The presence of an old English pub in the dry, dusty goldfields of Western Australia, must have had a few inhabitants of Kalgoorlie scratching their heads when it first opened for business at the turn of last century. The Duke… Read More ›
Western Australia hotels
The beer drinking moths of Derby
LIFE is tough, mighty tough in Derby, in the far north-west of Western Australia. There the moths not only invade the bar and hamper people drinking, but also mop up the beer themselves. There’s not much to do in Derby… Read More ›
Thirsty gold mining district of Kalgoorlie had almost 100 pubs last century
LEGEND has it that at one time you couldn’t throw a stone in the Western Australian goldfield towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder without hitting a hotel. After the discovery of gold in 1893, pubs began springing-up all over the frontier… Read More ›
Shenton Park Hotel’s publican met a nasty death
THE publican of the Shenton Park Hotel met a painful death in 1928, after accidentally swallowing poison from a cup, left in the bathroom by his daughter for cleaning purposes. Veteran goldfields publican Jim Durkin drank the liquid version of… Read More ›
Dry old argument: Beer shortages forced Perth’s pubs to close before required time of 9pm
WHILE eastern states like NSW and Victoria endured 6pm closing of pubs last century, Western Australia’s later time of 9pm didn’t give drinkers too much advantage. With beer rationing or quotas introduced as a consequence of the war, Perth’s pubs… Read More ›
Court Hotel traded in outback gold mining town for just over 40 years
THIS grainy old image from a 1897 newspaper is the Court Hotel, which was established in what is now an abandoned gold mining town in Western Australia. Bulong was a bustling settlement located 580kms east of Perth in the Goldfields-Esperance… Read More ›
Drag show at Perth’s Adelphi Hotel raised money for needy children
YOU could be forgiven for thinking that this beaut newspaper photo shows one of Perth’s first drag shows. Well, if you thought so, you’re not too far wrong. In fact, headed, “Masculine Manneqins”, in the Daily News in July 1947,… Read More ›
The pubs of the old Western Australian gold mining town of Menzies
WHITE HOUSE HOTEL. The White House Hotel in Menzies was built by Mr F. Devas in 1895, and he conducted it for a short period. Mr Devas contracted a severe attack of typhoid, and to the extreme regret of his… Read More ›
Oroya Palace Hotel, Sandstone
THE THIRSTY GOLDFIELDS: The Oroya Palace Hotel at Sandstone in 1912. The proprietor, John McManaway, was an old Murchison identity. He is shown in the photograph standing on the curbing.– Western Mail (Perth WA) Thursday 17 June 1937 * The hotel was named after… Read More ›
Hannans’ Brewery, Kalgoorlie
The well-known Hannans’ Brewery has always had a reputation for producing a brew of undoubted quality, and ample evidence of the appreciation of the public is afforded in the amount of beer which is consumed daily. A visit to the… Read More ›