Hotels, Inns & Wine Shanties

There have been many establishments of this nature in and around the town of Mt Barker since it began in 1839. The following is information about those hotels, their locations, and where known, the people who ran them. Today, however, only two remain - the Hotel Barker and Gray's Inn, plus the Tavern that is part of the Auchendarroch complex..

Gloag's Inn

The earliest establishment of this type in the town, Gloag's Inn was built in 1842 on Cameron Road, opposite to where the old Tannery was and the present day K-Mart Complex stands. From the scant records that exist, it would appear that the inn was in existence in 1839. The first police officer stationed in the town lived in a room in the hotel. It was one of the first stone buildings in the town. The publican was John Gloag, who also kept the Crown Hotel in Hutchinson Street in 1851.  Hoad, J.L., 1984, records incorrectly that this hotel was the original Hotel Barker and that it was in Gawler Street, and has its beginnings in 1840. According to the local ladies who wrote a history of the town in the 1930's, and who were daughters and grand-daughters of the original inhabitants put this Hotel in Cameron Road [Mesdames Trigg, Jones & Robertson, unpublished manuscript, personal copy]. The following are the licensees of Gloag's Inn.

1840/2-1853    GLOAG, John
1854-1858       UPHILL, George

Crown Hotel

Built in 1851 by John Gloag in Hutchinson Street, the building has seen many changes. For many years it was the R.S.L. Clubrooms; Dr. Octavius Weld used the building as a home for many years; and today it is an antique store. George Uphill, the builder of the Globe Hotel took it over in the 1870's - George was also one of the first local troopers. Hoad, J. L, 1984 incorrectly puts this hotel at the site of the present day Hotel Barker. Again, the ladies who were descendants of the original inhabitants put the Crown in Hutchinson Street, at the site of the R.S.L. Clubrooms (23 Hutchinson Street) [Mesdames Trigg, Jones & Robertson, unpublished manuscript, personal copy]. The following are the known licensees of the Crown Hotel:

1851-1853    GLOAG, John
1854-1858    UPHILL, George
1858-1858    LOW, A.

Low's Inn

Charley Low ran Low's Inn in 1853 and the revamped building still stands today and operates as the Hotel Barker in Gawler Street. [Mesdames Trigg, Jones & Robertson, unpublished manuscript, personal copy].  The list of licensees can be found under the heading of Hotel Barker on this page. This was also known for a brief period as the Scotch Thistle Hotel (see Scotch Thistle, this page).

Gray's Inn

In 1855 Mr Gray, who was a brewer by trade, built and opened Gray's Inn opposite the present day Police Station.[Mesdames Trigg, Jones & Robertson, unpublished manuscript, personal copy]. The Gray's Inn stands on the corner of Gawler and McLaren Streets, Mt Barker, and has continuously served the town since it was built in 1855. The building is National Trust listed (Item no. 3156). The following are known licensees of this establishment.

Hotel Barker

Built in 1853 by Charley Low and originally named Low's Inn [Mesdames Trigg, Jones & Robertson, unpublished manuscript, personal copy], the "Barker" has undergone many changes and is one of only two remaining hotels in the town. [J.L.Hoad, 1984, puts the Barker as existing from 1840, but I believe this to be incorrect.] The following are the licensees for the Hotel Barker from its beginnings up to 1984, taken from Hotels & Publicans of South Australia, J.L. Hoad, 1984, but which have been amended to coincide with the history of the hotel as written by the ladies of the town.

Globe Hotel

George Uphill had large brick stables built onto this building in 1860 to house coach horses which were changed there. Mr Uphill took over the operation of the Crown Hotel in the 1870's. The building ceased to be an hotel and became a residence, being known variously as "The Acacias" and "Milton House" and was located in what is now Pridmore Terrace, but at the time, was on the original Adelaide Road.  [Mesdames Trigg, Jones & Robertson, unpublished manuscript, personal copy]. The following are known licensees of the Globe Hotel.

