By MICK ROBERTS © WHEN the first public railway in NSW was opened from Redfern to Parramatta in 1855, publican William Stone, to celebrate the occasion, advertised the sale of “buckets of rum for a penny”. Stone had recently opened… Read More ›
Sydney hotels
Identity of man found dead at North Sydney hotel remains mystery almost 60 years later
THE identity of a man found dead at North Sydney’s long-gone Rest Hotel has remained a mystery for almost 60 years. The man, who was staying at the hotel under the name of ‘K. Cox’, was found dead in the… Read More ›
Surry Hills’ notorious bloodhouse, the Sunbeam Hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © ALTHOUGH today you would be hard pressed to believe it, prior to gentrification, Surry Hills was home to some of Sydney’s toughest pubs. The pubs of the inner-Sydney suburb were haunts of the city’s shadiest characters… Read More ›
Against all odds: Despite an abusive husband, hotelier Margaret Radestock became a successful business woman
By MICK ROBERTS © DEFYING the odds, Margaret Tabitha Radestock was a successful hotelier, who despite an abusive husband, and antiquated licensing laws, became a wealthy and respected South Australian businesswoman. The daughter of German winemakers, Margaret, after almost 20… Read More ›
Fifth generation publican buys Newtown institution, Milton Hotel
SYDNEY publican William Ryan seems to have a penchant for historic, landmark inner-city hotels. Ryan has bought one of the oldest pubs in Newtown. He has taken the reins of the King Street institution, Kuleto’s Bar, sold by Donna Asensio late… Read More ›
The White Horses of Newtown & St Peters: Three pubs with a rich & sometimes dark history
By MICK ROBERTS © WHITE Horse Inn owner and coach operator, Jimmy Richardson reportedly faked a gold strike at Newtown during 1852, attracting hundreds of fortune-seekers to the sparsely settled township less than six kilometres from Sydney. Richardson’s coaching company… Read More ›
Changes afoot at one of Newtown’s oldest pubs: Looking back at the Milton Hotel
By MICK ROBERTS © WITH a few changes in the wind after the sale of Newtown’s Kuleto’s Bar to well-known Sydney publican, William Ryan, Time Gents takes a look back at the colourful history of one of the suburb’s oldest… Read More ›
Long awaited re-opening of Sydney’s Abercrombie Hotel: A 180 year history continues
By MICK ROBERTS © ON the eve of the long-awaited reopening of the Abercrombie Hotel on Sydney’s Broadway, Time Gents takes a look at its history, spanning back over 180 years as a much-loved Sydney watering hole. The hotel, located… Read More ›
The Plasto pubs: Four Sydney publican brothers, Frank, Bob, Reg and Len
By MICK ROBERTS © BESIDES boasting a large and profitable pub portfolio, the Plasto family were the darlings of Sydney’s social-set for over 40 years. During the 1930s through to the 1960s, the family were rarely out of the newspapers’… Read More ›