In 1869 Thomas Adam purchased from the government 54 acres of land south of the road running between New Lambton and Merewether. He soon resold the land to Thomas and Henry Bryant, who in 1870 submitted a plan for a 190-lot subdivision named “Adamstown”, including streets named “Thomas”, “Henry” and “Bryant”.
Matching the usual pattern of emerging mining communities, one of the first blocks of land sold was for a hotel. In June 1874 Edward Reay purchased the north-west corner of Union Street (Brunker Road today) and Victoria Street. In September 1874, 150 years ago this month, Reay obtained a publican’s licence and opened the “Adamstown Hotel”. Just two months later Adamstown’s second hotel opened across the road, and in 1902 the town reached its peak of four hotels, a notably abstemious total compared to neighbouring suburbs.
In 1905 when John Court was the licensee, Tooheys Limited bought the hotel. They demolished the original building and erected in its place a modern brick structure at a cost of £2200. After the hotel re-opened in November 1906, the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate noted that “the design of the hotel is entirely different to the usual run of these buildings, there being no colonnade or balcony over the footpath, but in place of them there are large verandah and balcony arcades in the central part of the main front.” Ralph Snowball photographed the crisp new building one week after its formal re-opening. However, this second incarnation of the hotel did not last long. In 1927 increased motor traffic necessitated widening of the main road. All the properties on the west side of Union Street including the Adamstown Hotel, had eighteen feet shaved off their front, and required major renovations and rebuilding. Two more alterations were to affect the hotel. In 1947 its address ‘changed’ when Union Street was renamed Brunker Road, and then in the 1980s the pub’s name changed to the “Nags Head Hotel”.
Court’s Adamstown Hotel, Adamstown, NSW, 26 November 1906. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living HistoriesThe Nags Head Hotel in Adamstown marks 150 years of operation in September 2024.
The article above was first published in the September 2024 edition of The Local.
Additional Information
The original building
Lot 5 of Section 15 of DP60, purchased by Edward Reay in June 1874. Vol-Fol 189-153.Water Board map overlaid into Google Earth, showing location of Adamstown Hotel, and the Royal Hotel. Newcastle University, Living Histories.
The 1906 Building
The new Adamstown Hotel, erected for Toohey’s, Limited, contains 20 large rooms, bar, parlours, dining, billiard, lodge, and bed rooms, cellar, bathrooms, etc., providing every convenience necessary for the working of a modern hotel. The buildings throughout are of brick on concrete foundations, and no wood partitions are used in any part. All the public, rooms are on the ground floor, from which a bold and handsome stairs leads to the upper, floor, on which the bedrooms, parlour, lodge, and bath rooms are placed. Separate access is given to each room from corridors or passages. The ceilings and cornices of ground-floor rooms are of stamped steel from the Wunderlich Co. The design of the hotel is entirely different to the usual run of these buildings, there being no colonnade or balcony over the footpath, but in place of them there are large verandah and balcony arcades in the central part of the main front to Victoria-street. The building, being on a corner block, at the intersection of Union-street and Victoria-street, has two fronts. the design for which has been well thought out architecturally, and it has, with its bands, tuck-pointed front, bold block cornices, pediments, finials, and central arcade treatment an imposing effect. Mr. Thomas W. Silk, of Bolton-street, Newcastle, was the architect, and Mr. B. G. Pearce, of Hamilton, the builder.
Advertisement for newly re-opened Adamstown Hotel. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 1 December 1906.
The Nags Head Hotel
I have not been able to find concrete evidence of exactly when the hotel’s name changed to The Nags Head. It was still called the Adamstown Hotel in 1977. Page 8 of Ed Tonks’ book “No Bar To Time” says that “reportedly the name change to Nags Head occurred during 1989.”
The August 1894 article states that the transfer was to John Reay, but that is probably an error. John Reay was in Africa from 1893, and the 1895 gazette shows the licensee to be Edward Reay.
"At the police court, Newcastle, on Wednesday, a publican's license was granted to Mr. Edward Reay, on the application of Mr. C.W. Rendett, solicitor, for an hotel he is about starting at Adamstown."
"The Adamstown Hotel, erected over 33 years ago by Mr. Edward Reay, and purchased recently by Toohey and Co., is being demolished to make room for a modern and up-to-date building. The hotel was the first erected in the locality."
"The new hotel, erected by Toohey and Co., on the site of the old Adamstown Hotel, is drawing near completion. The building is of a substantial character and design, and is a striking contrast compared with the buildings in Union street. The new hotel will be completed early next month, and the cost exceeds
£2000. The structure contains 22 rooms."
"A free smoke concert to commemorate the completion and opening of the Adamstown Hotel took place in the new building on Monday last. Mr. John Sheedy presided over a fair attendance, and several toasts and complimentary speeches followed. The hotel was erected by Toohey, Limited, at a cost of £2200,
and is of an attractive appearance."
"The new Adamstown Hotel, erected for Toohey's, Limited, contains 20 large rooms, bar, parlours, dining, billiard, lodge, and bed rooms, cellar, bathrooms, etc., providing every convenience necessary for the working of a modern hotel."
"Mr. Edward Reay, one of the first to settle in Adamstown, died at the residence of his grandson, Mr. J. Court, in Sydney, on Tuesday. His funeral took place yesterday. Mr. Reay built the Adamstown Hotel, the first in the locality, about 45 years ago. He was 78 years of age."
"John Albert Dalton was given permission to make material alterations to the Adamstown Hotel, Adamstown. Mr. J. Griffiths appeared for the applicant. The police reported that, due to the Main Roads Board wanting to widen the street, the hotel, among other buildings, would have to be moved back. This would mean that practically a new building would be erected, which would greatly improve the locality. Twelve months was allowed in which to complete the building."
"Proposed alterations to the Adamstown Hotel, Adamstown, estimated to cost £3000, were approved. Mr. A. Nathan, supporting the application, said the alterations would include a portion of the building previously excluded from the premises. The work is to be completed within nine months."
The first hotel in Lambton opened in 1864 just months after the establishment of the colliery and township. Within a decade another six hotels had opened.
In 1873 Alexander Smith purchased a block of land on the corner of Morehead and Dickson Streets and called for tenders for the erection of a large public house. Construction commenced in January 1874 of a building with a Gothic style front, 60 feet by 25 feet and including a large billiard-room anticipated to be “one of the finest in the district.” The new hotel commenced trading on Saturday 20 June 1874, and the following week on 29 June Mr and Mrs Smith held a celebration to formally christen the hotel the Marquis of Lorne, named after the British nobleman John Douglas Sutherland Campbell who held that title, and later became Governor General of Canada.
In Lambton, other new hotels opened and in 1881 the town reached a peak of 16 hotels operating at the same time. The Marquis of Lorne had many publicans in its early years, two of whom tried to move the license to a different location. Richard Ward attempted a move to Elder St in 1880, and John Quinlivan attempted a move to Robert St Jesmond in 1929, with the licensing authority rejecting the application on both occasions.
In 1930 the hotel had a subtle change in name to the apostrophised Marquis O’ Lorne. Also in 1930, John Baptist Beisler became the licensee, and the Beisler family retained a connection with the hotel until 1979, an impressively long stint spanning 50 years. In 1960 the original hotel was demolished and a new brick building erected at a cost of £67,508. Following renovations in 2007 it was renamed to The Mark Hotel, thus ending decades of misspellings and mispronunciations. With 150 years of trading completed, The Mark Hotel is now one of only three hotels remaining in Lambton.
Marquis of Lorne Hotel, Lambton, June 1924. Noel Butlin Archive, Australian National University.The Mark Hotel, Lambton, June 2024.
The article above was first published in the July 2024 edition of The Local.
Advertisement for the newly opened Marquis of Lorne Hotel, corner of Dixon-street, Lambton. Miners’ Advocate and Northumberland Recorder, 27 June 1874.
SIR JOHN GEORGE EDWARD HENRY CAMPBELL, called by courtesy the Marquis of Lorne, is the eldest son of the Duke of Argyll, and was born at Strafford House, London, in 1845. In February, 1868, he became M.P. for Argyleshire. In the close of the same year he was appointed private secretary to his father, then at the head of the India Office. On the 21st of March, 1871, he married the Princess Louise, the fourth daughter of Her Majesty. In July, 1878, he was appointed Governor-General of, Canada, as successor to Lord Dufferin, who had held that post since 1872.
"The erection of two new buildings had been decided upon previous to the origin of the society, and they are to be commenced immediately. One is the premises of Mr. Lipman, watchmaker, of Newcastle, who is to put up a two-storey building in Grainger street ; and the other is a public-house, at the eastern end of Dixon-street, for Mr. Alexander Smith."
"New Hostelries. — As a sign of the progress being made in this direction, we may mention that Mr. Alexander Smith is now erecting a large hotel, at the corner of Young and Morehead streets, opposite the Prince of Wales Inn. The building will have a frontage of 25 feet towards Young-street, with a depth of 60 feet in Morehead street, and an additional depth of 60 feet for stables, outhouses, and other purposes. The billiard-room will be one of the finest in the district, and will measure 25 feet by 25 feet. The front of the hotel will be in the Gothic style, and will bear a favourable comparison with any of the hotels for miles round."
"Mr. A. Smith has opened his new public house on Saturday last, under the high-sounding name of 'The Marquis of Lorne.' This house occupies a good stand, on the corner of Dixon-street, near to the Rechabite's Hall, and for accommodation and fittings is superior to any other house in the town. A large room, 23 feet by 29 feet, has been built for billiard purposes, which is furnished with a full-size billiard table and all the requisites for playing the different branches of the game. Mr. Smith has spared no expense to make his house complete."
"During the week the following licenses, have been granted by the Newcastle bench of Magistrates :— For billiards : To Alex. Smith, Marquis of Lorn Inn, Lambton."
Advertisement: "MARQUIS OF LORNE HOTEL, Corner of Dixon-street, Lambton. ALEXANDER SMITH has much pleasure in announcing to his numerous friends and the public generally that he has OPENED his Splendid New House under the above title, where he hopes to meet all his old friends, and to make the acquaintance of hosts of new ones. First-class Liquors always on hand. Travellers will find the accommodation unequalled in the district. The best BILLIARD TABLE out Of Sydney, with all necessary appliances."
