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.

• Lennox Hotel, Parramatta

  By Mick Roberts on October 29, 2018 • ( 0 )

  

  THE Lennox Hotel was located on the south west corner of George and Smith Streets Parramatta, NSW. The pub opened as a Tooheys tied house in October 1958 and traded for less than 30 years before it was closed in… Read More ›

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• Tattersall’s Hotel, Parramatta

  By Mick Roberts on October 28, 2018 • ( 0 )

  

  By MICK ROBERTS © MARGARET Creasey must have been weary of banks. Twice, banks purchased her pubs at Parramatta, and moved her from successful operating businesses over her 26 year career as a hotelier. Margaret, along with her husband John, established… Read More ›

• Praire Hotel, Praire

  By Mick Roberts on October 24, 2018 • ( 0 )

  

  “What are ya lookin’ so upset about, mate?” “Oh, we’ve been stuck in the mud out west for about 15 hours.” “Could’ve been worse.” “How?” “You could’ve been stuck there the rest of ya life.” “Suppose you’re right.” If you… Read More ›

• Kogarah Hotel, Kogarah

  By Mick Roberts on October 21, 2018 • ( 0 )

  

  By MICK ROBERTS © THE Asian belief of Karma, a spiritual notion where intent and actions influence the future, played an interesting role in the story of a former Kogarah pub. The Kogarah Hotel, at the southern corner of the Prince’s… Read More ›

• The Golden Grove Hotel, Darlington

  By Mick Roberts on October 17, 2018 • ( 0 )

  

  THE Golden Grove Hotel sat on the corner of Alma and Raglan Streets at Darlington, Sydney. The pub was established in 1880 and traded for 74 years before its license was transfered to Maroubra on October 22 1954 to make… Read More ›

• The many faces of the Glasgow Arms

  By Mick Roberts on October 16, 2018 • ( 2 )

  

  Sadly the beer at the Glasgow Arms, at the corner of Young and Cowper Streets, Carrington (NSW) flows no more. The Glasgow Arms was built in 1939, replacing an older pub next door. Although long closed, its striking yellow tiles… Read More ›

• Birth of the middy glass

  By Mick Roberts on October 14, 2018 • ( 1 )

  

  By MICK ROBERTS © IN Sydney it’s called a middy, while in Melbourne or Brisbane, a 10 ounce glass of beer is dubbed a pot. The 10 ounce glass has been a popular beer vessel in Australian pubs for over a… Read More ›

• Hotel Canberra, Paddington

  By Mick Roberts on October 12, 2018 • ( 0 )

  

  By MICK ROBERTS © LIKE footballers, it seemed it was once a right of passage for boxers to turn their hand to a pub career after retiring from their sport. One pugilist who swapped his gloves for a publican apron was… Read More ›

• Dee Why Hotel, Dee Why

  By Mick Roberts on October 10, 2018 • ( 0 )

  

  Last Boxing Day was not a happy one for mine host, Nev Tipping, of the Dee Why Hotel, Sydney. And yet it should have been. He had plenty of beer, a great number of customers, excellent drinking weather, and 2,000… Read More ›

• Strategic beer break

  By Mick Roberts on October 6, 2018 • ( 0 )

  

  The annual AIF tourney was played at Kooyonga Golf Club, in Adelaide’s west during the 1950s. Players set out fortified by a rum and milk and during the round refreshed themselves from a keg of beer set up in a… Read More ›