By MICK ROBERTS © THE Harp Hotel was old Billy Fitzpatrick’s second home. The retired baker had been a ‘regular’ at the pub, in the Illawarra region of NSW, for 64 years when he was photographed enjoying a noggin of… Read More ›
Illawarra Hotels
Coal miners’ world beer drinking record: 15 men drink 600 gallons of beer in 15 days!
By MICK ROBERTS © A SOCIAL club, made-up of coal miners, caused quite a stir when they set-up camp at what they named “Froth Blowers Retreat” at Towradgi Beach, just north of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of NSW, for… Read More ›
Body of forward thinking hotelier exhumed after suspicious death
The death of pioneering publican Reg Tolley By MICK ROBERTS © THE suspicious death of a publican, who was pioneering improvements in the drinking habits of Australians, made headlines around the country in 1952 when detectives ordered the exhumation of… Read More ›
Man released from asylum after suffering ‘religious-mania’ ransacks Bulli pub
A MAN discharged from a ‘lunatic asylum’ in 1896 caused headlines when, armed with a knife, he ransacked the Star of the Sea Hotel at Bulli, south of Sydney. John Reynolds and his brother, William were sent to a lunatic… Read More ›
Two true tales of the Wollongong Hotel
A BEAUT yarn I recall about a long departed pub in Wollongong, south of Sydney, happened back in the 1980s during my employment with the now defunct Australian government telecommunications company, Telecom, as an assistance linesman. Basically, my job involved… Read More ›
The true tale of the ‘ghost’ of Bulli pub revealed in new book
EVERYONE loves a good ghost story – especially when it involves a pub. Bulli’s Heritage Hotel, on the NSW South Coast, has been ‘haunted’ by ‘Old Ted’, a former publican, for almost 90 years. Many a publican and resident of… Read More ›
Bellambi pub had its own private passenger train to take guests to beach
NOT many pubs can boast of their own private passenger train. Well, Bellambi Hotel on the NSW South Coast, can… The pub had its own train, which took guests to the beach. William Wilson, manager of the South Bulli Colliery… Read More ›
Bulli’s Railway Guest House to be restored and transformed
By MICK ROBERTS THE cellar’s sunk and the concrete slab laid in readiness for a new micro-brewery to be opened in a historic former guesthouse at Bulli on the NSW South Coast. While progress has been steady, the owners of… Read More ›
Wollongong’s hotel shortage: ‘Double banking’ and in some cases, beds have three shifts a day!
THE hotels in Wollongong, south of Sydney, went through a major transformation during the 1930s, following a population explosion after the establishment of Hoskins Iron and Steel Works at Port Kembla in 1927. The works, a few kilometres south of Wollongong,… Read More ›