"There was a real old Scotch spree on Monday evening (29 June 1874) at the formal christening of the Marquis of Lorn. Mr. and Mrs. Smith invited a number of their friends to be present at the ceremony, and a very jolly night was spent. The Lambton band were present, and played some of their choice dance music, to which the lads and lasses footed it right merrily. After the band was done, the fiddle struck up, and then the jigs and Scotch reels got fits. Dancing and singing was kept up till the small hours of the morning, when the company dispersed. 'And many a one left the Marquis of Lorn, With the foundation for a sore head the morn.'"
Prior to Federation in 1901, each Australian state was responsible for its own military defence. In NSW, volunteer forces were formed and trained in various localities, and they held annual encampments where multiple units gathered for extended training and drills.
In 1897 a camp was held in the flat area of Hamilton South known as Blackburn’s Oval. This was located near the Merewether Hotel (now the Mary Ellen) operated by Edward Blackburn. Over 60 tents were erected to accommodate 550 men, comprising the 4th Infantry Regiment from Newcastle, a field artillery unit from Sydney, and the mounted No. 3 Lancers Squadron from Singleton and Maitland. The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate reported that “the four days’ military encampment commenced on Friday night under most unfavourable weather auspices, a strong southerly gale, with pouring rain, rendering the condition of the men under canvas far from pleasant.”
Each day was filled with drills and parades, with the main exercise held on Monday. Woken at 3:30am, the troops formed up on the parade ground and were told of an ‘enemy’ force having landed at Belmont and heading to Newcastle. The infantry, cavalry and artillery proceeded to Charlestown and engaged in a 90-minute mock battle that repulsed the ‘invaders’ in time for breakfast at 8.30am.
Returning to camp and a few hours rest, the soldiers held another exercise in the afternoon. Upwards of 7000 spectators crowded onto the Glebe Hill and the spoil heap of the old Hamilton colliery to watch “the troops rushing to and fro, the cavalry galloping around, with the air thick with smoke as the big guns reverberated.”
The camp ended on Tuesday with general satisfaction at its success, apart from the departing troops’ complaints of “insufficient and commonplace” food rations. Newcastle continued to host annual military encampments in the vicinity, with the last held in September 1914. Blackburn’s Oval was used for sport up until 1923, after which the area was developed for housing.
Army Camp Blackburn Oval, Hamilton South, NSW, 23 May 1897. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.Pacific Highway, Hamilton South. Motorists now drive where the military once drilled.
The article above was first published in the May 2024 edition of The Local.
Additional Photos
Newcastle Libraries Hunter Photobank has a number of photos of army encampments held in the inner city area. The photograph below is undated in their collection, but it is almost certainly the encampment of 1897.
Army camp (Blackburns Oval), May 1897. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Hunter Photobank, accession number 001 000171
The collection has one photograph of an earlier encampment held in 1895 …
Military camp at Newcastle, 8 November 1895. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Hunter Photobank, accession number 001 001463
… and multiple photographs of the encampment held on the old racecourse in April 1903.
Army encampment at Old Racecourse, Newcastle, 13 April 1903. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Hunter Photobank, accession number 001 001618Army encampment at Old Racecourse, Newcastle, 13 April 1903. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Hunter Photobank, accession number 001 001620Troops at Old Racecourse, Newcastle, 14 April 1903. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Hunter Photobank, accession number 001 001619Troops at Old Racecourse, Newcastle, 14 April 1903. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Hunter Photobank, accession number 0001 001621.Lancers at Old Racecourse, Newcastle, 14 April 1903. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Hunter Photobank, accession number 001 001616Portion of Parrott’s 1893 map of Newcastle, annotated with the position of the 1897 encampment on Blackburns Oval adjacent to the Hamilton Pit, and the 1903 encampment on the old racecourse. National Library of Australia.
Blackburns Oval/Ground
The Lost Football Ground Newcastle website has a good summary of Blackburn’s Oval/Ground. Edward Blackburn became the licensee of the Merewether Hotel in August 1893, and continued until September 1907 when his licence was cancelled after receiving three convictions in three years. The first mention I can find in Trove to Blackburn’s Oval/Ground is 4 Apr 1900, and the last mention on 10 September 1923.
Overlaying old Water Board maps into Google Earth, we can see that the Hamilton Pit slack (spoils) heap from which Snowball’s photo was taken, was located in the vicinity of where Thomas St is today. Thus the army encampment was in the area where the Pacific Highway passes through today.
Note that reports of the army encampment of 1897 variously describe it as being in Hamilton or Merewether. Edward Blackburn’s hotel was located on Glebe Rd on the northern edge of the Merewether municipality. Thus across the road, the sporting ground known as Blackburn’s Oval was located in the Hamilton municipality.
Craigies map with the municipal districts of Newcastle (red borders) that shows Blackburn’s hotel (blue star) was in Merewether, while Blackburn’s Oval across the road (red star) was in Hamilton. National Library of Australia.
Appendix – Date of the Snowball photograph
The Ralph Snowball photograph of the army encampment from the Living Histories site used in this article, originally had a date of 23 May 1899. After researching for this the article I am certain that the correct date is 23 May 1897, for the following reasons.
Searching Trove for information about army encampments in May 1899 reveals no results.
Searching Trove for information about army encampments in May 1897 reveals lots of articles, with details that align with the photograph – its location next to the spoil heap of the Hamilton Pit, the number of tents, the presence of infantry and cavalry.
The listing for Box 137 of Snowball’s glass plates that commences on 22 May 1897, shows four photographs taken of “Encampment, Merewether”.
Ralph Snowball Box 137 listing. Newcastle University, Living Histories.
I have subsequently corrected the date in the Living Histories site.
"On Thursday 38 men were inspected by Warrant-officer Thompson and passed into the ranks of the Singleton Half-Squadron of Lancers, which is now, therefore, duly formed."
"A communication was read from the officer commanding the 4th Infantry Regiment, asking in the event of an encampment for between 500 and 600 men being held at Merewether, on the 22nd to the 25th instant, if arrangements could be made for supplying water at a spot indicated on a plan which accompanied the letter. Under the circumstances it was decided to grant a free supply of water, and also lend a meter to check the consumption; but all the required pipes and connections would have to be supplied by the military authorities, and the work carried out at their expense by a licensed plumber."
"Captain Hilliard, the military staff officer for Newcastle, having completed the surveying in connection with the encampment for the No. 3 Squadron New South Wales Lancers and the 4th Infantry Regiment, to be held at Merewether on 22nd, 24th, and 26th inst., Captain Luscombe yesterday had a fatigue party at work putting up the tents. It is expected that the whole of the arrangements will be completed by to-morrow evening."
"In view of the contemplated encampment of the volunteer forces of the northern district, to be held during this and part of next week, the scene of operations, adjoining the A.A. Co.'s Hamilton pit, has undergone a complete transformation. Upwards of 60 tents have been erected, giving the place a very picturesque appearance."
"The officers and troops from Morpeth West Maitland, and East Maitland who are to take part in the military encampment arrived at Honeysuckle Point station by special train at 8.37 last evening, and marched off at once to Merewether to camp under canvas for the night, with the elements anything but favourable to camping out."
"The military encampment at Merewether commenced last night, and despite the unpropitious state of the weather it was expected that 550 men of all ranks would be under canvas. These consist of the A B D E and H Companies, who will be reinforced by two guns from A Battery Field Artillery, who will arrive here by special train today from Sydney. The Maitland and Singleton Lancers will arrive by train to-day to take part in the proceedings."
"The four days' military encampment at Merewether commenced on Friday night under most unfavourable weather auspices, a strong southerly gale, with pouring rain, rendering the condition of the men under canvas far from pleasant."
"The military encampment at Merewether attracted a large number of visitors yesterday. The particularly fine specimens of horseflesh to be seen in the Lancers' lines excited considerable admiration among the visitors.” At Fort Scratchley and Shepherd's Hill "there will be shot practice by the No. 6 Company at a target to be moored at sea. Residents in the neighbourhood are reminded to open their windows, to avoid them being broken by the force of the concussion."
"Those who considered that a military encampment would have no attraction for the general public must, after yesterday's experience, admit that they are very bad judges of the public taste. From an early hour in the morning, crowds began to gather at the Merewether camp, comprising men, women, and children of all ages and sizes, and, as the day wore on the numbers increased rapidly. After 2 o'clock, when the grand attack was commenced in the direction, of Hamilton, the Glebe Hill and the slack heap of the old Hamilton pit were literally black with people. There could not have been less than 7000 spectators, and though few, if any, really knew what was going on to cause the troops to be rushing to and fro and the cavalry to be galloping around the outskirts of the attack formations." "The air at one time was thick with smoke, and still the reports of the big guns reverberated."
"The encampment at Merewether was broken up yesterday afternoon, the whole of the troops, headed by the 4th Regiment Band, marching out shortly after half-past 4 o'clock, fairly tired out after their few days' continuous training."< /br>
"There would, however, need to be better commissariat arrangements. The rations allowed to the men during this camp have been insufficient … The meals, though wholesome, were of a common-place description, and those who required drinks - other than tea and water - had to pay for them. On the whole the camp was run with more than a due regard to economy, and it would not be out of place if an effort were made before next year to stretch the Government purse strings in this matter."
"The troops who have just come out of the encampment hope that arrangements will be made by which they shall get more liberal rations when they next go under canvas."
"All the paraphernalia used in connection with the late encampment was brought into the city yesterday and stored in the drill hall of the military buildings in Hunter street."
"An immediate, and strong protest should be made against the determination of the military authorities to abolish the Newcastle encampment, and to centre the large number of recruits from Newcastle and the northern district in Sydney."
In March 1891, Thomas Williams purchased land near Broadmeadow station, and submitted an application for a a conditional publican’s licence “for premises proposed to be erected at the intersection of the Adamstown and Newcastle-Wallsend roads to be known by the sign of the Jersey Hotel.” Williams engaged James Henderson, the eminent architect of the ornate Victoria Theatre in Perkins Street Newcastle, to design a three storey, 15-room brick hotel.
With the building completed in early 1892 and after a change of mind on the name, Williams applied for the publican’s license he needed for his Premier Hotel to commence trading. On Thursday 17 March 1892 the Licensing Bench approved his application, but instead of downing drinks in celebration, Williams found his hotel in the drink due to inundation. That very night the heavens opened and Newcastle was drenched with torrential rain, with flooding reported at Wallsend, Waratah, Lambton, and New Lambton. At Broadmeadow “the flat between Adamstown and New Lambton and down to Lambton-road was one sheet of water on Friday morning.” Ralph Snowball photographed the newly licensed hotel, an island of refuge in an expanse of water.
