By MICK ROBERTS © NOT many pubs could claim a ‘king’ as their ‘yardman’. Broome’s Continental Hotel in the Kimberley region of Western Australia has that distinction. Aboriginal elder, ‘King Mackie’ was the ‘boots’ or ‘roustabout’ at the Continental Hotel… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © LITTERALLY sitting on the banks of the Parramatta River, the quaintly named Emu Hotel had gained a reputation as a disorderly house during the 1890s. The pub was frequented by inmates from the nearby benevolent asylums and… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © WHEN Adam ‘Jack’ Swale walked into the police station confessing to swindling the Tamarang Council while shire clerk in 1912, it ended the career of one of Quirindi’s best known citizens and most successful businessmen. Swale… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © FOLLOWING hot on the heels of the demolition of Parramatta’s historic Royal Oak Hotel, the NSW Government is about to rase another of Sydney’s landmark pubs in the name of public transport infrastructure. With much controversy… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © THE Queen’s Hotel, opposite the wharves on the Brisbane River, was a favourite haunt of sailors and men working on the docks. And, no wonder. The pub sat opposite a small reserve dominated by a wide-spreading… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © THERE were plenty of history, yarns, and characters to meet on our 145km road trip south from Cairns to Feluga. There was the pub in the sugarcane-fields at Garradunga, said to be haunted by Athol the… Read More ›
AS other countries cut their beer tax to help the hospitality industry recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, Australia’s tariff continues to rise twice a year. The UK Government has announced it will slash draught beer tax, whilst Australia surges up… Read More ›
By MICK ROBERTS © THE O’Hara family just couldn’t shake the legacy of their predecessors. Despite the Hides not building or hosting the landmark hotel at the corner of Lake and Shields Streets, in the far northern Queensland city of… Read More ›
A NATIONAL initiative to reward double-jabbed Australians with a free glass of beer when pub doors safely reopen has been announced by Furphy and parent-company Lion. As a way to boost jabs in arms throughout the country and in line… Read More ›
NEW research has revealed Australians did not “get on the beers” at home during the nation’s COVID-19 lockdowns despite the closure of licensed venues. On-premises alcohol consumption was prohibited in Australia in March following the closure of pubs, clubs, restaurants,… Read More ›