Return to Collingwood Hotel Listing

by | 3 Dec, 2015

Return to Collingwood Hotel Listing

Hotel:Bendigo Hotel

Hotel ID No9
Hotel Address:

125 Johnston Street
Collingwood 3066
Australia
Map It

Suburb:

Collingwood

Most Recent Name:

Bendigo Hotel (1888 - 2024)

Previous Name(s):

Collingwood Arms Hotel (1871-1887)

When Built/Licenced:

1871

When Delicensed:

N/A

Status of Building:

Hotel ceased operating March 2024

Rebuilt/Altered:

Demolished and rebuilt 1911

Heritage Victoria Register:

N/A

National Trust Register:

N/A

Collingwood Conservation Study 1989 & 1995:

Part A, pp. 282-284

City of Yarra Heritage Review 1998:

Volume 3, Appendix B, individually listed within precinct

City of Yarra Review of Heritage Overlay Areas, 2007 & Heritage Database:

Individually significant within HO 324

Maps:

Kearney 1855: N ; Hodgkinson 1858: N ; MMBW: 1236, 1197 & 1198, 1899 (Note wrongly labelled Bedford Hotel)

Comments:

The original two-storey corner hotel known as the Collingwood Arms and built in decorative Victorian style was purchased by Carlton Brewery in 1887 and renamed the Bendigo. In 1911, after purchasing the neighbouring shop to increase the exposure to Johnston Street, they demolished the old pub and replaced it with the current building. This was built in an Art Nouveau influenced style, designed by the prominent architecture firm Sydney Smith and Ogg.

An excellent photograph taken by Wolfgang Sievers in 1964 shows the distinctive 1911 style as it was meant to look. By the time John T Collins photographed the building in the early 1980s, paintwork had obscured the distinctive red brick and cement exterior but the overall design with two corner towers remains very striking.

A popular music venue for 14 years, known for its heavy metal gigs, the Bendigo finally closed in 2024, succumbing to the fate of a number of icons of Melbourne's live music scene which have found the financial burden too heavy.