Cobbedah (Cobbadah)

Crowley states that John Lockhart with his application for a house of accommodation in 1847 must have been the first hotelier.  Some years later, Terence Brady was listed as hotelkeeper in Sands Directory 1884-1885. Between 1885 and 1896, George Wilkinson was both postmaster and publican.

The Warialda Standard, 10 February 1903 announced that George Wilkinson’s old hotel at Cobbedah was to be replaced by a substantial brick building.  In January 1901, George Wilkinson forwarded a petition on behalf of local residents to the Department of Public Instruction seeking a Provisional School at Cobbadah.  In reviewing the petition, the District Inspector commented, ‘George Wilkinson was proprietor of Cobbedah Hotel and conducted a coach service between Cobbedah and Gulf Creek’.

Wilkinson resigned in March 1907 and sold his business to Phillip William Jefferies (Jeffree), a miner for ₤689.  The hotel also offered hotel services and possible closure of the post office was averted when a T. Christie rented an office at the hotel and was appointed postmaster on 3 April 1907.  Jeffree held the hotel for only seven months when he sold to Thomas Alfred Akers for ₤1200.  Early in 1909, John Thomas Lennon became the owner of the hotel but by December 1909, Mr Benyon was the publican. The hotel survived and in the 1920s Charlie White was the proprietor.

At the end of March 1957, Mr and Mrs Ted Symons as licensees were farewelled from the Commercial Hotel at Bingara.  At the farewell it was revealed that Mr Symons worked at the Imperial Hotel prior to the war and after serving on active service, he managed the Cobbadah Hotel for some two and a half years.  During his time there, he organised the bridge men to construct a concrete cricket pitch, had built a tennis court by conscripting labour and installed Cobbadah’s first lighting plant. 

Coolatai (Coolootai)

By April 1903, it was reported in the Inverell Times that E. Parr was erecting a new building consisting of seventeen rooms; that is, ten bedrooms, dining room, bathroom, kitchen and outbuildings to complete a comfortable hotel. In December 1903, W.J. Parr announced that he had opened his new hotel at Coolootai.

In April 1911 Matt Lowe sold the hotel to Frank Marshall who had been engaged on ‘Gragin Station’ for many years.  F. Marshall transferred the hotel to W. Irwin. The Warialda Standard, 8 November 1920 announced the sale of the hotel and two months later, Frank Marshall had taken over from W.H. Irwin. The Warialda Standard, 7 August 1922 reported that Marshall had left the hotel for Yelarbon.  The hotel was transferred to James Henry Schutes.  In August 1923 the licence of the hotel was transferred from Francis Marshall. Andrew Ryan was the owner and licensee in October 1924 and in June 1928 he sold to J.E. Davis, a former plumber in Barraba.  It was expected that he would take the business over in six weeks. In December the proprietor A. Ryan then sold the hotel to Mrs J.A. Hurley of Yetman.

In February 1932 the hotel was transferred from P.J. Ryan to Conrad White who had previously been in storekeeping and mining operations at Stannifer. Two years later, the hotel was sold to C. E. Russell.  The license was then transferred to Percy Jaeger in January 1937.  He also operated the store at the village but in June 1939 G. Foster took the store over.

In November 1946, the licensing court allowed the owners of the hotel eighteen months for a new hotel to be built to replace the building destroyed by fire.

Gravesend

A Day’s Sports was held at Gravesend on Saturday 21 October 1905 to correspond with the opening of the new hotel.  Thomas Townsend was licensee of the hotel in September 1911 and twelve months later in September 1912, G.A. Prendergast bought the hotel from Mr Townsend. In July 1914, A. Dixon took over the ‘Gravesend Hotel’ from Mr Buxton and E.R. Jeffree was proprietor of the hotel in May 1918.  Mrs Green sold the hotel to S.A. McCabe in March 1922.

In September 1927, J. Kitching sold the hotel to Mr C. Hardy from Aberdeen.  Mrs Wilson of ‘Terry-hie-hie’ bought the goodwill of the hotel in July 1929.  The licensee of the hotel was transferred from Mrs R. Wilson to J.P. Holland formerly of Lakemba, in May 1936.  Two years later, the sale of the hotel was affected subject to transfer of the license.  Mr Hollan’s successor was Mr George.  The license of the hotel was transferred from George to Edmund Musk in November 1939.  The freehold of the hotel was sold earlier that year by S. Robinson to L.E. Maher and was afterwards purchased by Mr Musk.

Railway Hotel (Warialda Road)

The Warialda Standard, 26 January 1903 announced that ‘L. McKechnie is making good progress with the Railway Hotel building’.  D.P. MacInerney applied successfully for a publican’s license for premises at Warialda Road railway station to be known as the ‘Railway Hotel’ in April 1903.  The ‘Railway Hotel’ at Kelly’s Gully opened on 23 April 1903.

Photograph left: The former Warialda Railway Hotel, Warialda Rail, Blake & Wilson 2006

A transfer took place at the hotel in June 1911- J. Williams to Mr Passlow. Mrs Mary Ann Passlow disposed of the hotel to Esmond Stehr of Delungra as a lease for eight years in March 1914. In December 1914, Stehr and Slatter advertised a hire car to run from the hotel.  In January 1915 D.F. Costelloe late of Manilla, became proprietor.  The licence was transferred from George Parkin to J. Dixon in November 1919.  The latter had been in business at Wyong since leaving Gravesend over three years earlier. A.J. Dixon transferred the license to Charles Beveridge, formerly of Ashford in November 1920.  The hotel was transferred from Charles Bevereidge to George Park in August 1922.  The Warialda Standard, 18 December 1922 reported that the hotel had been transferred from G. Parkins to Thomas McGee.  W. Gray, late of the ‘Central Hotel’, Inverell was proprietor in May 1924 and Frank Lanagan in February 1925 and June 1926.

After managing the hotel for some three years, William Hanton purchased the freehold of the hotel and then carried out extensive renovations to the premises.  These included the installation of a Westinghouse electric light plant and other internal and external improvements by the contractor G. White.  Other improvements included the conversion of part of the stables into motor garages. In October 1933 the license was transferred to Edmond Musk, son of the late Peter Musk and Mrs Musk, who controlled the Gravesend store for many years.  In October 1935 the license was transferred from Edward Smith to Alfred Ponsford Dryden.  V.J. Timmins was proprietor of the hotel in May 1947.

Upper Bingara

The Licensing Court refused the application by James Casselly for a publican’s license for a house at Upper Bingara in January 1898, owing to the number of objections being lodged by the Licensing Sergeant. In September 1907, William Neal a butcher of Upper Bingara applied for a Publican’s License for the ‘Miner’s Arms Hotel’.

Upper Horton

John Gainen of Upper Horton was licensee of the ‘My Venture Hotel’ in the village by January 1899.  At the time of Gainen’s ownership, the hotel had its own bakery and butcher-shop. Later owners included Mr Miller and then the O’Briens.  The hotel closed in December 1941 when Mr O’Brien surrendered the license to the Licenses Reduction Board.