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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An old English pub in the Australian outback: The Duke of Cornwall Hotel, Kalgoorlie
The presence of an old English pub in the dry, dusty goldfields of Western Australia, must have had a few inhabitants of Kalgoorlie scratching their heads when it first opened for business at the turn of last century. The Duke… Read More ›
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The pub that Edmund Resch built: Imperial Hotel, Paddington
The landmark Sydney pub, the Imperial, at the corner of Oxford and Underwood Streets, Paddington was established by Henry Challener in 1874. Originally known as the Cross Guns Hotel, the name was changed to the Imperial in 1891. Edmund Resch,… Read More ›
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Murder outside Paddington pub: Smoking gun placed on the bar of Rose & Crown Hotel
THE son of Paddington publican, Joe Ryan was preparing the Rose and Crown Hotel for another day’s trading in the Spring of 1952 when one of his regular customers calmly walked into the bar, and placed a smoking gun on… Read More ›
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Randwick’s Royal Hotel and its association with the sport of kings
MENTION Randwick, and horse racing immediately springs to mind. Besides the historic horse racing track known as Royal Randwick, there’s another landmark in Sydney’s east that holds the same regal title, and has held an association with nobility for more… Read More ›
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Mysterious death at Temora’s Federal Hotel
Mysterious death at the Federal A POST mortem failed to reveal the cause of death of 48-year-old Henry Murphy, who was found dead in a bedroom at the Federal Hotel, Temora in September 1948. A broken drinking glass and a wrapper of… Read More ›
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Explosion kills boarder at Nowra’s Empire Hotel
A TERRIFIC explosion shook Nowra’s Empire Hotel in the early hours of a spring morning in 1930 killing an occupant in one of its upstair’s bedrooms. Now trading as the Australian Hotel, at the corner of Kinghorne and North Streets,… Read More ›
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Established in 1885, the Royal Hotel at Guyra settles into its third home
Located midway between Armidale and Glen Innes, in the New England region of NSW, trades the Royal Hotel at Guyra. The Royal had a bit of a bumpy start to its 130 year history, with the license transferred from two… Read More ›
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Captain Cook Hotel’s old clock called time for almost a half century at Miller’s Point, Sydney
A grand-old wall clock that hung in the bar of the Captain Cook Hotel at Miller’s Point, Sydney, ticked away for almost half a century, reported the Daily Standard newspaper on April 27, 1933. While the Captain Cook Hotel continues… Read More ›
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How Sydney Drinks: Amateur barmaid reporter goes behind the bar for hotel story
The above image was captured by Sydney photographer, Phil Ward at the Hotel Bondi in 1951. Although at first glance it would seem the photo was taken before closing, during the old “six o’clock swill”, it was in fact taken… Read More ›
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Grog, only escape from nagging wife
OH, how times have changed! Can you imagine a story like the following published in the media today? A Daily Telegraph reporter hit the streets of Sydney in 1954 to undertake a ‘vox-pop’ with male drinkers in an Elizabeth Street… Read More ›