The first hotel appeared in Darebin in 1844 when Robert Duff opened the Pilgrim Inn on High Street in Thornbury. Over the next two decades a number of new hotels opened their doors. Most proved successful and some are still operating to this day, however some have vanished from memory. These are their stories.
The Northcote Arms Hotel was constructed in 1853 and was a substantial two story bluestone building built at 438 Queens Parade North Fitzroy (which was part of Northcote in the 1800s). Amongst the earliest publicans at the hotel was Charles Ritter who passed away shortly after taking over the hotel. The hotel struggled to survive and appears to have been placed on the market for sale on an almost annual basis. It survived alcoholic publicans, bushrangers and court cases but it could not survive low patronage and despite changing its name to the Egremont Hotel it had closed by 1865. In 1870 it had a brief revival under its old name of the Northcote Arms Hotel but the latest and last publican Joseph Thomas could not make a go of it and it closed shortly afterwards. The building still stands today, serving as both a residence and commercial premises.
The Bird in Hand Hotel operated in Preston from 1868 to 1875. It was located on the west side of Plenty Road on the corner or just below David Street. The publican, Elisha Evans was to be the sole publican of the hotel during its life time.
Evans time as a publican probably was eventful. He was assaulted, had his hotel vandalized, prosecuted one man for verbally abusing his daughter and went bankrupt. He even lost his wife in childbirth, although the coroner blamed Evans for being tardy in consulting a doctor. Despite claiming the hotel was a prosperous business Evans was forced to sell the hotel and returned to his original occupation of farmer. He subsequently abandoned his defacto wife and three small children and left the colony, leaving the family facing starvation.
The Butchers Arms Hotel operated in Northcote around 1867-1869. We know little about it other than it was operated by John Turnbull who subsequently sold all his possessions at auction in July 1869. We do not know where the hotel was located although it is possible that it was the old Northcote Arms Hotel, operating under a new name.
The Merrilands Hotel was located in Reservoir, just north of the Reservoir railway station. It was operating from at least 1866 when a successful series of horse races occurred there. As the meeting place for the Epping District Road Board, the Merrilands was seat of political power in the large sprawling district. The publican, Richard Plant, seemed to hover just above bankruptcy for most of his career, actually losing control of the hotel briefly for none payment of debts. Plant died of consumption in 1869 and the hotel then closed.
Argus newspaper, 1848-1957
- Cole, Robert K. Index of Hotels 1841 – 1949. (Manuscript)
- Edge, Gary. Surviving the six o’clock swill: a history of Darebin’s hotels. Melbourne. Darebin Libraries. 2006
- Forster, Harley. Preston Lands and People. Melbourne: Cheshire, 1968.
