Drunk again, eh sarge? Ex-Police Sergeant Alfred Bee, of St. John’s Home, Toowong, used to be paid to get drunk one day a week. Each Sunday, he used to stagger from one Brisbane hotel to another until he had to… Read More ›
Queensland hotels
Surfers Paradise Hotel, Southport
LARGE HOTEL DESTROYED Damage Estimated at £30,000 PRIVATEL ZOO SAVED. Brisbane, Monday: The well known Surfers Paradise Hotel near Southport was destroyed by fire early this morning. The hotel was destroyed, with the exception of a number of detached living cabins and a comprehensive private zoo. The damage is… Read More ›
Gin Gin Hotel
THE best example of community spirit and good fellowship is in a little Queensland township named Gin Gin. There are three hotels, and three nights per week the drinking section of the community visited each one of these hotels in… Read More ›
Marlborough Hotel, Marlborough
THE little lady schoolteacher was positively outraged by the swearing at the pub (though she did admit that “bull” was allowable, this being the heart of Brahmin country). So she put a large bottle on the bar: “SWEAR BOTTLE, IN… Read More ›
White Horse Hotel, Charters Towers
NORM Kelly (pictured) knew there was tin in that hill; he knew it deep in his heart. But he was out prospecting with his uncle, who was the boss, and he said, “No.” So they went fossicking somewhere else. Then… Read More ›
You’re terrible Muriel
By John Larkins* The wind howled its lament across the drought country, through the gasping trees beside the track, and raised a flurry of dust from a road cracked like the lips of a man lost in the blazing desert…. Read More ›
Brisbane brewery strike
QUEENSLANDERS are a loyal lot when it comes to beer. They love their XXXX and it can take a lot for the northerners to be tempted to tipple southern brews. But desperate times, can force desperate measures. A strike by… Read More ›
The Dog & Vomit, Adavale
WHILE the Brits have their “Dog and Whistles”, here in Australia we once had a pub known as the “Dog and Vomit”. Albeit unlicensed, the Dog and Vomit, was a shanty pub near the outback township of Adavale. It traded… Read More ›
Waterloo Hotel, Fortitude Valley
MET ITS WATERLOO After yesterday’s heavy rain this taxi-cab skidded on the wet bitumen, got out of control, and crashed into an awning post of tho Waterloo Hotel, Valley, where another cab earlier in the day had been involved in a similar accident…. Read More ›
Imperial Hotel, Innisfail
‘Mr White’ the croc hunter THE Imperial Hotel at Innisfail in far northern Queensland sat across the road from the Johnstone River, a notorious waterway known for crocodiles. The large timber two-storey hotel was the preferred accommodation for game hunters… Read More ›