The deluge had tragic consequences when “an elderly man named Edward Atkinson fell into a waterhole while looking for cows in a paddock near Adamstown and was drowned.” Once again, citizens called on the government to get on with its long-promised drainage scheme for the area. The main stormwater drain through the Broadmeadow flats was completed in 1895, but the area around the Premier Hotel continued to be impacted by flooding until the completion of the Adamstown branch of the drain in 1899. In 1939 the hotel was rebuilt as an attractive two storey structure in the art deco style. Having survived a natural disaster in 1892, the hotel suffered damage in the 1989 earthquake and was repaired as a smaller, simpler building. Plans for a $34 million redevelopment of the site are now before Newcastle Council, for a nine-storey apartment building with ground floor pub.
Details from Land title Vol-Fol 1021-71, showing purchase of portion 2101 of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve by Thomas Williams on 11 March 1891.
Pages 227-229 of “Early Architects of the Hunter Region” by Les Reedman shows three drawings by James Henderson of “New brick hotel, Newcastle Pasturage Reserve, near Broadmeadow Station, 1891”. The inscription on the top of the facade shows the originally proposed name of “Jersey Hotel”.
Premier Hotel, Broadmeadow, 18 March 1892 – looking westwards along Denison St. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.Denison St Hamilton, August 2023. (The present day Premier Hotel is hidden behind the building with the blue awnings at the end of the street.)Premier Hotel, Broadmeadow, 13 September 1902. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Library, Hunter Photobank, Accession Number 001 001055.Nineways, Broadmeadow, with Premier Hotel in the background, September 1923. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.Premier Hotel, Broadmeadow, 1959. Newcastle Library, Hunter Photobank. Accession Number 460 000055.The Nineways, Broadmeadow, NSW, Australia [c.1960’s]. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.
2023 Development Application
In a curious coincidence, just a week after I had completed writing this article for “The Local”, news emerged that the owners of the Premier Hotel have submitted a Development Application (DA2023/00886) to Newcastle Council for a $34 million development to demolish the existing structure and erect an nine-story building with hotel on the lower floors, and 48 apartment units on the upper floors.
Proposed re-development of the Premier Hotel at the intersection of Brunker Road and Chatham Street. Image from the architectural plans for DA2023/00886.
Update 20 Feb 2024: The Hunter Central Coast Regional Planning Panel has rejected the proposed development, stating that “The proposed development does not respond to its current context and is out of scale with surrounding development.”
"I, THOMAS WILLIAMS, of Carrington,
Landholder, do hereby give notice that
I desire to obtain, and will, at the next
Quarterly Licensing Court, to be holden at
Newcastle on the ninth day of April next,
apply for a Certificate, authorising the issue
of a Conditional Publican's License, for pre
mises proposed to be erected at the Junction
of the Adamstown-road with the Newcastle-
Wallsend-road, to be known by the sign of
"Jersey Hotel," and to contain fifteen
rooms, exclusive of those required for the
use of the family."
Licensing court … "Thos. Williams applied for a conditional publican's license for premises
proposed to be erected at the intersection of the Adamstown and Newcastle-Wallsend roads to be known by the sign of the Jersey Hotel." Despite objections from the police "the Bench said the plans showed
that the house would be a good one; and, as there was nothing against the character of Mr. Williams, the application was granted."
James Henderson, architect, tenders invited for “the Erection and Completion of extensive BRICK HOTEL PREMISES at Adamstown, near Broadmeadow Railway Station, for Mr. Williams.” Tenders close 20 June.
"The Premier Hotel, the property of Mr. T. Williams, situated at the intersection of Adamstown. Lambton, and Waratah roads, is near completion.” [This is the first mention of “Premier Hotel” in the newspapers.]
At "he Licensing Bench yesterday … an application for a license for new premises situated at the junction of the Adamstown and Wallsend roads was also granted."
"Waratah. The heavy rain which fell during Thursday night again caused a considerable overflow in the streets, and particularly in the vicinity of the station."
"New Lambton. THE HEAVY RAIN. The heavy rain, which fell during Thursday night, flooded the properties on the Lambton Road, adjoining the tramline. The large drains overflowed, and across both the road and the tramline was one sheet of water. Some of the residents had to leave their houses to take care of themselves, and seek shelter in the tramwaiting shed at the Raspberry Gully line crossing."
"Plattsburg. STORM WATERS. The exceptional downpour of rain early on Friday morning very soon flooded all the low-lying land, and the result was that the residents of Nelson-street, from John-street to the bridge, were again flooded. On this occasion the water rose some 9in higher than the former floods."
"Lambton. During Thursday night the heavy rains caused a good deal of damage to the streets of the municipality by washing gravel and other road material away. Pearson and Howe streets were flooded, but fortunately not high enough to enter the houses. A thorough system of drainage at the lower end of the district from New Lambton downwards, through Hamilton, is necessary to prevent these periodical floods, as the water then would have an opportunity of free access to the main channels to the sea. But at present it is a source of trouble and expense to the whole of these municipalities, and the sooner the proposed scheme of the Hamilton, New Lambton, and other councils is carried out the better for everybody concerned."
"It was reported yesterday morning that an elderly resident named Edward Atkinson was missing, and supposed to be drowned in Yates' paddock, between Adamstown and New Lambton … which proved to be correct, for after some time the body was brought to the surface, at about 10.30 am. The deceased was 72 years of age."
"In common with other parts of the district the rain has done a deal of damage to the roads in the municipality. The low lands have suffered considerably. The flat between Adamstown and New Lambton and down to Lambton-road was one sheet of water on Friday morning. Numerous dwellings were flooded. People who have lived on the Lambton-road for 17 years say that they never knew the water to be so high as it was on Friday. The proposed high drain will be a blessing to the district, and till it is completed the low lands between Adamstown, New Lambton, and Broadmeadow will continue to be under water in wet weather."
"One of the finest pieces of work done in this district is the much-spoken-of Commonage
drain. The other day we visited the work and were greatly surprised at the proportions of the huge drain. In fact it is— or will be in rainy seasons — a regular canal. It begins half way between New Lambton and Hamilton, and runs in a fairly straight line towards a creek flowing into the Hunter. The drain will easily carry off the storm waters from the large area of country comprising the Commonage."
"BROADMEADOW. Last night at 9 o'clock the flood waters were over Brunker-road, and people from Adamstown who wished to got to the tram were forced to wade through a foot deep of water on the road. A large number of dwellings in the locality, including the Premier Hotel, were surrounded by water."
"The construction of the Adamstown branch of the Commonage drainage work has been delayed while the culvert under the Government railway was in course of construction. With the exception of a small portion near the railway culvert, the drain is completed to near the Adamstown-New Lambton road."
"The Adamstown branch of the Commonage drain has stopped within a few chains of the Adamstown-New Lambton road near the railway station. The cause of the drain stopping at that point is in consequence of it being found necessary to carry it through private property, and as the authorities have not come to terms with the Waratah Company and other property holders work is suspended and the municipality suffers."
Report on how the flooding in the Broadmead area was not as bad as former times “which is directly due to the Adamstown branch of the Commonage drainage works being opened cross the Lambton-road, and the Adamstown water thus being given straight course to the main drain.”
"Mr. M. S. Love, Acting S.M., yesterday granted Thomas Williams permission to transfer his license of the Premier Hotel, Broadmeadow, to Henry Joseph Denney."
"The Premier Hotel at Broadmeadow,
is to be demolished. On the site will be
erected a modern hotel, in two storeys,
the cost of which will be £20,000.
The architect is Mr. C. Ruwald, of
Sydney."
"To-morrow an official opening ceremony will be held at noon at the Premier Hotel at Broadmeadow to mark the completion of a most attractive and modernly designed addition to the hotels of the district.
The new building has a frontage to two main roads and a striking architectural treatment coupled with most up-to-date interior facilities and furnishings provide an outstanding example of a modern trend in hotel design"
In 1868 the New Lambton Coal Company struck a payable seam in their mining lease adjacent to Lambton, and a new township began. Unlike Lambton where private ownership of land was promoted, the New Lambton proprietors did not offer their land for sale. With no ownership, there was no incentive for townspeople to construct anything but the most basic of buildings. In 1890 when land was first sold in the town, New Lambton had just three hotels, all of them hastily erected wooden structures.
In 1898 Frederick George Roberts purchased land on the corner of Lambton and Tauranga Roads, and built a weatherboard store, selling groceries, draperies, ironware and clothing. In July 1902 he applied for a publican’s license to open a hotel on the site of his store. Despite police objections the licensing court granted the application, in part swayed by Roberts’ plans to erect a substantial brick hotel, in contrast to the other hotels nearby that were described at the time as “a very disappointing lot indeed”.
By September 1902, the store was demolished, and the builder William Knight was constructing a new brick hotel designed by the notable local architect Ernest George Yeomans. On 18 April 1903 120 years ago this month, Roberts announced by advertisement that his “new hotel will be opened for business today, containing 20 spacious and well ventilated rooms.” He named it the General Roberts Hotel, after Frederick Sleigh Roberts, recently commander of the British forces in the Second Boer War. Within a year Phillip Byrne had become licensee, and Ralph Snowball photographed the hotel soon afterwards. Looking west along Lambton Rd and Alma Rd, the photo shows the General Roberts Hotel on the right, and beside it the remnants of a cutting where the New Lambton colliery railway once ran.
The article above was first published in the April 2023 edition of The Local.
Additional Information
Map from land title Vol-Fol 1021-213, showing portion 1324, the site of F G Roberts store and then the General Roberts Hotel. Note the New Lambton colliery railway running north to south, under a bridge on Lambton Road. Portion 1324 was purchased by Frederick George Roberts of Waratah, hotelkeeper, on 18 November 1898. Vol-Fol 1021-213.F G Roberts Store, Lambton Rd, New Lambton, NSW, [1902]. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.Roof damage to F G Roberts store in New Lambton due to cyclonic wind storm on Tuesday 7 November 1899. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Australian Town and Country Journal, 18 November 1899.
