YOU can see Sydney’s only religious cockatoo any time in the saloon bar of the Assembly Hotel, Phillip-street. The cockatoo, called Smith, lives there, but he — Refuses alcohol of any kind, and cannot be tricked. He is shown turning… Read More ›
Sydney hotels
Pubs also defied government health orders during 1919 Spanish influenza pandemic
THE 2020/21 Covid-19 pandemic is not the first time an infectious disease has forced the closure of Australian pubs. Between January and September 1919, pneumonic influenza, commonly known as the ‘Spanish Flu’, killed 6,387 people in NSW, infecting as many… Read More ›
Plaza Hotel, Sydney had the first fully automated glass washing machine in NSW
THE first automated glass-washing machine in New South Wales, and the second in Australia, was installed in the bar of the Plaza Hotel, above Wynyard Railway Station, George Street, Sydney in 1946. When Plaza Hotel manager, Alphonse Parer switched on… Read More ›
Singing publican drops dead on stage
By MICK ROBERTS © THE Dapto Agricultural Hall had a ‘full house’ on the evening of Wednesday October 6 1897. The enthusiastic audience had gathered in the small rural community, located in the Illawarra region, about 100km south of Sydney,… Read More ›
Evolution of the Australian beer glass
From pint and long sleever, to pot, middy and schooner By MICK ROBERTS © THE ‘long sleever’ was an impressive looking beer glass that stood 45cm high and held an Imperial pint, or 20 fluid ounces. In colonial times, when… Read More ›
Before pokies and tellies, talented pets were popular pub attractions
WAY before pokies and television screens, pubs had to find other means to attract and entertain customers to their bars. Pets of various descriptions were often used to draw custom, and occasionally the talented animals and the the pubs they… Read More ›
Sydney’s blind publican, John Wall had no problem tapping his own kegs
By MICK ROBERTS © WHEN returned serviceman John William Wall applied to become a publican, the Licensing Magistrate had some misgivings, doubting his ability to manage a hotel. Wall, 42, was legally blind, and the magistrate was unsure the AIF… Read More ›
Dind’s Hotel, Milson’s Point
Theatrics, drama and drinking at colonial inn By MICK ROBERTS © AMID the clanging of pewter mugs, narrating of bawdy poetry, raucous sing-a-longs, and of course, the ale induced bellowing of theatrical recitals, stood Sydney innkeeper, William ‘Bill’ Dind. Dind… Read More ›
Albury Hotel, Paddington
DRANK AT LEISURE COMFORT: To celebrate the New Year these men set up their own beer garden outside the old Albury Hotel, which is being demolished under the Oxford Street widening scheme. The hotel is on a boundary. Half the… Read More ›
