HANDS cupped, peering into the tinted windows of the Belfield Hotel, for a while I thought we had lost another of Sydney’s old pubs. The bar was empty, deserted, with chairs upturned on tables, there was no sign of life…. Read More ›
Sydney hotels
Road Trip: A visit to the historic Maroubra Bay Hotel
LESS than 30 minutes south of Sydney you will find the historic former Maroubra Bay Hotel. We paid a visit to the beachside pub fondly known as ‘The Bay’ in January 2019, enjoying a feed and a couple of beers…. Read More ›
Assembly Hotel traded for over 85 years at Hunter and Phillip Street, Sydney
The Assembly Hotel, at the corner of Hunter and Phillip Streets, Sydney, was famous for its teetotalling cockatoo in the 1940s. Smith, as he was known, was said to be a religious cocky, and always bowed its head when the… Read More ›
War-time beer rationing and a thirsty Australia
DURING World War II limits were placed on beer production in Australia, requiring breweries to reduce their output by two-thirds. Rationing of beer came into force in March 1942, and by January 1943, newspapers were reporting 75 per cent of… Read More ›
Boozing budgie had top billing at Sydney’s Star Hotel in the 1950s
DURING the 1950s, Sydney’s Star Hotel became known for its boozing budgie, Peter. The long-gone Star was located at the corner of Dalley and George Streets near Circular Quay, in Sydney’s CBD. The pub, which was tied to Toohey’s brewery,… Read More ›
Glass thieves ‘worse than a louse’ at the London Tavern, Redfern
The London Tavern in Sydney’s south was built by Robert Montgomery in 1921. However, before the pub opened for business at 103 Regent Street, Redfern, Montgomery had died, and the freehold was quickly snapped-up from his estate by brewery and… Read More ›
Mystery sword discovered in the basement of Sydney’s Royal Hotel
Sword discovery in the hotel basement WHEN the old Royal Hotel in George Street Sydney was demolished and preparation began on a replacement building in 1928, workers found an old sword in a brick pit in its basement. The old… Read More ›
The old Palace has been serving-up beer in Sydney for over 150 years: Local Taphouse, Darlinghurst
Palace Hotel, Darlinghurst By MICK ROBERTS © THE Palace Hotel was first licensed in December 1878. Currently a craft beer pub, specialising in Australian brews, the former Palace Hotel, at the corner of Flinders Street and South Dowling Road at… Read More ›
When did Chippendale’s Rose Hotel lose her ‘native title’?
A GRAND old pub, trading for more than a century in Sydney’s inner-west, has sadly lost her ‘native title’ in recent years. When I called into the Rose Hotel on busy Cleveland Street for a Sunday beer, there wasn’t a… Read More ›
Redfern’s City View Hotel traded for 88 years before its closure in 1965
THE former City View Hotel sits on the corner of Vine Street and Abercrombie Street, opposite the Eveleigh Hotel, in Sydney’s inner-south. The City View was established by John Walsh in 1877 and it traded for 88 years before Tooth… Read More ›