At the corner of the main road and Tauranga-street another brick hotel of 18 rooms, to be known as “The General Roberts,” has just been completed. This is built with red, pressed, tuck-pointed fronts and ornamental parapets. The fronts have those useful adjuncts, spacious colonnades. The building is tastefully finished both inside and out, and standing on a prominent site is a landmark in the municipality. Formerly on this site stood Mr. Roberts’ w.b. store, which has been demolished to make place for this hotel. The architect was Mr. E. G. Yeomans. and the builder Mr. W. Knight.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 17 April 1903.
Advertisement of the opening of the General Roberts Hotel. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 18 April 1903.
Within six months of opening the hotel, F G Roberts was looking to sell the hotel business, but retain ownership of the land and buildings.
Advertisement of the sale of the General Roberts Hotel business. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 23 October 1903.General Roberts Hotel, corner of Lambton Road and Tauranga Road, New Lambton, NSW, 15 July 1904. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.Roberts sold the land and buildings of the General Roberts Hotel to Tooth & Co on 25 November 1918. Vol-Fol 1021-213.Entry in a card in the Noel Butlin archives, showing that the General Roberts Hotel was rebuilt in 1957, at a cost of £65,672.General Roberts Hotel in 1959, shortly after the rebuild of 1957. Noel Butlin Archives.
Licensees
Variant spelling of names is shown in square brackets
Frederick George Roberts (April 1903 to April 1904)
"I FREDERICK GEORGE ROBERTS give notice that I desire at the next Quarterly Licensing Court, to apply for a CONDITIONAL PUBLICAN'S LICENSE for Premises situate at New Lambton already erected at the corner of Lambton-road, but requiring additions and alterations to make them suitable to be licensed. These premises, if a license be granted, are to be known as the GENERAL ROBERTS HOTEL, and will contain when completed, eight rooms exclusive of those required for the use of my family."
"At the Licensing Court to-day an application was made by Frederick George Roberts for a conditional publican's license for premises situated on the main Newcastle Cardiff road at New Lambton, proposed to be used as an hotel." Decision reserved pending the hearing of two other applications for hotels in the vicinity.
"At Newcastle Licensing Court, Frederick George Roberts applied for a publican's conditional license for premises to be erected on the Lambton-road, New Lambton … Ernest George Yeomans. architect, deposed that he prepared the plans before the court. The house would have brick walls."
"Frederick George Roberts applied for a conditional publican's license for premises to be erected at New Lambton." The Bench had inspected the current hotels "and found them a very disappointing lot indeed, and the existing accommodation was not sufficient." Application of F G Roberts was granted.
"The work of excavating for the foundations of the new hotel which is to be built at the corner of Taurangua and Lambton roads, is well forward. The building, which is to be commodious and substantial,
will, it is estimated, cost between £1600 and £1700. Mr. William Knight is the contractor and Mr. Yeomans the architect."
"Frederick G. Roberts applied for a certificate for a publican's license for premises at New Lambton, to be known as the General Roberts Hotel. The application was granted."
Phillip James Byrnes applies for the renewal of his licensee for the Hand of Friendship Hotel. The renewal is objected to due to unsanitary premises and inadequate accommodation. By April 1904 Byrnes is licensee of the General Roberts Hotel.
"TO Hotelkeepers and Brewers.- For Sale by tender, Free House, Lease, License, Furniture, and Goodwill. Tenders to close 12th Nov.; 1903. -Apply F. G. ROBERTS, Proprietor, New Lambton."
"NOTICE.-Having taken over the license of the General Roberts' Hotel, New Lambton, where I hope to see all my old friends and acquaintances. JOHN KEIM, Late of Tighe's Hill."
"Considerable damage was done yesterday to the balcony of the General Roberts Hotel at the corner of
Lambton and Taranga Roads, New Lambton. A coal-laden lorry knocked out two of the posts on the gutter
alignment and the balcony flooring sagged."
This list covers hotels that were located in the area of Lambton Municipal Council (1871-1938), which included parts of North Lambton and Jesmond.
Area of Lambton Municipality (1871-1938)
The map below shows the location of Lambton Hotels. The three hotels that are still operating are shown in green, historical hotels are shown in red. I have used the ‘drinking glass’ icon, where the location of a hotel is known, and a generic placemarker icon if the location is uncertain or unconfirmed.
Timeline of Lambton Hotels, showing a peak of 16 hotels in 1881.
In documenting the history of hotels it is important to understand the roles of owners, lessees and licensees. The hotel owner is the person (or company) that owns the land and buildings upon the land. The owner may then lease the buildings to another person (or company) for the purpose of running a business such as a hotel. The hotel licensee is the person who is granted a liquor license by the government and is responsible for adhering to the liquor regulations. Sometimes the owner and licensee are the same person, but sometimes the owner, lessee and licensee are three different entities. For example, in 1893 the Reservoir Hotel was owned by John Cox, leased to John and James Toohey, and the licensee was William Rutherford.
The history of hotels can also be confusing in that not only can the same hotel can different names over time, but sometimes different hotels can have the same name. For example, there were two different hotels in Lambton called the Commercial Hotel, one operating from 1880 to 1882, and a different hotel operating from 1888 to 2018. Sometimes a hotel name and license can be transferred to a different geographical location. For example, the Miners’ Arms Hotel first opened on Howe Street in 1887, but then moved to the adjacent block of land in Howe Street in 1881.
In the list below I have an entry for each hotel operating at a specific location. The hotels appear in order of the year they were first opened. Where a hotel has had multiple names, I have used in the heading the name that the hotel was known by for the majority of its operation.
A further complication is that the variant spellings of the names of licensees. Where there are multiple spellings of a name and the correct spelling is uncertain, I have included all the variant spellings, separated by a slash character. e.g. “Lackey/Leckey”. Note that in the lists of licensees I have only included names up to about 1970, as published information about licensees after this date becomes sparse.
A helpful resource in my research for this article was Appendix 2 of “The Story of Lambton” from the Newcastle Family History Society. However I did find a number of errors, omissions and confusions in their list of hotels and licensees. My intent for this page is to build on the work of that Appendix and provide a more accurate and comprehensive reference for the hotels and hotel licensees of Lambton.
Having said that, I am conscious that this list probably contains errors, omissions and confusions of my own, and so I would welcome any feedback or additional information that would improve this page.
A note about Colonial Wine Licenses:
Appendix 2 of “The Story of Lambton” includes an entry for “Lambton Hotel”, and then lists a number of holders of a Colonial Wine License. I have not included these in the list below, as a colonial wine license was not a hotel in the commonly recognised sense of a place to buy and consume alcohol, and provide accommodation. A Colonial Wine License merely provided for the retail sale of locally produced wines and ciders, under very limited circumstances, with the holder of a license able to …
… sell and dispose of on the premises in such license specified wine cider or perry the produce of fruit grown within any Australasian colony in quantities not exceeding two gallons and not containing a greater proportion than twenty-six per cent, of proof spirits but only between the hours of seven in the morning and eleven at night.
Robert Cairns purchased lots 13 and 14 of Section K in the Lambton township in June 1864. (See Vol-Fol 5-115). This was the very first block of land to be sold in the town.
A hotel building must have been quickly erected, for on 29 October 1864, the Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News reported that …
A ball and supper was given at the “Lambton Arms,” by the landlord, Mr. Cairns, on Tuesday evening, at which a great number of persons were present, and enjoyed themselves.
The hotel was badly damaged by a fire in January 1888, but quickly replaced by a new wooden building by April 1888.
More information can be found in my article on Stoker’s Hotel.
The hotel was located on the north east corner of Elder and Grainger Streets and had a number of names in its history. From 1865 to 1915 it was variously known as …
Gold Miners’ Arms
Gold Miners’ Home
Gold Diggers’ Arms
Gold Miners’ Home Hotel
Miners’ Home Hotel
Gold Miners’ Hotel
Trying to put dates to these names has proved to quite tricky as it seems the names were used interchangeably and inconsistently. Sometimes the hotel name as it appears in the Government Gazette doesn’t match what appears in newspaper articles. It’s possible that the proliferation of names was a contributing factor to the hotel often being simply referred to as “Stoker’s Hotel”, even long after the first licensee John Stoker ceased to run the hotel in 1885.
Stoker’s Hotel 1884-1885. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Cultural Collections.
In 1915 the name was changed to the “Central Hotel”.
George Malbon’s Central Hotel. c. 1917
John Stoker purchased Lot 1 of Section E of Lambton township in September 1865 (Vol-Fol 19-190), and was granted a publican’s license in November 1865.
Lot 1 of Section E, Lambton township, purchased by John Stoker. Vol-Fol 19-190.
1890s Hunter Water Board map showing the location of the Gold Miners Arms Hotel.
The Northumberland Hotel is located on the south west corner of Elder and Morehead Streets. It is the oldest of the hotels that is still operating, and has retained the same name since it opened in 1866.
Northumberland Hotel Lambton. Unknown date and photographer. Newcastle Library, Hunter Photobank 163 000779.
John Dent purchased Lot 10 of Section H in Lambton township in November 1865 (Vol-Fol 25-26), and opened the Northumberland Hotel in July 1866.
1890s Hunter Water Board map showing the location of the Northumberland Hotel.
The Northumberland Hotel, January 2021.
See also
Northumberland Hotel page at ANU Open Research Library, which contains some photographs of the hotel from the 1920s to 1970s.
Janice Marlene Perrington and George Alexander Perrington (January 1979 to ????)
?
Rose, Thistle and Shamrock Inn (1868-1896)
Located on the south east corner of Elder and Grainger Streets. Also known as
Rose and Shamrock Inn
Rose, Shamrock and Thistle Hotel
Federal Hotel (July 1895 to 1896)
Michael Doyle purchased Lot 1 of Section H in Lambton township in August 1867. (Transfer noted on Vol-Fol 36-203, Title Certificate on Vol-Fol 54-38)
Michael Doyle was granted a publican’s in March 1868 for the “Rose and Shamrock Inn”. In June 1868 he began advertising his hotel as “The Rose, Thistle, & Shamrock Inn.”
From July 1882, Guiseppe Turri owned the hotel land and building while a variety of licensees operated the hotel. In July 1895 Turri became the licensee and changed the name to the “Federal Hotel”. In April 1896 a fire at the hotel caused considerable damage. The fire must have placed Guiseppe Turri in dire financial straits, for in August 1896 he was forced to sell off a “large quantity of household furniture”, and the hotel never re-opened.
