, established in 1859, and offering hospitality for over 165 years. Today the pub provides bistro dining, a large beer garden, motel rooms,… Read More ›
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Fred Klauer, musician, digger, raconteur and publican
The following first-hand account from a famous, well-known Adelaide publican, Frederick William Augustus Klauer, was published in the South Australian publication, Quiz and the Lantern, on 17 February 1898. It’s a fascination look into the life of a German immigrant,… Read More ›
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A Christmas Eve encounter: Hope in the outback
By J. H. HEATHCOTE IN the cool of the evening of December 24 a poorly-clad woman could be seen pushing a home-made cart along the one and only street in a certain far-western township. In the cart was a young… Read More ›
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Unravelling St Kilda Hotel’s legacy in Armidale
By MICK ROBERTS © Ever wondered why there’s a pub Armidale, a city located in the New England region of northern NSW, named the St Kilda Hotel? We did, so we did a little research. The St Kilda Hotel was opened… Read More ›
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Controversy surrounded opening of Whitfield’s Thirroul pub
By MICK ROBERTS © REGULARS at Thirroul’s Ryan’s Hotel can thank pioneer baker George Whitford for his persistence in establishing their local watering hole. Whitford was determined to have his bakery opened as the village’s first pub, trying for almost… Read More ›
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The haunting history of Bald Nob’s Junction Hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © A NEGLECTED, ramshackle survivor from our pioneering past, the old Bald Nob inn possesses all the ingredients to conjure up tales of troubled spirits with unfinished business. Under its roof, fortunes were lost and life’s ruined…. Read More ›
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Exploring the legacy of Halfway House Antill Ponds
By MICK ROBERTS © ONLY ruins remain of a well-known Tasmanian landmark on the road between Hobart and Launceston. The Halfway House at Antill Ponds was a two-storey stone hotel, which serviced travellers and residents with accommodation, meals and liquor… Read More ›
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The mystery of E. Wells: A HMAS Sydney survivor?
ABLE seaman E. Wells was featured in this fantastic image published in the Sydney Daily Telegraph on 11 February 1941. The previous day, Wells had disembarked the HMAS Sydney and was enjoying “a long drink of Sydney beer – his… Read More ›
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The true story behind Tooheys’ brewery blacksmith icon
LIKE Victoria’s Sam Knott, who proclaimed ‘I allus has wan at eleven’, NSW also had a famous brewery pin-up-boy by the name of Sam. He was well-known for most of the first half of last century. Although, there’s some debate… Read More ›