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).
-
Emu Hotel, Parramatta
WITH HIS THROAT CUT. Sydney, Tuesday. An old age pensioner named James Lawson was found today in a stable at the Emu Hotel, Parramatta, with his throat cut. He had been seeking admission to the asylum. He is in a critical… Read More ›
-
War time glass deposit
One Shilling deposit is demanded on these glasses being handed to beer drinkers in a Townsville hotel. No beer is served until all glasses are issued. If glass is chipped or broken drinker forfeits the shilling. – The Sun (Sydney, NSW)… Read More ›
-
The publican who turned back time: Launceston’s National Hotel
The publican who tampered with time By MICK ROBERTS © NEXT time you stay to stumps at your local pub, don’t always trust that clock behind the bar when you’re told to drink-up – it may be a little fast…. Read More ›
-
The North Perth Hotel: 1880s-1994
Christmas Beer Lost! Fifteen dozen of beer were smashed beyond all recovery in the backyard of the North Perth Hotel today, but an S.O.S. soon made good the loss in stock. A malevolent ‘dry’ well did the damage. The accident… Read More ›
-
Man falls 18 metres to his death at Sydney’s Durban Club Hotel
Tragedy struck the long-gone Durban Club Hotel in 1950 when a man fell 18 metres to his death from a window of the inner-city Sydney pub. Located on the south-west corner of Hunter and Elizabeth Streets, the Durban Hotel was… Read More ›
-
Happy Days
“Here’s luck and a happy return!” New Zealand Diggers swap yarns and drinks to-day with three barmaids at an hotel near their transports. The New Zealanders return on Thursday and they are determined to carry back a full store of… Read More ›
-
Haunted suicide room left its mark on Hillgrove’s Sydney Hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © DESPITE every effort to have it removed, a stubborn, mysterious stain was said to have persisted on the glass of a window of a pub in an old gold mining town on the northern tablelands of… Read More ›
-
Body of feared bushranger, Joe Governor was laid-out on the dining table of Singleton’s Caledonian Hotel
WHEN the body of bushranger Joe Governor was laid out on a table of Singleton’s Caledonian Hotel several hundred curious people gathered to gaze at his corpse. Crowds prevented from entering the pub by police gathered around the windows of… Read More ›
-
Grand Hotel, Temora
The Grand Hotel: “a combination of beauty, compactness and comfort” THE Grand Hotel, Temora (NSW) was built and opened by local publican, William Kenny, who had operated the Terminus Hotel on the opposite corner. Kenny first applied to have the… Read More ›
-
Gulgong’s Prince of Wales Hotel once had a bark roof and its rooms were divided by bag lining
LOCATED in the heart of historic Gulgong within the beautiful Mudgee wine region, the Prince of Wales Hotel has been welcoming guests since 1872. Classically country and a little quirky, the pub delivers on all levels. Offering food, award-winning accommodation,… Read More ›