The location (but not the original building) of the former Rose, Shamrock and Thistle Inn, January 2021.
Located at 103 Elder St. John Platt purchased Lot 5 of Section H in Lambton township in October 1866 (Vol-Fol 39-245), and erected a building on the land. In 1869 George Lonsdale took a three year lease on the building and applied for a publican’s license. At the license hearing in April 1869 the building was described as follows …
“A portion of the house is two-storey, built of stone and brick ; the wooden portion contain four rooms, two on the ground floor and two upstairs. The brick building is attached to a four room cottage, which house contains two front rooms of moderate size, and two small back rooms, one used as a kitchen.”
The building of the former Rose and Crown Inn in Elder Street. Date unknown. G Hubbuck collection, courtesy of Craig Simpson
Despite police objections, a publican’s license was granted to George Lonsdale, however his tenure was short lived. By 1870 John Platt had become licensee as well as owner of the hotel. In June 1871 Platt sold the land and building to James Horton/Haughton (Vol-Fol 122-233). After the sale Platt continued as licensee, but Haughton immediately advertised the hotel as being available to let.
William B Richardson was granted the license in August 1871, but whether he ever operated the hotel is unclear, as there are no further mentions of the hotel in the papers and the “Rose and Crown” is absent from the 1872 gazetted list of publican licenses.
Located on the south west corner of Dickson and Morehead Streets.
1890s Hunter Water Board map showing location of Prince of Wales Hotel on Dickson St. (This image is comprised of two separate original images joined together.)
John Martin Sawyer purchased Lot 10 of Section D of Lambton township in November 1868. (Vol-Fol 78-28). In January 1870, David Jenkyn obtained a publicans’ licence and opened the Prince of Wales Hotel. (Note in the advertisement below that the location is described as being “on the main road from Newcastle to Wallsend, as Dickson St was originally planned to be the main road.)
Lot 10 was subdivided into two halves in 1874, and in 1889 John Sheedy purchased the northern half where the hotel was situated. Sheedy subsequently became the licensee of the hotel in 1895. After he ceased to be licensee, he sold the property to Tooth and Co in 1900, but purchased the property back again nine years later in January 1909.
Vol-Fol 192-190.
At the Licensing Court hearing in August 1909, “Inspector Goulder reported that the license of the Prince of Wales Hotel, Lambton, had not been renewed, and that the premises were closed on August 18.”and after the hotel was delicensed in 1909, Sheedy purchased the property back from Tooth and Co.
Location of the former Prince of Wales Hotel, January 2021.
The hotel was located on the north west corner of Morehead Street and Young Street (now Newcastle Road). The hotel building still stands today, and is a private residence.
1890s Hunter Water Board map showing the location of the Red Lion Inn.
In February 1871 William Densley purchased Lot 1 in the new subdivision of Grovetown (DP54), just to the north of the Lambton township. (Vol-Fol 116-154). It seems he acted quickly in erecting a hotel building for within a few months in May 1871 the licensing court “granted permission to Dinah Williams to remove her license from the Red Lion Hotel, Waratah, to a new house to be known by the same sign at Lambton.” By September 1871 the hotel was operational, with a committee meeting of residents of the Commonage being held on the premises.
In January 1872, Dinah Williams was advertising “To Let, The Red Lion Hotel, Old Lambton, now doing a steady business.” By the beginning of 1872 Uriah Broom, the newly elected Mayor of the newly formed Lambton Municipal Council was the licensee of the Red Lion Inn.
In June 1896 at the Wallsend Licensing Court, the license for the Red Lion Inn was withdrawn.
The hotel was located on the south east corner of Pearson and Grainger Streets. The hotel opened as the “Lancashire Arms” in 1874, and changed to the “Welcome Home Hotel” in December 1875. It was also sometimes referred to as the “Welcome Home Inn”.
Miners’ Advocate and Northumberland Recorder, 8 December 1875.
Peter and Thomas Young purchased Lot 1 of Section L in Lambton township in September 1865. (Vol-Fol 19-22 and 19-23) and retained ownership of the land and buildings for the life of the hotel.
In May 1880 the current licensee, Samuel Dawson, was charged with “committing a breach of the Publicans’ Act by abandoning his licensed house, the Welcome Home Hotel, Lambton, between the 17th and 30th April.” He was found guilty and his publican’s license was voided. The owner of the hotel, Peter Young applied at that time to have the license transferred to himself. The request was initially denied, but granted the following month in June 1880. Whether Peter Young opened the hotel for business or for how long, is uncertain. There is no further mention of the Welcome Home Hotel after the notification of the granting of the license in June 1880, and the hotel does not appear in the list of publican’s licenses in 1881.
In June 1889 the property and building was advertised for sale, promoted as …
That splendid Corner Block of Land, reaching from Howe-street along Grainger street to Pearson-street, Lambton, upon which is erected an Eight-roomed W.B. House, with Kitchen, large Yard, Stable,Washhouse, formerly known as the Welcome Home Hotel.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 18 June 1889.
Location (not the original building) of the former Lancashire Arms/Welcome Home Hotel, January 2021.
Located on the north west corner of Morehead and Dickson Streets. The hotel was sometimes spelled as “Marquis of Lorn” or shortened to “Marquis O’Lorne”. In 2008, after a major renovation, the name changed to “The Mark Hotel” .
Alexander Smith had been the licensee of the Rose, Shamrock and Thistle Hotel in Elder Street until July 1873. In October 1873 he purchased the east half of Lot 10 of Section A in Lambton township. (Vol-Fol 177-187), and immediately made plans to erect a hotel. Construction was underway in January 1874, and the hotel opened on 20 June 1874.
Vol-Fol 177-187
The hotel was sold in June 1876 to Joseph Thomas Morris who also became the licensee. In August 1876 to hotel was sold to John and Joseph Woods (wine and spirit merchants of Newcastle) and Richard Ward became licensee.
In November 1880, Richard Ward applied to move the license of the Marquis of Lorne hotel to premises in Elder Street, however the Wood brother (owners of the hotel) objected and the licensing court refused the application. The following month in December 1880, the license of the Marquis of Lorne Hotel was transferred to Benjamin Tonks, and Richard Ward was granted a license for the (first) Commercial Hotel in Elder Street.
In 1929 another attempt was made to move the location of the Marquis of Lorne Hotel. In September 1929, the new licensee John Thomas Quinlivan applied to move the license of the hotel “to premises to be erected on Part of Lot 2, Section A, having a frontage of 112.5 links (22.6m) to Robert Street Jesmond.”
Location in Robert Street, Jesmond, that John Quinlivan applied to move the Marquis of Lorne hotel license. Vol-Fol 181-94.
At the licensing board hearing on 25 September 1929, the application for transfer was opposed by many. After hearing arguments and inspecting the proposed site, on 26 September 1929 the board refused the application for the license transfer “on the ground that the reasonable requirements of the district did not justify the removal.” Quinlivan stayed on as licenseee of the Marquis of Lorne Hotel in Lambton for another year, when the license was transferred to John Baptist Beisler in November 1930.
In 1960, the original hotel building was demolished and a new building erected by Tooth and Co at a cost of £67,508 on an adjoining block of land. The site of the original hotel building is now the hotel’s car-park alongside Morehead St.
The Mark Hotel, Lambton, January 2021.
See also:
Marquis of Lorne Hotel page at ANU Open Research Library, which contains some photographs of the hotel from the 1920s to 1960s.
Land title certificate Vol-Fol 7592-41 shows that the hotel property was leased to Henry Pitz Beisler until February 1979, ending an impressively long stint of 49 years involvement by the Beisler family!
Lease to Henry Pitz Beisler expired 6/2/1979. Vol-Fol 7592-41
Pine Apple Hotel (1874-1881)
The hotel was sometimes spelled as “Pineapple”, and in the Government Gazette lists of publican licenses it is recorded as “Pine Apple Inn”. It was also referred to as “Bunn’s Hotel”.
Old newspapers report the hotel as being in North Lambton, or in Dark Creek, which is the original name of Jesmond. To confuse things further, some of the Government Gazette lists note the hotel as being in “Duck Creek”, a phonetically erroneous reference to “Dark Creek”. There are no known photographs of the hotel.
Although there is some uncertainty about the exact location, I believe the hotel was situated on one of the original allotments outlined below, which today corresponds to 300-304 Newcastle Road. (See the following section for the reasoning.)
Probable location of the Pine Apple Hotel, 300-304 Newcastle Rd, North Lambton.Probable location of the former Pine Apple Hotel, photographed in January 2021.
The time that the hotel ceased trading is not known with certainty. After Charles Bunn, the last licensee, was granted the license in April 1881, mentions of the Pine Apple Hotel in the newspaper disappear. Charles Bunn entered into insolvency in June 1881, just two months after being granted the license. Presumably this marked the end of the Pine Apple Hotel.
The probable location
Almost all the contemporaneous newspaper reports (1874-1881) of the hotel state that the hotel was in “North Lambton”, which in this period refers to a very specific square block of 50 acres granted to Daniel Jones. Some reports refer to the hotel being in Dark Creek, which referred to the overall locality. (Note that the watercourse named Dark Creek flows diagonally through the “North Lambton” land grant.)
“North Lambton”, 50 acre land grant to Daniel Jones. Historical Land Records Viewer.
A number of articles state that the hotel was on the main road, or Hartley St, which places the hotel somewhere between Henry Street and George Street.
The first licensee of the hotel in 1874 was Thomas Bunn and the last licensee in 1881 was his son Charles, which suggests that Thomas may have been the owner of the hotel. This is corroborated by a May 1879 advertisement … “TO LET, the PINE APPLE HOTEL North Lambton. Apply to Thomas Bunn.”
Searching the Land Titles at the Historical Land Records Viewer site, reveals that in September 1873, Thomas and his wife Elizabeth purchased Lot 13 (See Vol-Fol 169-220) and Lot 14 (see Vol-Fol 169-219) of Section D of North Lambton. The timing of these purchases fits with the opening of a hotel the following year.
The final clue is from the Miners’ Advocate and Northumberland Recorder of 11 August 1875 where Edwin Griffiths advertised the commencement of his business as an undertaker “in North Lambton, near Bunn’s Hotel.”
Miners’ Advocate and Northumberland Recorder, 11 August 1875.
