FROM THE NEWSPAPERS - 1928 - The Opening of the Yallourn Hotel

1928 - THE OPENING OF THE YALLOURN HOTEL
This following newspaper report announced the opening of the Yallourn Hotel in October 1928. The article, which was published in ‘The Argus’ ( a popular metropolitan newspaper), explains the granting of the licence to Mr Dixon-Brown and gives a most descriptive outline of the modern facilities provided at the hotel.
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MONDAY 1ST OCTOBER 1928. ‘THE ARGUS’ PAGE: 18

HOTEL FOR YALLOURN

Opening: To-day
YALLOURN, Sunday –Yallourn’s first hotel, which has cost about £30,000, will be opened for business tomorrow afternoon.
The licence has been granted to Mr G. D. Brown, following a court decision that the State Electricity Commission could not hold a licence. The hotel is at the north-west corner of Railway Avenue and Broadway.
A feature is the extensive use of electricity. There are to be no fuel fires, and the kitchen will be operated entirely by electricity.
There are 37 bedrooms, fitted with fans and radiators, and serviced with hot and cold water. There are 14 bathrooms, two dining-rooms, each with accommodation for 140 guests, a smokeroom, and a women's lounge. In the dining-room (which has Jacobean panelling) is a system of diffused lighting operating from a large light well in the roof.

FOOTNOTES:
1. It is believed that Sir John Monash initially opposed the idea of a hotel for Yallourn; and any such establishment was not part of the ‘original blueprint’ of the township. However, due to the proliferation of sly grog outlets, in and around Yallourn in those early days, the authorities were eventually forced to concede, albeit reluctantly, that a ‘public house’ was necessary in Yallourn.
2. G.D. Brown (in the above extract) should read G. Dickson-Brown. Mr George Dickson-Brown was the licensee of the Yallourn Hotel for more than thirty years. He was very active in the town’s organizations and it is known that he was a keen member of the rifle club.
3. £30,000 (pounds) would be equivalent to approximately $2,308,000 in today’s currency.
4. The hotel was always busy; and it is said that on Saturday evenings more than 500 men drank at the bar. It is not difficult to imagine the action unfolding with the call of ‘last drinks.’ The ‘six o’clock swill’ was an accepted (but often a raucous) part of hotel life in those days and front bar at Yallourn was no exception.
5. In Prue McGoldrick’s authoritative book ‘Yallourn Was’, it is stated that in one particular year more than 32,000(thousand) drinking glasses were… “ lost, stolen or broken” at the Yallourn Hotel. (Source: ‘Yallourn Was.’ Page: 138.)
6. The chef at Yallourn Hotel (Mr Robert Cuffs) held that position for thirty years.
7. According to Prue McGoldrick… in the 1960’s the staff of the hotel numbered about forty.
8. ‘The Argus’ (21st May 1935) reported that the Governor of the Victoria, Lord Huntingfield, stayed at the hotel on his visit to Yallourn.
9. Len Hutton’s touring MCC team stayed at the Yallourn Hotel in February 1955. Many locals gathered around the hotel during the team’s stay in the hope of catching sight of England’s cricketing heroes.
10. Mr and Mrs Grant took over the management of the Yallourn Hotel in 1962. It is also recorded that other licensees of the Yallourn Hotel were: -Mr& Mrs Fairhurst, Mr & Mrs Parks and Mr & Mrs O’ Sullivan .
11. The Virtual Yallourn website has a photograph of the stately dining room of the Yallourn Hotel in 1928 (the year of the official opening) and most would agree that it was an impressive sight.

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This story is part of a history project entitled ‘From the Newspapers’ and a full list of titles in this series can be obtained by contacting Julie George. The research, writing and posting of this article were completed by Julie and Roger Spaull for the Virtual Yallourn website in October 2016

The above extract from the ‘The Argus’ has been faithfully reproduced. The only amendments to the original copy are the font style, font size and spacing, so as to enhance the story for the purposes of posting on the Virtual Yallourn website.