Individual Hotel Details

[130-132] now 168-172 Smith Street
Collingwood 3066
Australia
Map It

45

Kalgoorlie Hotel (1912 - 1918)

Clarke's Hotel (1853 - 1857), Mac's Hotel (1857 - 1912)

1853

1918

Demolished in February 2009

1919, 1930s, 1947

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

170-172 individually significant within HO 333; number 168 contributory to HO 333

Kearney 1855: Y ; Hodgkinson 1858: Y ; MMBW: 1201, 1899

James Clarke was the first licensee in a hotel on this site. Within a few years Thomas and Alexandrina McVea took over as owners and hotelkeepers, but Thomas soon died. Alexandrina re-married in 1861 and continued to run the hotel with her new husband Walter Murray, until she herself died in 1865. There followed a series of publicans, and several ownership changes, but the name Mac's Hotel was kept until well into the twentieth century.

The hotel can be seen in a photo taken around 1861. The section to the south is occupied by Caudle's drapery shop. Whether Caudle occupied just the ground floor, or that section of the building was completely divided from the northern section is arguable. The shop was rated separately (they had the same owner, but tenants were responsible for paying council rates in the nineteenth century), however the number of rooms mentioned in the rate books was low (e.g. in 1867 four in Caudle's, 28 in the hotel). This suggests that the hotel used the upper floors; certainly the name of the hotel is displayed right across the front of the building. By the time the MMBW plan was prepared in the late 19th century the buildings certainly seem to be separate.

After the closure of the Kalgoorlie Hotel, the property was tenanted by none other than members of the Coles family who moved into a larger shop than their previous (nothing over 1/-) shop further north in Smith Street. In 1921 G J Coles Pty Ltd was formed. The store was established within the old hotel fabric, which required extensive renovation; the lease was renewed in 1936 on the basis that improvements valued at 5,350 would be made. The property was extensively rebuilt in the Moderne style (attributed to Harry Norris, the regular Coles architect, although without specific evidence) and reduced to two stories. In 2004 a few remnants of the old hotel could still be found, as could elements of the 1919 renovation.

Number 172 (formerly Caudle's shop) was a butcher's shop for many years; all three storeys were retained and although the window openings were bricked up, it was easily identifiable by the distinctive parapet. Both buildings became more and more neglected in recent years, exacerbated by being included in a proposed Banco Group development in the mid 2000s. One fine Saturday in 2009 the buildings were quickly demolished...

This is a very complex site and the details are beyond the scope of this data sheet. Readers who would like to read more about may like to look at the following, as well as checking other items in this web page's bibliography:

Attachmen 6: Coles G J & Co Ld, Fancy Goods & Drapers ...