The Historical Land Records Viewer in Vol-Fol 236-94 shows that Edwin Griffiths purchased Lot 15 of Section D of North Lambton, adjacent to the Bunn’s two allotments. As the Deposited Plan of the subdivision of Section D is not available online, I have created an overall map showing the lots between Arthur and Albert Streets by splicing together the lot boundary maps from each individual Title Certificate.
Lots 12-15 and Lot 1 of Section D. Spliced together from the individual Title Certificates.
The improbable location
A September 1929 newspaper article states that “Bunn’s Hotel was situated in Hartley-street, at the intersection of Steel and Robert Streets.” The article is reporting the reminiscences of local residents nearly 50 years after the Pine Apple Hotel closed. I am almost certain that they were confusing the Pine Apple Hotel with the Coal Miners’ Home Hotel, which was located at that intersection during the same period that the Pine Apple Hotel was operating.
There is no other evidence I could find, in newspaper reports or government gazettes or land sale information, either before or afterwards that corroborates the 1929 suggestion that the Pine Apple Hotel was in Steel/Robert Street.
The hotel was located at 52 Robert St Jesmond. Because Richard, Isabella and John Sneddon were licensees for over 20 years, it was also known as “Sneddon’s Hotel”.
William Hellier purchased a block of land between Robert and Michael Streets in Jesmond in March 1875. (Vol-Fol 206-27) In August 1875 he was granted a publican’s license for “The Jesmond Hotel”.
Purchase of land by William Hellier, Vol-Fol 206-27.
In July 1887, Hellier sold the property to Richard Sneddon who also became licensee of the hotel. In Februray 1900, Sneddon sold the hotel to Castlemaine Brewery and Wood Brothers, but remained as licensee.
The growing influence of the temperance movement led to the “Local Option Vote” in NSW in September 1907, a referendum where people could vote whether to continue, reduce, or eliminate licensed premises in their electorate.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 9 September 1907.
When the result had been tallied, of the 90 electorates in NSW, 25 voted for a continuance of licenses, while 65 voted for a reduction in licenses, including Kahibah electorate which contained Lambton township. A special licensing court in July 1908 decided to reduce the number of hotels in the Kahibah electorate by 7, some to be closed immediately, and some given a few years notice. The Jesmond Hotel was one of the hotels selected for closure, and given three years notice.
One interesting side notes, is that some months prior to this decision, in May 1908 an advertisement had appeared in the paper, calling for tenders for the rebuilding of the hotel in brick. This may have been a pre-emptive move by the hotel owners to ward off possible closure by demonstrating the go-ahead nature of their enterprise. Needless to say, with the licensing board’s decision to close the hotel in three years time, the brick re-build never eventuated.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 21 May 1908.
The Jesmond Hotel continued to trade until July 1911. Two years later in July 1913 the hotel land and buildings were put up for sale and purchased by James Stevenson, a miner from Jesmond.
The location of the former Jesmond Hotel in Robert Street, photographed in January 2021. No trace of the hotel remains, not even in lot boundaries which have been significantly altered by later subdivisions of land.
The Royal Hotel was situated on the north west corner of Elder and Grainger Streets. Joseph Hunter purchased Lot 14 of Section F in Lambton township in November 1865. (Vol-Fol 25-7) Ten years later in July 1875, Hunter was granted a publican’s license and opened a hotel on the site. After Joseph Hunter died in May 1880, his widow Ann ran the hotel for a year until Martin Durham became licensee in 1881. The hotel seems to have lasted not very long after this, with the last mention in the papers being a brief reference to “Durham’s Hotel” in June 1882.
Also known as the “Coal Miners’ Arms”, there is very scant information and no photographs available for this short-lived and unsuccessful hotel.
Lewis Haines, a miner from Lambton, purchased Lot 1 of Section B on the corner of Robert St in the township of Jesmond in December 1873. In June 1876 he was granted a publican’s license for “The Coal Miners’ Home Hotel” in Jesmond.
A sale did not eventuate at this time, the land records showing that Haines retained ownership of the land until 1883. There was another attempt to sell in June 1877, the agent describing the hotel and property as …
…. being nearly a new house,and doing a large business. This stands upon one acre of fine cultivating land; has six chains frontage to the main road, with kitchen, stable, outhouses, and a splendid orchard. This is the most compact place, on the main road to Wallsend.
The “six chains” (=120 metres) frontage to the main road matches the dimensions of Lewis Haines block, with 60 metres frontage on each side of the corner block. No sale occurred, with the agent withdrawing the property from sale “as there was no bid covering the reserve price.”
Sometime before October 1878, it appears that the licensee was Robert McBain (or possibly McBlain) who advertised the hotel and attached orchard for let. The last licensee was Young Bedford, who for reasons unknown abandoned the hotel in March 1879, resulting in the cancellation of the license. The hotel never re-opened. The following month in April 1879 the property was put up for auction, but like the previous two attempts, no sale eventuated.
The location (but not the original building) of the former Coal Miners’ Home Hotel, corner of Robert and Steel Streets. Photographed in January 2021.
Henry Johnson, a miner from Lambton, purchased Lot 8 of Section L of Lambton township in March 1873. (Vol-Fol 164-25)
Lot 8 of Section L in Lambton township, purchased by Henry Johnson. Vol-Fol 164-25
By July 1874 Johnson was operating a boarding house on the site. In January 1877 the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate reported that …
Mr. James Bradley has opened the premises lately occupied by Mr. Johnson as a boarding house, in Howe-street, as an hotel, under the sign of the Miners’ Arms. Mr. Bradley has been employed at the Lambton Colliery for many years, and is held in the greatest respect by his fellow workman, and for that reason alone, no doubt, will receive to [sic] share of support.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 15 January 1877.
By August 1878 Thomas Stokes had become the licensee, and ran the Miners’ Arms in Henry Johnson’s premises for the next three years. This situation with Stokes as licensee and Johnson as owner was one that suited neither of them, and each had their own plans to be both owner and licensee of a hotel on Howe Street!
In January 1876 Henry Johnson had purchased Lot 10 of Section L, on the corner of Howe and Morehead Streets, and in January 1880 Thomas Stokes purchased Lot 9, the block of land between Johnson’s two properties. On 15 February 1881 at the Lambton Police Court, Stokes “applied for a transfer of his license for the Miners’ Arms Hotel, Howe-street, to another house in the same street.” Johnson’s legal representative Mr Dart objected to the application …
“… on the grounds that the applicant [Stokes] taking the license from the [Johnson’s] house and closing it would reduce the capital value of the same, and also that the house to which he [Stokes] applied to have the license transferred was not fitted for a licensed house.”
Stokes’ legal representative Mr G Wallace countered the objection by pointing out …
“… that his client had, as the lease had expired, a perfect right to transfer the license to another house. Mr. Johnson was about to apply for a license for a new house in Howe-street, and had it in his power to eject Mr, Stokes at any time if he wished, and in the event of his doing so Mr. Stokes had no redress.”
It is a little difficult to ascertain the exact motivations here, but it seems that with Henry Johnson about to set himself up as both owner and licensee of a hotel, he was keen to prevent Stokes doing the same. Johnson had a win on this occasion, for after inspecting the Stokes’ premises the Bench “refused the application on the ground that the house was too small to be licensed.”
Henry Johnson then proceeded with his plan of setting himself up as a licensed publican in his premises on Lot 10 (corner of Morehead and Howe Streets). On 8 March 1881 at Lambton Police Court …
“A license was granted to Henry Johnson for a house in Morehead-street, Lambton, to be known by the sign of the Exchange Hotel.”
Not to be outdone, the very next week on 18 March 1881 Thomas Stokes again made application to transfer the Miners’ Arms license to his own premises. Again, Henry Johnson objected, but this time in vain, his objection …
“… was ruled informal as he had not given the applicant the usual seven day’s notice of his intention to object.”
Stokes’ application was granted, and he moved the Miners’ Arms from Johnson’s house on Lot 8 into his own property on Lot 9, right next door to Johnson’s new Exchange Hotel on Lot 10!
In July 1908, the Local Option Court for the Kahibah electorate handed down their decision on seven hotels to be closed. The Miners’ Arms Hotel at Lambton (Thomas O’Malley, licensee) was given three years notification to close. With no long term future for the hotel, O’Malley almost immediately had his license transferred to William Harney. The hotel only traded for another two years, at the Newcastle Licensing Court in July 1910 …
Inspector Goulder reported that the license of the Miners’ Arms Hotel, Lambton, had not been renewed, the premises having closed on June 30th.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 8 July 1910.
This very short lived hotel was located somewhere in Dickson St, with John Edwards being the one and only licensee. Edwards’ wife Hannah purchased a block of land in Dickson St in 1872, and it is possible the hotel was located on this site, which is now 59 Dickson St. There are no known photographs of the hotel.
Purchase of land in Dickson St by John Edwards’ wife Hannah, in 1872. Vol-Fol 137-94
In January 1881 John Edwards advertised a six-roomed dwelling house to let, with instructions to apply at the Royal Oak Hotel. After the license renewal listed in the Government Gazette in September 1881, there are no further mentions of the hotel.
Possible location of the former Royal Oak Hotel in Dickson Street, Lambton. Photographed in January 2021.
Opened in Elder St in July 1878 as the Race Horse Inn, in premises owned by William Reay, and Henry Doherty as the first licensee. The name changed to Reay’s Hotel in June 1881 when William Reay acquired the hotel’s license.
William Reay purchased the western half of Lot 8 Section H in Lambton township in April 1876. (Vol-Fol 260-76) This is 91 Elder Street today.
Purchase of land in Elder St by William Reay in 1876. Vol-Fol 260-76
In November 1880 Richard Ward, the licensee of the Marquis of Lorne hotel, made application to move his license to premises in Elder Street. The owners of the Marquis of Lorne Hotel (Wood Brothers) objected and the licensing court refused the application. In December 1880 Ward then successfully “applied for a license for a house in Elder-street, to be known as the Commercial Hotel.”
There is very little further information available on the hotel and by April 1882, the Commercial Hotel premises occupied by Ward was advertised for sale, and there is no further mention of the hotel operating after this time. Interestingly, it is the subsequent property sales that allow us to identify the probable location of Ward’s hotel.
Commercial Hotel premises for sale, Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 6 April 1882.
From this advertisement we know that the hotel was on the north side of Elder Street as it was …
“… erected upon a quarter of an acre of land, fronting Elder-street, and running through to De-Vitre-street, thus having two frontages to the principal streets.”
