The death of pioneering publican Reg Tolley By MICK ROBERTS © THE suspicious death of a publican – who at the time was making pioneering improvements in the way Australians were drinking in pubs – made headlines around the country… Read More ›
Illawarra Hotels
Knife wielding ‘lunatic’, suffering from ‘religious-mania’, ransacked Bulli pub
By MICK ROBERTS © A MAN discharged from a lunatic asylum caused headlines around the country when armed with a knife, he ransacked the Star of the Sea Hotel at Bulli, south of Sydney, in 1896. John Reynolds and his… Read More ›
Two true tales from the bar of the long-gone Wollongong Hotel
A BEAUT yarn I recall about a long departed Wollongong pub happened back in the early 1980s during my employment with the now defunct Australian government telecommunications company, Telecom. Basically, my job as an assistant linesman involved helping repair and… 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 ›
Just a taste for 15 thirsty miners
Read the Time Gents’ story of the Save Yourself Club: Coal miners’ world beer drinking record: 15 men drink 600 gallons of beer in 15 days! 480 GALLONS OF BEER IN 12 DAYS WOLLONGONG, Monday: The 15 Corrimal miners who are trying… Read More ›
Three men slept in shifts in one bed over 24 hours! Wollongong’s hotel bed shortages
THE population of the Wollongong region exploded after Charles Hoskins entered into an agreement with the NSW Government to build a steelworks at Port Kembla in 1927. In 1936, BHP acquired Australian Iron and Steel Limited and production at Port Kembla increased rapidly… Read More ›
The Waterhouse family and Fairy Meadow’s Charles Hotel
THE misfortunes of a landmark pub in a town on the central-western plains of NSW enabled the Charles Hotel at Fairy Meadow to open for business on September 15 1955. The Charles was built and established by the Waterhouse family, well-known… Read More ›