The City Tattersalls Club is a social club located in

Sydney, New South Wales Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

. The club was formed in 1895 by a group of

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

s disgruntled with a judge's decision on a race at

Kensington, New South Wales Kensington is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area (LGA) of the City of Randwick, in the Eastern ...

. The club named itself after the Tattersalls Club, Sydney, which was founded in 1858 and represented the horse racing establishment. The club is located in the heart of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

at Pitt Street between Market and Park Streets.

History

'City Tattersalls Club started in 1895 with only 25 members, all bookmakers. The club began with only 50 guineas in the bank. On 26 April 1895, Merry Girl – at 6/1 - was the first horse past the post at Kensington. Although the five-year-old mare appeared to have triumphed, the stewards disqualified her because she turned the scales two pounds overweight and her jockey weighed in with his whip. Thus, Pearl Powder, a four-year-old mare who ran second at 5/2 was declared the winner. Standing to lose substantially on such a heavily backed winner, and believing Merry Girl's connections should have appealed, the paddock bookmakers refused to pay out. It was the last race of the day and then they turned up at Kensington the following Thursday, their leader refused an official request to settle. As a result, all the paddock bookmakers were escorted from the course. No doubt whooping with joy, the St Leger bookmakers were invited to take their places where the serious money was wagered. These banished bookmakers were members of the Australian Bookmakers' Association with headquarters at the Tattersalls Club at 202-204 Pitt Street, which had considerable control over racing in New South Wales. Founded in 1858, Tattersall's took its name from Richard Tattersall, the English horse dealer who established the modern concept of horseracing with fair betting rules. It likely also took the name from the Tattersalls Club in Sydney.Joseph Anderson, Tattersalls Club Sydney 1858-1983, Koorana Ltd, 1985 (distributed by the Tattersalls Club), Ch 6 The Pearl Powder dispute dragged on for several weeks. While profiting from the situation, members of the St Leger bookmakers Association felt they should now have their own club to go to with their new-found respectability. On 30 August 1895, one of their enterprising leaders, George Langley, convened a meeting at Her Majesty's Hotel at which it was resolved that all present form themselves into a club, to be called City Tattersalls Club. The 25 men at the meeting started the financial ball rolling by subscribing two guineas each and agreeing to pay two shillings a week. City Tattersalls Club has its own

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

, with an Honorary Committee comprising a

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

, vice-chairman and seven committee members, all of whom are now elected by those who hold either Gold or Silver Membership, and who protect the interests of members by overseeing the strategies of the executive management. The management is headed by four Executive Managers, being the Head of Operations, Head of Finance, Head of Gaming and Head of Communications and Marketing.

Location

City Tattersalls Club previously occupied the Graphic Arts building and the building alongside Adams Hotel, where the Sydney

Hilton Hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...

now stands. During the 1950s, a film company was located on the top floor, with its vault on the roof, presumably so that when film exploded the burst would go upward. In December 1992, 'Silks Bar and Grill' was born. During the 90s, Sydney was seeing an upgrade of office blocks and shopping arcades; City Tattersalls Club was ageing, exclusive, and ran a strict dress code. The Silks Bar and Grill opening was strategic, as it allowed the club to capitalise on the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

5 kilometre ruling, allowing residents outside a radius to simply sign into a registered club. Being a separate entrance, this protected the main membership of City Tattersalls Club. After approval by its board members in 2007 City Tattersalls Club purchased the Merivale building at 194 Pitt Street and took back its occupancy of 196 Pitt Street previously occupied by

National Australia Bank National Australia Bank (abbreviated NAB, branded nab) is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia (colloquially referred to as "The Big Four") in terms of market capitalisation, earnings and customers. NAB was ranked 21st-la ...

History and milestones

The City Tattersalls Club building at 202-204 Pitt Street was occupied from 1891. Built at a small cost by today's standards, the building was described as presenting a free and effective rendering of the classic

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

style of architecture. It was constructed of

Pyrmont, New South Wales Pyrmont is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. It is also part of the Darling Harbour reg ...

freestone, finished in

rubble masonry Rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Analogously, some medieval cathedral walls are outer shells of ashlar with an inn ...

, relieved by handsome

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

balustrades A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its cons ...

, moulded Courses and carved enrichments which were said to "combine to produce a striking though harmonious effect". The rearing

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

figure which surmounted the building until 2007 was carved from a single block of stone measuring . City Tattersalls bought the building in 1975 at a fraction of its value in its centenary year. City Tattersalls' second home, premises at 240 Pitt Street with a narrow frontage was occupied until moving to the present site in 1924. The old building still exists today with the club's name still discernible on the front

fascia A fascia (; plural fasciae or fascias; adjective fascial; from Latin: "band") is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, beneath the skin that attaches to, stabilizes, encloses, and separates muscles and other internal organs. ...

. In 1930,

Amy Johnson Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia. Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records duri ...

spent six weeks touring Australia after her

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circ ...

of the world at public events attended by cheering crowds at the City Tattersalls Club by posing on the club's front balcony at Pitt Street. *1858 Tattersall's first formed *1891 First Tattersalls Club moved into 202-204 Pitt Street *1895 Opening of City Tattersalls Club *1903 249 Pitt Street purchased *1924 Move into current premises at 198-204 Pitt Street *1930

welcomed by the club after her world flight *1963 Opening of membership to women *1971 Snooker table dedicated to Norman Squire at the

World Snooker Championship 1971 The 1971 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 28 September and 7 November 1970 in Australia. The tournament was the 1971 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927 but was h ...

*1992 Silks Bar and Grill opened *1995 City Tattersalls Club Centenary year *2005 Major renovations to key venues including Omega Lounge *2012 Re-launch of website offering online new memberships and renewals using PayPal

References

External links

Club Rules (2018)
*
Official site citytatts.com.au. Retrieved on 12 February 2008

sciencemuseum.org.uk Science Museum exhibit on Amy Johnson Retrieved on 12 February 2008

BBC Humber site for Johnson centenary Retrieved on 12 February 2008

.olgr.nsw.gov.au Retrieved on 12 February 2008

sciencemuseum.org.uk Science Museum exhibit on Amy Johnson Retrieved on 12 February 2008

BBC Humber site for Johnson centenary Retrieved on 12 February 2008
Amy Johnson National Biography 1941–1950, London: Oxford University Press, 1959
Cup Race Day 2017 Photostream
{{Coord, 33, 52, 16.33, S, 151, 12, 30.8, E, display=title Jack Hennessy buildings Buildings and structures in Sydney 1895 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1895 Organisations based in Sydney Gentlemen's clubs in Australia Pitt Street, Sydney Horse racing in Australia