In August 1882 the Newcastle Morning Herald reported that …
“Messrs. W. Lightfoot and Son have removed to Lambton, and commenced business in the premises in Elder-street, lately known as the Commercial Hotel, as grocers, drapers, ironmongers, dealers in colonial produce, etc.”
A few years later, in January 1885, the property was again advertised for sale, split into two allotments.
The first allotment is described as having a frontage to Elder St of 33 feet. Note however that the second allotment has a frontage to Elder St of 18 feet but a frontage to De Vitre St of 35 feet. The difference in frontages can only occur if the block is either wedge shaped, or has an irregular shape. Searching through the chain of land sales on the north side of Elder St shows that there is only one allotment of land sold in this period that has an irregular shape with a frontage to Elder St as described, that being the west half of Lot 5. (The actual frontage is 32 feet 5 inches, not 33 feet – but we all know that real estate agents like to talk things up.)
This site is at address 102-104 Elder St, where Raine & Horne Real Estate was formerly located, and Williams Artisan Bread & Espresso is currently located.
102 and 104 Elder St Lambton. Site of the first “Commercial Hotel” in Lambton.
The Exchange Hotel opened in 1881 and was located on the north west corner of Howe and Morehead Streets. Some time around 1986 the hotel was renamed to the “Lambton Park Hotel”.
Henry Johnson purchased the southern half of Lot 10 in Section L of Lambton township in January 1876 (Vol-Fol 249-28).
Purchase of half of Lot 10 in Section L of Lambton township by Henry Johnson in 1876. Vol-Fol 249-28
Johnson erected a small double storey brick hotel building on the site, and in March 1881 was granted a publican’s license. Eli Chadwick subsequently became licensee in 1884.
The hotel was located on the north east corner of Ralph and Robert Streets in Jesmond. The hotel building still exists today, and is a private residence.
The former Marquis of Midlothian Hotel in Robert Street, Jesmond. Photographed in January 2021.
In May 1876 George Smith purchased Lot 10 of Section C in the private township of Jesmond. (Vol-Fol 266-98)
Purchase of Lot 10 of Section C in Jesmond by George Smith in May 1876. Vol-Fol 266-98
Within a few months, the newspaper reported that …
“Mr. George Smith is erecting a splendid store and dwelling-house. The building is two stories, and composed of brick, containing about ten rooms in all. It is now nearly completed, excepting the doors and windows and inside fittings. When finished, it will be one of the most imposing buildings in the district.”
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 11 August 1876.
However it seems that Smith (or his building contractor) wasn’t careful about where the Lot boundary was, and part of the building encroached into the then vacant and unsold adjoining Lot 9. In 1883 when James Mitchell purchased Lot 10 from George Smith, he also needed to purchase a little triangular wedge of Lot 9.
The encroachment of the building over the original Lot boundary can be graphically seen in the Title Certificate of a later sale of Lot 9.
Purchase of adjoining Lot 9 in 1942, that shows the encroachment of the hotel building on Lot 10 into Lot 9. Vol-Fol 5616-112
James Mitchell having acquired the land and building in 1883 “expended a large amount of money on the house” and applied for a publican’s license in April 1885. Mr Perrott, the magistrate at the licensing court refused the application “on the ground that the reasonable requirements of the place did not justify the granting of it”, adding “the spending of a lot of money on a house did not entitle it to be licensed.”
It is not clear what (if anything) changed, but six months later in October 1885, Mitchell submitted the application again before the same licensing magistrate, but this time the application was granted, and the Marquis of Midlothian hotel was opened.
James Mitchell remained as publican until November 1891, when the license was transferred to Bartholomew Davison. Davison renewed the license in November 1892, but there is no mention of the hotel operating after this time. It is probable that it had ceased trading by February 1893 when the property was advertised for sale. This was but one of many unsuccessful attempts by Mitchell to sell his property in June 1888, April 1891, February 1893 and January 1900.
In April 1902, Thomas Henry Armstrong applied to re-open the hotel under the new name of the “Sportsmans’ Arms”. After hearing arguments for and against the granting of a license, the Newcastle Licensing Court reached their decision …
“The application was refused on the grounds that the requirements of the place did not justify a license.”
The property was sold later that year on 23 August 1902 to John Henry Mitchell. In 1929 when there was a proposal for a new hotel in Jesmond, residents opposed to the application recalled Jesmond hotels of bygone days …
“The building which was known as Mitchell’s Hotel is still intact, and is occupied as a private dwelling. Mitchell’s Hotel was regarded as a sporting place, and could boast having one of the best ball alleys in the district. A large crowd usually assembled on what was recognised as the miners’ pay-Saturdays, and witnessed many exciting handball matches and handicaps, which were commenced early in the morning and continued until nightfall.”
The Commercial Hotel was located on the south west corner of Elder and Grainger Streets. At various times it was also known as Snake Gully Hotel, Amos Hotel, and Bar 121.
John Sample’s Commercial Hotel in 1893. University of Newcastle, Cultural Collections.Snake Gully Hotel in July 2018, a few months prior to its closure.New apartments on site of Commercial Hotel, September 2020.
The Reservoir Hotel was located on the north east corner of Newcastle Rd and George St. The hotel building still exists, and is now a private residence.
The former Reservoir Hotel building. Date and photographer unknown.The former Reservoir Hotel building in 2020.
How many hotels does a mining township need? In the boom years of the 19th century the answer was ‘lots’. But after World War 1 the answer was ‘less’, for these were the years of the Licenses Reduction Board. The Reservoir Hotel on Newcastle Road at Lambton was one of the casualties of the board’s deliberations 100 years ago.
In 1864 Robert Cairns opened the “Lambton Arms” in Pearson St, the first of many hotels in the town. As the population grew, so did the number of hotels, reaching a peak of 16 in 1881. In 1888, John Cox commissioned a new hotel on the main road opposite the town’s recently installed water reservoir. The two-storey weatherboard building, designed by architects Bennett and Yeomans, contained sixteen rooms and a cellar, and opened for business in July 1888 with Jacob Dent as the first licensee.
Fourteen publicans ran the hotel in the following 33 years, until the Licenses Reduction Board brought an end. The board was born out of the Prohibition movement, but not in the way you might expect. In the face of growing activism from groups wanting to ban all alcohol, a citizen’s association was formed in 1919 to “oppose the extreme and ruinous legislation proposed by prohibitionists”, and to instead promote a policy of “moderation and temperance”.
In December 1919 the NSW parliament passed a bill that instituted the Licenses Reduction Board. Their purpose was to reduce the number of licensed premises to a maximum based on population, by closing hotels with a history of liquor act convictions, or those in poor physical condition. Compensation was to be paid to owners and licensees.
During 1920 the board inspected 152 hotels in the Newcastle area, and on 28 January 1921 announced its decision that 23 licenses were to be revoked, including the Reservoir Hotel at Lambton. In August 1921 John Baptist Beisler, the final publican of the hotel, closed the bar for the last time. The building has been a private residence since that day.
Reservoir Hotel building, Lambton (Undated, photographer unknown.)Reservoir Hotel building in 2020.
The article above was first published in the January 2021 edition of The Local.
Additional Information
the Hotel
A report in the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate on 31 May 1888 provides details of the newly opened Reservoir Hotel …
The completion of the new hotel built to the order of Mr. J. Cox, of the Yacht Club Hotel, Newcastle, by Mr. George Froome, of Wallsend, Messrs. Bennett and Yeomans being the architects, was marked by Mr. Cox inviting some of his Newcastle and district friends to inspect the building, and after wards do the usual honours in favour of Mr. Jacob Dent, of Lambton, who will be the lessee on opening. The hotel is splendidly situated, near the reservoir on the Lambton Wallsend-road, commanding a splendid view of at least three fourths of the district. It is a weather-board building, containing sixteen rooms and commodious cellar, out-houses, stable, &c., being built on an entirely improved plan, which reflects great credit on the architects and builder. All the rooms are well ventilated and lighted, a splendid balcony runs around half of the building with a frontage to George-street and the main road; in fact all that can be desired, in the way of an hotel in the strictest sense of the word is to be found in the building.
Advertisement for Dent’s Reservoir Hotel. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 29 August 1888.
There were a total of 14 licensees of the Reservoir Hotel in its 33 year history.
It is important to remember when researching old hotels, that the licensee of the hotel is not necessarily the same as the person who owns the land and hotel building. Regarding the ownership of the Reservoir Hotel, Volume-Folio 806-208 in the Historical Land Records Viewer shows that John Cox purchased the land in August 1886, being Lots 1 and 28 of Section B
Vol-Fol 784-8
Lots 1 and 28 of Section B.
Volume-Folio 806-208 shows that the property was then leased to “John Thomas Toohey and James Matthew Toohey of Sydney, Brewers”, in February 1893.
Vol-Fol 806-208. Lease to Toohey brothers in 1993.
John Cox owned the land until his death in 1900, and then his widow, Ellen Jane Cox sold the land to “Castlemaine Brewery and Wood Brothers and Company, Newcastle” in June 1902. They retained ownership of the property for the remainder of the working life of the hotel.
Vol-Fol 806-208. Sale to Castlemaine Brewery
John Baptist Beisler, the final licensee of the Reservoir Hotel, held the license for less than a year. In 1930 Beisler obtained the license of the Marquis of Lorne Hotel in Morehead St, and he and his wife and his family held the licence of that hotel for an impressive 46 years, until the family sold the business in 1976.
The Licenses Reduction Board
In Sydney in March 1919, a the Citizens’ Rights and Liquor Reform Association was formed, to advocate a middle ground between ‘prohibition’ and ‘business as usual’ in the alcohol trade. The report in The Sun newspaper on 20 March 1919 explained the association’s objectives, one of which was the establishment of a Licenses Reduction Board..
A number of Sydney citizens believe that liquor reform is one of the most vital problems before the people of Australia at this time. There have hitherto been only two alternatives — continuance of the liquor traffic and its palpable abuses or absolute prohibition. These men also believe that the real solution lies in neither of these extremes. They prefer the means of moderation and temperance … the new organisation will “oppose the extreme and ruinous legislation proposed by prohibitionists, aided and abetted by the money and the professional, agitators of the American Anti-Saloon League, who, by an impertinence and arrogance unparalleled in Australian history, have injected themselves and their theories into an arena hitherto regarded as inviolably domestic.” On the other hand, the association will use all its power to bring about real temperance reform.
