Ipswich City Council presents
Heritage Week
Rubbidy-Dubs to PUBS
Then & Now

Historical Hotels of the Ipswich Central Business District, North Ipswich, Brassall and
West Ipswich

Caledonian Hotel

The first hotel on this site was The Red Cow, built in the 1840s. The owners were always suspected of operating an illegal distillery to produce rum but they could never be caught. When the old hotel was finally demolished around 1896 to build the current one, the still was found - cunningly built into the brickwork of the chimney. The current hotel was renovated in 1938 in art deco style.

Commercial Hotel, Ellenborough Street

A brick hotel was built on this site in the 1860s to be conveniently located near the first Ipswich Railway Station. The original building was demolished and the current attractive timber hotel was built in 1916-17 to a design by architect Will Haenke. Note the bridge-like timber posts supporting the building.

City View, cnr Brisbane and Burnett Streets

This site was a difficult triangular one adjoining a deep railway cutting excavated in 1875. Architect George Brockwell Gill produced a skillful solution to the problem, locating an octagonal two-storey “tower” to disguise the sharp corner of the building, while the front appears as a traditional two-storey verandahed hotel. The building was completed in 1907 and contained a parlour, coffee room and dining room as well as 13 bedrooms. The name refers to the hotel’s position on the edge of the Ipswich CBD.

Federal Hotel, cnr Brisbane and Burnett Streets

Like the City View opposite, this hotel was also built to fit a very sharp triangular site. Francis Sullivan applied for a licence for a hotel on this site in 1906 but was refused. However Mary O’Sullivan received a licence the following year and the hotel opened in August 1907.

Harp of Erin (Metropole)

Two prominent attributes have been reinstated on this handsome hotel - the name and the street awning. The Harp of Erin was the original hotel on the site but it had become run down by the early 1890s. After years of complaints by the licencing court and years of delaying tactics by the owner, a new hotel was erected in 1906 and received a more modern-sounding name “The Hotel Metropole”. In the 1970s, the street awning was a victim of progress when the timber supports were thought to be difficult for parking. Fortunately, attitudes changed and the awning was reinstated in 1995. In 1997, the romantic old name “Harp of Erin” also reappeared.

Murphys Town Pub, Union Street

Originally known as the Commonwealth, this hotel was built in 1910; the date appears on the parapet, along with its more recent name Murphy’s Town Pub. The interior was rebuilt in the 1980s during the construction of Ipswich City Square and the Mall.

Prince of Wales Hotel

There was an earlier Prince of Wales Hotel in Ipswich in 1855 - but it was not on this site. This hotel was originally called the Union but when the Prince of Wales visited Ipswich in 1920, the owners Dennis and Violet Callaghan changed the name.

Settlers Inn (Club Hotel) Originally called the Shamrock

This hotel burned to the ground in 1885. It was replaced by the Club Hotel, which was also damaged by fire in 1916 but was repaired. The current building has an unusual central carriageway to the rear yard, typical in English coaching houses but rare in Australia. It still has its open balustraded parapet with a spiked finial. The name was changed to Settlers Inn in the late 1990s.

Ulster Hotel

Palais Royal Hotel

The original Palais Royal Hotel was a fine two-storey structure built as a house for George Thorn, “the Father of Ipswich”. A ball was held there in 1859 in honour of the first visit by Governor Bowen - the Governor pleased everyone when he danced until 2am. After Thorn bought Claremont, the house was turned into a hotel and its proudest boast was that it was patronised by the Governor.

Jets Club (formerly Hotel Cecil)

This hotel opened as "The Imperial Hotel" in April 1887. In the 1890s, the number of hotels in an area was limited by legislation and Ipswich had more than its share. The Imperial was one of three which lost its licence in April 1891 to comply with the new regulations. However, a few months later, the National Workmen’s Club managed to obtain a club licence for the premises. The hotel regained a full licence in 1904, now using its current name Hotel Cecil. It was extended in 1915 with a single storey wing in Lowry Street. In 1992, it was extensively renovated and it has been extended several times since. In 1998, it became the Jets Club.

Strand Hotel

Three hotels were listed on The Terrace and several others nearby in the early years of Ipswich - probably a tribute to the hard-earned thirst of the railway workers, sawmillers and foundry workers of the immediate area. The Strand and the nearby Cecil are the only survivors.

One Mile Hotel

This area was very busy in the early years of Ipswich as it was the place where bullock wagons rested on the road between Ipswich and the Darling Downs. Several hotels were built in Brisbane St, The Bull’s Head Inn (on the corner of Keogh St), the Carriers Arms and the One Mile Hotel. In 1885, Jack King took over the One Mile hotel and rebuilt it. In April 1911, architect Coutts called tenders for a two-storey brick hotel at One Mile for N. Kerwick and this appears to be the present hotel - the third on the site.

Mihi Tavern

This tavern takes its name from historic Mihi Creek which runs into the Bremer River

Historical Hotels of the Eastern Suburbs of Ipswich
Historical Hotels of the Country Towns of Ipswich

Historical Hotels of the Eastern Suburbs of Ipswich
Historical Hotels of the Country Towns of Ipswich
Other information about Hotels