The Heritage Hotel Rockhampton
The Heritage Hotel is a hotel in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. The building is noted for its late 19th century commercial architecture.[1]
History
The town's first pub was the Bush Inn, erected in 1856 on the site of the current Criterion Hotel. By the time of the city's proclamation in 1902 there were already 42 hotels in a town of only 3,000. The same number of establishments today services a population of over 60,000.
In 1859, at 228 Quay Street (on the corner of Quay and William Streets), William James built the Golden Fleece Hotel. This hotel didn’t last long. It was reopened in 1864 as Hart's and then as the Commercial Hotel in 1865.
History was made on the site in 1867 when the Gold Commissioner turn thief, Thomas John Griffin, shouted drinks at the hotel, and in doing so revealed himself as the murderer of two police officers. Ten days prior two officers were shot and killed whilst on gold escort: they were transporting £4,000 on the instruction of Griffin, who apprehended them en route and hijacked their payload. Griffin was revealed as the culprit when a pound note he used in the hotel was traced to the missing loot.
After a few years of operation, there were was a long period of inactivity before the hotel was bought by Leah Johnson. It was then demolished and reopened as the Commercial Hotel and Chambers in 1897. Johnson was one of the most prominent hoteliers in the state. She had run the site before it was the Commercial Hotel, but with her husband's death in 1880 she moved on to manage hotels elsewhere throughout the state. Her new hotel, the current building, was a local effort, designed by J W Wilson and built by J K Evans. Its iron lace cast was made by the Burns and Twigg foundry, its joinery by W A Lawson and the furniture by James Stewart and Co. It was built within 6 months for a total cost of £7,000.
Johnson, alongside her new hotel, became a local icon. She lived in 'Lubeck' on George Street and employed a manager to drive her to the hotel each day in a hooded sulky drawn by a stunning white horse.
The Mayes family took over from Leah Johnson at the start of the 20th century. By this time the hotel had cemented its place as one of the grand old hotels of Rockhampton. The Hotel's restaurant was reportedly one of Douglas MacArthur's favourite dining rooms during his war-time stays in Rockhampton in the 1940s.
In 1949 another well-known female Queensland hotelier, Pat Floyd, took over the Commercial. Her collection of wine, beer and spirit labels that she amassed over her years of stewardship is now on display near the entrance to the Hotel's foyer. In the early 1970s the Grieve family took over the hotel, but then sold it later that decade. The building was then earmarked for demolition and many of its original fixtures and fittings – doors, windows and some cabinetry – were stripped out.
The Heritage Hotel
The current owner purchased the site in October 2005 and re-opened it after an extensive renovation, as the Heritage Hotel. This renovation was probably the most significant in the building's 110-year history and was intended to restore the building to the forefront of hospitality in Central Queensland. The ground and first floors were completely remodelled, the retail tenancies were converted to the Quay cocktail bar, and the roof was lifted off the first floor to create a beer garden. This renovation was carried out using all available local products, technicians and tradespersons.
The current setup includes a first-floor beer garden, gaming lounge, cocktail bar, nightclub, restaurant, billiard room, private event-space and third-storey accommodation.
The Heritage Hotel has won numerous design awards since its re-opening and was a finalist for 'New Hotel of the Year' in the national Industry Hotel Awards 2007. Of the six finalists, the Heritage was the only nominee from a regional city.
The Hotel Closed on the 11th March 2015. After the following message was posted to the Hotels Facebook page:
To our wonderful customers - it is with much sadness that we close the doors on the Heritage Hotel today. Unfortunately, the impact of the drought, the changes to the coal industry and the cyclone have all impacted our business (along with many others). We have been unable to sustain the losses any longer.
We have had an amazing 10 years discovering, getting to know, and then falling in love with Rockhampton. It is with broken hearts that we wish you all the best for the future, as we sadly move on.
Please remember, the best party is always yet to come!
Laugh, learn, live, love life.
Will, Darren & the HHR Crew.[2]
References
- ↑ Evans Brown + Associates, Architects (2010). "The Heritage Hotel, Rockhampton". The Australian Institute of Architects. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/RockhamptonsHeritageHotel?fref=ts
External links
Coordinates: 23°22′46.95″S 150°30′55.77″E / 23.3797083°S 150.5154917°E