Some of its objectives are: — The elimination of unnecessary and undesirable hotels through a Licenses Reduction Board; cancellation of the licenses of unscrupulous licensees and their permanent disqualification; making all hotels actually and in fact places of public accommodation and reputable social entertainment; and reduction of alcoholic strength of liquors.
There was much debate throughout 1919 in the papers and in Parliament about how the Liquor Act should be reformed. Finally, in the early hours of Wednesday morning 18 December 1919, the Parliament passed the final stage of the “Liquor (Amendment) Act 1919”.
The Act covered include a number of reforms, including …
Establishment of a Licenses Reduction Board
No new liquor or publican’s licenses to be granted
Reduce the number of publican’s licenses over a period of three years
by a number not exceeding one fourth
to a maximum number based on a formula involving the size of the electorate.
The board to hold hearings to assess which licensed premises might be closed.
Premises to consider for delicensing to include those where
there have been convictions for selling alcohol to minors, selling to intoxicated persons, gaming or prostitution offences
“the business in the premises is so badly conducted as to be a serious inconvenience to persons requiring accommodation, or a nuisance to the neighbours, or insufficiently provided with proper sanitary conveniences”
Assess the amount of compensation to be paid to owners and licenses
In Newcastle, “the board carefully inspected each of the 152 licensed premises in the electorate” and in January 1921 announced their decision that the following 23 hotels were to have their license removed.
Selbourne Hotel, Newcastle
Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown
Strand Hotel, Newcastle
Railway Hotel, West Newcastle
Federal Hotel, Stockton
Carrington Hotel, Wallsend-Plattsburg
Grapes Inn Hotel, Wallsend-Plattsburg
Imperial Hotel, Wallsend-Plattsburg
Northumberland Hotel, Wallsend-Plattsburg
Miners’ Arms Hotel, Young Wallsend (Edgeworth)
Bonnie Doon Hotel, Minmi
All Nations’ Hotel, Newcastle
Masonic Hotel, Newcastle
Newcastle Hotel, Newcastle
Australian Hotel, Newcastle
Mafeking Hotel, Newcastle
Miners’ Arms Hotel, Newcastle
Clyde Hotel, Carrington
Central Hotel, Lambton
Reservoir Hotel, Lambton
Royal Hotel, Wallsend
Railway Hotel, Minmi
Tattersalls Hotel, West Wallsend
The licenses weren’t revoked immediately, but simply not renewed at the expiration of the current annual license. The board also determined compensation to be paid, and announced their decision in May 1921. For the Reservoir Hotel in Lambton, compensation was decided to be “£1450 to owner, £190 licensee; total, £1640.”
Other Lambton hotels
In the article I wrote that the number of hotels in Lambton reached a peak of 16 in 1881. The graphic below charts the evolution of hotels in Lambton from 1864 to the present. In compiling the list I am including hotels that were in the Lambton Municipality, so that includes hotels that were in Dark Creek, that is the area of Jesmond east of the inner city bypass.
Application by Jacob Dent for a "Conditional Publican's License for premises proposed to be erected at the intersection of George and Young streets, Lambton, to be known by the sign of Dent's Reservoir Hotel."
Formation of the Citizens' Rights and Liquor Reform Association, to advocate a middle ground between 'prohibition' and 'business as usual' in the alcohol trade.
At the Licenses Reduction Board hearing for the Reservoir Hotel ... "Inspector Cook produced certificates of
two convictions, one in May, 1919, and the other in October, 1919. Sergeant Harrison said the hotel was an old weatherboard building in a fair state of repair. Four bedrooms were available to the public. The conduct was good. Travellers did not use it a great deal, but it served a population of about 1000."
The Licenses Reduction Board delivers its report at the Newcastle Courthouse, announcing that 23 hotels in the Newcastle Electorate should be deprived of their licenses, including the Reservoir Hotel and Central Hotel in Lambton.
Compensation awarded to 23 hotels closed by the Licenses Reduction Board in Newcastle electorate, including £1640 to the Reservoir Hotel owner and licensee.
The intersection of Elder and Grainger streets was at one time the hotel hub of Lambton, with all four of its corners hosting a licenced establishment. In 1865 John Stoker opened the Gold Miners’ Arms on the north east corner, in 1868 Michael Doyle opened the Rose, Thistle & Shamrock Inn on the south east corner, and in 1875 Joseph Hunter opened the Royal Hotel on the north west corner.
In 1888 the Commercial Hotel opened on the south west corner in a newly erected building. The name was familiar to locals as there had been a previous but unrelated hotel of the same name on the northern side of Elder St for a brief period around 1880. The new Commercial Hotel building was commissioned by Mr G Buckley, designed by local architects Bennett and Yeomans, and constructed by Mr J Frogley. The newspaper at the time reported that
“The building is of brick, containing fifteen rooms, with large cellar 20 x 16, bathroom and water tank, wardrobe, large yard, stables and out-offices. The main building contains a large hall, used by the Masonic Order, 36 x 18, with ante-room attached; billiard-room, 26 x 26, high and lofty, fitted with fire-place, large-sized table, and eleven ventilators, making it cosy in winter and cool in the summer.”
The first publican was Mr W Brown, followed by John Sample in 1889. Another notable publican was George Smith, who held the license of the Commercial Hotel from 1901 to 1912, before becoming publican of the Northumberland Hotel at the other end of Elder St from 1913 to 1920.
After 84 years of trading as the Commercial Hotel, in 1972 it was renamed the Snake Gully Hotel. In 1979 it became the Hotel Amos, then reverted to Snake Gully Hotel in 1982. In 2002 it was renamed Bar 121, and then renamed to Snake Gully Hotel again in 2016. The hotel closed in August 2018 bringing to an end over 150 years of continuous hotel operations at the Elder/Grainger St intersection.
The article above was first published in the December 2018 edition of The Local.
John Sample’s Commercial Hotel 1893. Photograph by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.The Snake Gully Hotel in July 2018June 2019. The old Commercial Hotel has been demolished, awaiting construction of apartments.
New apartments on site of Commercial Hotel, September 2020.
The First “Commercial Hotel” in Lambton
Several books, including one I collaborated on (Lambton, A nineteenth century mining town, 2nd edition) state that the Commercial Hotel on the south west corner of Elder/Grainger Streets dates from 1880. This is incorrect. While researching this article I discovered that the Commercial Hotel of 1880 was a different hotel, somewhere on the north side of Elder St. The Commercial Hotel that opened in 1888 on the southern side of Elder St was described at the time as a newly erected hotel.
“erected upon a quarter of an acre of land, fronting Elder-street, and running through to De-Vitre-street, thus having two frontages to the principal streets.”
In August 1882 the Newcastle Morning Herald reported that …
“Messrs. W. Lightfoot and Son have removed to Lambton, and commenced business in the premises in Elder-street, lately known as the Commercial Hotel, as grocers, drapers, ironmongers, dealers in colonial produce, etc.”
A few years later, in January 1885, the property was again advertised for sale, split into two allotments.
The first allotment is described as having a frontage to Elder St of 33 feet. Note however that the second allotment has a frontage to Elder St of 18 feet but a frontage to De Vitre St of 35 feet. The difference in frontages can only occur if the block is either wedge shaped, or has an irregular shape. Loading up lot boundaries from the NSW Globe KML (from NSW Governement Spatial Services) into Google Earth shows that there are no wedge shaped blocks on the north side of Elder St, but there is an irregular set of lots where
the total area is 0.25 acres (matching the area described in the 1882 sale)
the western lot has a frontage to Elder St of 33 feet, and the eastern lot a frontage of 18 feet (matching the details of the 1885 sale)
There are no other lots that match the details of the 1882 and 1885 sale advertisements, so I am reasonably confident that this is where the first Commercial Hotel in Lambton was situated. The site is at address 102-104 Elder St, where Raine & Horne Real Estate was formerly located, and Williams Artisan Bread & Espresso is currently located.
102 and 104 Elder St Lambton. Site of the first Commercial Hotel in Lambton.
Additional Information
The University of Newcastle Cultural Collections has another Ralph Snowball photograph of the Commercial Hotel, captioned “George Smith’s Commercial Hotel, Lambton NSW, 11 August 1891”. The date cannot be right as George Smith did not become licensee of the Commercial Hotel until late 1900 or early 1901.
Update April 2020. Robert Watson has identified in the Cultural Collections site the photograph of Ralph Snowball’s listing of glass plate box 260, where this photograph is listed with a date of 10 August 1901.
"Richard Ward applied for the transfer of his license of the Marquis of Lorne Hotel, Dixon street, to a house in Elder-street." The request was refused by the bench. Was the house in Elder St the Commercial Hotel which R Ward occupied in 1882?
Advertisement for the sale of Mr R Ward's Commercial Hotel. It is described as being on a quarter acre block between Elder and De-Vitre street in Lambton.
"Messrs. W. Lightfoot and Son have removed to Lambton, and commenced business in the premises in Elder-street, lately known as the Commercial Hotel, as grocers, drapers, ironmongers, dealers in colonial produce, etc."
FOR SALE - "That splendid BUSINESS PREMISES situate in the best part of Elder-street, Lambton, and occupied at present by W. Lightfoot and Sons as a Drapery establishment, consisting of two good shops,
with a seven-roomed dwelling, kitchen, out buildings, and two underground tanks. The land has a frontage to Elder-street of 33 feet, by a depth running back to De Vitre street."
"The new hotel built to the order of Mr. G. Buckley, situate at the junction of Elder and Grainger streets, is now complete." "Mr. Brown has spared no pains in tastefully furnishing every room, so that the Commercial Hotel, with its genial host and sanitary surroundings, can be safely recommended as ranking amongst the first-class hotels of the district."
Mr. W. Brown, the host of the new Commercial Hotel, celebrated the opening of the house by inviting a
few friends to partake of a neat "spread" on Monday night.
"FOR SALE, the License, Stock-in-trade, Goodwill, and Furniture of the Commercial Hotel, Elder-street, Lambton. Apply on premises, Mrs. A. J. Buckley."
At the license renewal hearing, the Commercial Hotel is described as "a fairly new brick building of two storeys" with "nine bedrooms, six of which were available to the public." The licensee at the time was Stephen Thomas Shipley, and the owner was Anne Jane Buckley.