1858-1870    UPHILL, George

Oakfield Hotel

Lachlan MacFarlane built the Oakfield Hotel, perhaps the most pretentious building in the town in 1861 and operated as a hotel until it was sold in 1878. The property was later owned by the Barr-Smith family and was renamed "Auchendarroch" after the family's Scottish home. Later it became a convalescent home for returned servicemen and women; and later still a retirement or rest home for the ill or elderly. Today it has been turned into a group of apartments, and the name given to it by the Barr-Smith's has been reinstated. [Mesdames Trigg, Jones & Robertson, unpublished manuscript, personal copy]. The following are the known licensees of the Oakfield Hotel.

 
Dublin Castle Hotel

This little pub was opened in the home of a Mr Donoghue and was located in the house that belonged to Amos Howard near Blakiston on the Nairne Road. [Mesdames Trigg, Jones & Robertson, unpublished manuscript, personal copy].  According to Hoad, J. L, 1984, the hotel was built in 1847 by a Mr. C. Kingston, who was the first licensee, and operated until 1869. The following are the known licensees of the Dublin Castle Hotel.

1847-1851    KINGSTON, C.
1851              DONOUGHOU, William
1852-1869    DONOGHUE, T.

[Hoad, J. L, 1984]

The Hell Town Pub

The local colloquial name given to the Lord Nelson Hotel on the road to Wistow. The hotel has been closed for many years, and is now a private residence. It was often the scene of many a physical argument between patrons. See Lord Nelson Hotel, below.

Warlands Hotel

This hotel had a very brief existence indeed - one day. There has been some suggestion [Hoad, J. L, 1984], that this may in fact be a license for the Hagen Arms Hotel at Echunga, that was recorded as being at Mt Barker by mistake, either by the applicant or by the person making the registration of or granting of the license.

4/12/1851-8/12/1851    ROSE, Corporal

[Hoad, J. L, 1984]

Lord Nelson Hotel

A small hotel on the road to Wistow from Mt Barker, the Lord Nelson has been closed for many years and is now a private residence. Mr & Mrs Cliff Hunt lived there for many years. Locals used to call it the "Hell Town Pub". Hoad, J. L, 1984 describes the hotel as being on "Section 2900 Wellington Road, (On the east side of road, halfway between Mt Barker and Wistow, Wistow". The hotel existed from 1861 until 1869. The building is National Trust Listed (Item No. 1477). The following are known licensees of the hotel, but it is known that the place operated as a sly-grog shop for quite a number of years after the license ran out.

1861-1869    BUNNETT, J.
Others           SLAVEN, Mr. (father in law of James Bunnett) also ran the hotel at some point in time.

[Hoad, J. L, 1984]

Morning Star Hotel

This old hotel stands at the corner of the main road from Wistow to Strathalbyn. The building still stands and has been extensively renovated. For many years it was the home of Mr & Mrs Alex Clarkson. The hotel operated between 1855 and 1913 according to Hoad, J. L, 1984. The following are known publicans

The Great Eastern Hotel

In the early days of the district, this hotel was kept by Richard Cornelius. The walls above the front bar are adorned with an original mural of a scene from the Oakbank Picnic Race meeting depicting the Great Eastern Steeplechase, the featured event of the meeting, which is held annually on Easter Monday at Oakbank racecourse near the town of Balhannah. The hotel, which stands on the main road through Littlehampton and adjacent to Junction Road, was first opened in 1854 and has enjoyed local patronage ever since. the following are known licensees of the hotel.

The Bugle Hotel

This small hotel existed for only 7 years at Bugle Ranges. It opened in 1852 and closed in 1859. The following are the known licensees of this establishment according to [Hoad, J. L, 1984]

1/4/1852-13/4/1853        RUMBELL,  F.B.
14/4/1853-21/3/1855     WALTON, Frederick
12/3/1855-17/9/1856     SLEEP, Robert
18/9/1856-13/6/1858     KIMBER, William
14/6/1858-1859              SLEEP, Maria

[Hoad, J. L, 1984]

The Scotch Thistle Hotel

This was another name for Low's Hotel, See Low's Hotel on this page.

The Pulpit Tavern

In the 1990's, the old Baptist Church was sold off by the Church and turned into a tavern. It was given the name "The Pulpit" because of the religious origins of the building. This tavern has long since closed and is now a bottle shop.

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last updated 4 May 2008