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285 Wellington Street
Collingwood 3066
Australia
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The Gem Bar & Dining Room (c. 2006 - present)

Steeth's Family Hotel (1875-1883), Curry's Family Hotel (1884 - c.2006)

1875

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Existing hotel

1927l

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Individually significant within HO 321; Appendix 7, p. 500-501

Kearney 1855: N ; Hodgkinson 1858: N ; MMBW: Detail Plan 1237, 1900

While Wellington Street was in the early days Collingwood's most densely populated and busiest street, it was quite short, running only from Victoria Parade to Johnston Street. The process of extending the road through private property towards Clifton Hill took place in the 1870s, and James Steeth, who had been a publican at the Village Belle in Abbotsford, must have seen the developing area as a good commercial proposition for a man with some capital to invest. Formerly a Sergeant of Police, in June 1875 he applied for a licence for Steeth's Family Hotel. 'He had recently received a legacy of 10,000 pounds, which the Police Magistrate said was of itself no recommendation.' ( The Argus, 5 June 1875, p. 6). Despite the magistrate's dry comment (a style not at all unusual at licensing hearings) the licence was granted. In the 1880s the hotel was taken over by Michael Curry, who renamed the hotel.

Curry's was significantly altered or re-built in 1927 in a distinctive Mediterranean Provincial Revival style with hipped roof, strutted eaves and a tiled dado, well-suited to its corner site. Of the older building, the original north wall definitely remains, as the lettering 'Steeth's Family Hotel' was visible for a short time when the neighbouring building was demolished in readiness for the construction of housing units in the 1990s.

At the youthful age of 25, Amy Robson became both owner and licensee of the Curry Family Hotel in 1997. After ten years working as a barmaid, she looked forward to controlling her own working environment and created 'a family-oriented, old-fashioned local watering hole which is not glamourous or chic bur certainly reflects its keeper's values of honesty, responsibility and nurturance... Amy continues to work tirelessly among her "extended family" of "waifs, strays and refugees". ( Beyond the ladies lounge, p. 196).

Amy's Bar is no longer, but The Gem is continuing the tradition of being a welcoming and easy-going local for a drink or a meal, as well as hosting musical events. Locals still sometimes refer to the hotel as Curry's.

176 Hoddle Street
Collingwood 3066
Australia
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The Goodhead (2010 to c. 2012)

Morning Star Hotel (1869 - 2007), Opium Den (2008 - 2010)

1869

c. 2012

Ozihouse student accommodation

Early twentieth century

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Kearney 1855: N ; Hodgkinson 1858: N ; MMBW: Detail Plan 1283, 1901

The hotel was rebuilt, probably between 1910 and 1930, in red brick with a tiled dado. The whole exterior was uniformly painted, probably in the early twenty-first century, creating quite a difference appearance. The most recent but short-lived name of the hotel referred to Goodhead, a brand of beer.

67-71 Johnston Street
Collingwood 3066
Australia
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Tote Hotel (1991 to present)

Healy's Hotel (1870 - 73), Ivanhoe Hotel (1873 - 1990)

1870

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Existing hotel

Renovated in the inter-war period and ground floor changed

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Individually significant within HO 324

Kearney 1855: N ; Hodgkinson 1858: N ; MMBW: Detail Plan 1196, 1900

Daniel Healy had a grain store on this site before building a hotel. He changed its name to the Ivanhoe in 1873. His wife Bridget was later the licensee, and the pub would remain in the Healy family until 1940. It became a popular music venue in the 1980s-1990s and took a new name as The Tote. Rumours that it had been connected by underground tunnels to John Wren's tote on the other side of Johnston Street are quite unfounded.

Closed briefly in 2009 and again in early 2010 owing to difficulties in complying with stricter licensing laws applying to "high-risk" venues hosting late-night live music, it re-opened as a result of a groundswell of public opinion and protest. It again seemed at risk in 2023 when the owners Jon Perrin and Andy Portokallis decided to sell up, but with help from crowd-funding it has kept going and continues to feature a wide range of local bands.

To find out more about its history, see this very informative blog:
https://blogs.slv.vic.gov.au/arts/music/40-years-of-the-tote/

[205] Hoddle Street, between Vere and Gipps streets (west side)
Collingwood 3066
Australia
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Town Hall Hotel (1908 - 1972)

Victoria Hotel (1858 - 1907)

1858

1972

Demolished 1972 for the widening of Hoddle Street

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Kearney 1855: N/A ; Hodgkinson 1858: N/A ; MMBW: Detail Plan 1199 & 1200, 1899

James Cattach was an early licensee at this rendered stone two-storey hotel, before moving to the newly-opened British Crown in Smith Street.

One would think that the construction of the Town Hall over the road in the 1880s provided the owner with an opportunity to bask in the reflected glory and civic pride of the grand boom-style edifice by changing the hotel name, but in fact it was another twenty years before this happened.

The hotel was bought by the Board of Works in early 1971 in preparation for the Hoddle Street road widening but continued operating until May 1972.