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: Glenroy Hotel, Alexandria
By MICK ROBERTS © THERE’S a feeling of longevity, a sense of durability at the Glenroy Hotel. The Alexandria pub, in Sydney’ inner-southern suburbs, a stone’s throw from Redfern, has been quenching thirsts for as long as anybody cares to… Read More ›
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Road Trip: South-west Sydney’s Belfield Hotel
HANDS cupped, peering into the tinted windows of the Belfield Hotel, for a while I thought we had lost another of Sydney’s old pubs. The bar was empty, deserted, with chairs upturned on tables, there was no sign of life…. Read More ›
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Road Trip: A visit to the historic Maroubra Bay Hotel
LESS than 30 minutes south of Sydney you will find the historic former Maroubra Bay Hotel. We paid a visit to the beachside pub fondly known as ‘The Bay’ in January 2019, enjoying a feed and a couple of beers…. Read More ›
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Niagara Hotel, Niagara WA
THE township of Niagara was said to be unique in having four hotels, one on each corner of the crossroads, in the centre of the township. Niagara is an abandoned town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, between Kalgoorlie and Leonora, 12km southwest of Kookynie. The first pub… Read More ›
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The 20-Mile Hotel, Outback Qld
THIS grainy image of the Twenty-Mile Hotel, also known as the Half-Way House, being half-way between Aramac and Barcaldine in outback northern Queensland, was taken in 1911. At the time the pub was owned and hosted by Jack Richardson. Joe Kingston,… Read More ›
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Percy and the publican, piano and pub
World famous musician, Percy Grainger (B.1882 – D.1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist, who died in the United States of America. In the course of a long and innovative career, he played a prominent role in the revival of… Read More ›
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Portland road trip
By MICK ROBERTS © THERE’S a little country town in the NSW coalfields north-west of Lithgow that I reckon punches well above its weight. While many towns and villages struggle to survive in the mining settlements west of the Great… Read More ›
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Bundaberg Distillery fire turned the Burnett into a river of rum
DURING a fierce electrical storm in 1936 a lightning bolt sparked a fire that completely destroyed Queensland’s famous Bundaberg rum distillery. Half a million gallons of rum and 100,000 gallons of methylated spirits (a by-product of rum) stood in the… Read More ›
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Assembly Hotel traded for over 85 years at Hunter and Phillip Street, Sydney
The Assembly Hotel, at the corner of Hunter and Phillip Streets, Sydney, was famous for its teetotalling cockatoo in the 1940s. Smith, as he was known, was said to be a religious cocky, and always bowed its head when the… Read More ›
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Stockmen wrestled cow to the bar floor after it ran havoc at Rockhampton’s Oxford Hotel
THE Queensland city of Rockhampton is known as the beef capital of Australia. So when you’re in that neck of the woods, don’t be surprised to hear a few tales about their prized cattle. Like the time when three stockmen… Read More ›