By MICK ROBERTS © THE workers camps that sprang up for the men building the government railway south of Sydney during the mid to late 1880s became notorious for their violence and heavy drinking. The camps, which also included men… Read More ›
Illawarra Hotels
The tragic tale of Sam Russell and his Sydney and Wollongong pubs
By MICK ROBERTS © SAM Russell just wasn’t cut out to be a businessman. To be fair, he had to struggle through the economic depression of the 1840s, but the fact remains Lady Luck just wasn’t on the merchant’s side… Read More ›
The North Gong Pub: From wayside inn to imposing tourist hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © ALTHOUGH the North Wollongong Hotel has changed considerably in appearance since German immigrant, Theodore Bode opened his little wayside inn on the site in 1878 its principal purpose of providing hospitality remains unchanged. Now a favourite… Read More ›
The Urwins, pub managers: Headlands Hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © IN the days when the two big breweries ruled the liquor industry, owning most of New South Wales’ hotels, and ‘tying’ clubs and pubs to exclusive beer sales, Bob and Lurline Urwin made quite a name… Read More ›
The temperance movement: Richard Crabb the controversial anti-liquor lecturer
By MICK ROBERTS © THEY travelled the country preaching the evils of drink; colourful characters with the gift of the gab and often with a tale of their remarkable transformation from drunkard to teetotaller – they were the temperance lecturers…. Read More ›
The Newnham Brothers: Pioneer brewers
By MICK ROBERTS © THE Newnhams were linked to arguably Australia’s most famous brewery, so a drunken church warden making a scene at one of the three brewers’ funeral in 1862, was a likely epitaph to their largely untold story…. Read More ›
Hotel Dynasty: Sarah Lindsay and the Scarborough pub
By MICK ROBERTS © OFTEN overlooked in the pages of history, women played a pivotal role in the day to day functioning of Australian inns and hotels. The wives of pioneering publicans were often young and their duties were physically… Read More ›
Resurrection of Clifton’s lost pub: return of the Imperial
By MICK ROBERTS © We were invited to a ‘meet and greet’ at a derelict looking pub at Clifton, on the NSW South Coast in 2015 to hear plans for its restoration and transformation into an eatery and function centre…. Read More ›
Old Ted: The ghost of Bulli pub
By MICK ROBERTS © MISSING trays of glassware and boxes of spirits, mysteriously turning-up later, cutlery re-arranged in the dining room, locked doors found wide open, eerie taps on the shoulder, and weird sounds throughout the middle of the night,… Read More ›
Bellambi’s ‘other hotel’ was a harbourside pub frequented by hard-drinking waterside workers and sailors
By MICK ROBERTS © WHILE many who call Bellambi home know of their historic watering hole by the railway station, some may be surprised to learn of their first pub, down by the sea. Today’s Bellambi Hotel – opened in… Read More ›