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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Road Trip: Pubs of Western Australia’s South-West and Wheatbelt Country
By MICK ROBERTS © THROUGH wheatbelt country, to the rugged, but beautiful south-west and Margaret River regions of Western Australia, our February 2025 road trip provided an opportunity to visit a selection of fascinating pubs, explore their history, and discover… Read More ›
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Exploring the Legacy of Aloomba Hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © UPDATE June 2025: We are saddened to learn of the passing of publican, Maxine Dragojlo at the age of 69 in June 2025. Our condolences to husband, Peter and family. UPDATE April 2026: After almost 38… Read More ›
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Exploring Australia’s Oldest Pubs: The 200 Club
WE realise Australia’s pubs have nothing on our British counterparts when it comes to age. However, the debate on Australia’s oldest pub never seems to end. While the discussion rages over Australia’s ‘longest continuously licensed’, ‘oldest pub building’ and the… Read More ›
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Ned Kelly and the Glenrowan Inn continues to be our overall top story
NED Kelly continues to fascinate our readers. The story of the Australian bushranger’s association with the Glenrowan Inn is our most popular story on the Time Gents website. We wind up another successful year with a look at our overall… Read More ›
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Update on historic Brisbane landmark, the Lord Stanley Hotel and its $15m overhaul
ONE of Brisbane’s most cherished historical landmarks, the Lord Stanley Hotel, is currently undergoing a $15 million transformative refurbishment that promises to restore the grandeur of this iconic venue. Originally built in 1889-90 by Walter Samuel Smith and designed by… Read More ›
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Marion ‘Bill’ Edwards was Australia’s first known transgender barman
By MICK ROBERTS © Bill Edwards was said to be “a shade too handsome for a barman”. Although reportedly skilled, quick, and obliging, with a joke for his customers, the barman’s small hands and feminine features sometimes raised curiosity. However,… Read More ›
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Adelaide pub drinkers’ response to plastic bib proposal – 1954
By MICK ROBERTS © A REPORTER braved the bars of South Australia’s capital to gauge the reaction from drinkers on a radical idea of providing ‘bibs’ to pub goers in 1954. The Adelaide News snapped Lionel Rogers (left) and Harry… Read More ›
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The Bush Inn and its publican’s lonely death in the Queensland outback
By MICK ROBERTS © PUBLICAN Tim Lorigan’s epitaph, carved into his tombstone, reveals in straight forward terms the goldfield publican’s untimely death. It simply reads: “Died in the bush, Queensland”. The publican’s lonely demise in outback Queensland in 1892 must… Read More ›
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The war years at Jack Ahern’s Hamilton Hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © WHEN Jack Ahern took the reins of his first pub at Hamilton, in what is today an affluent riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, he quickly put his stamp on the popular drinking hole. The Hamilton… Read More ›
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Bushrangers and desperadoes gathered at the Mahogany Creek inn
By MICK ROBERTS © FOR just over 40 years, bushrangers and desperadoes sheltered under the first incarnation of Mahogany Creek inn’s roof. There they gathered, drinking and yarning around its taproom fire place, joining with stockmen, timber-getters, bullockies, and more… Read More ›