The Empire Hotel is a landmark two-storey heritage listed building located in

Queenstown, Tasmania Queenstown is a town in the West Coast region of the island of Tasmania, Australia. It is in a valley on the western slopes of Mount Owen on the West Coast Range. At the , Queenstown had a population of 1,808 people. History Queenstown's his ...

, Australia. It is located on the corner of Orr and Driffield Streets, across the road from the Queenstown railway station of the time. It is still operating despite other hotels in Orr Street having been closed for a considerable amount of time. Construction was by James Wilson of

Zeehan Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia south-west of Burnie. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the seaport Strahan, and neighbouring mining towns of Dundas, Rosebery and Queenstown. History The greater ...

for the developers Parer and Higgins and has had several owners during its history. It was subject to annual visits by the Licensing Court, which checked for compliance with the requirements applicable to the interior and exterior of the hotel. The staircase is National Trust listed. It is made from Tasmanian Blackwood. The raw timber was shipped to England, carved and shipped back to Queenstown for installation. The company Parer & Higgins owned by John Arthur Parer and William Higgins built and licensed The New Empire Hotel to Michael Parer as it was originally known for several years. It and several other hotels in Queenstown and the surrounding Zeehan district were owned by Parer's including the Imperial Hotel which was owned and licensed to Michael Parer and Smelters Hotel which was owned and licensed to Francis Parer who lived in the St Kilda Pier Pavilion in Melbourne for decades. Michael's younger brother John Parer owned The Empire Hotel until he sold it in April 1925 to Mr Thomas Cook who had been the licensee for the previous nine years. The Parer's Michael, Francis and John were part of Parer Bros Pty Ltd which built and operated hotels, baths and cafes across Tasmania, King Island and Victoria including Parer's Crystal Cafe and Parer Bros on Bourke Street. Michael Parer after his time in Queenstown leased The Empire Hotel (originally The Rock) in Hobart then The Parer Hotel, shipped from Tasmania and erected in Currie on King Island. At one time it was his grand plan to operate Empire Hotels across Australia, the Queenstown one being the first. Michael Parer's second son was Ray Parer. John Arthur Parer's youngest son was

Damien Parer Damien Peter Parer (1 August 1912 – 17 September 1944) was an Australian war photographer. He became famous for his war photography of the Second World War, and was killed by Japanese machine-gun fire at Peleliu, Palau. He was cinematographer ...

and his grandson is

David Parer David Damien Parer Australian Cinematographers Society, ACS is an Australian natural history film maker, working in partnership with his wife and sound recordist, Elizabeth Parer-Cook.Salleh, Annah (9 January 2023)David Parer and Liz Parer-Coo ...

. William Higgins' great granddaughter is

Missy Higgins Melissa Morrison Higgins (born 19 August 1983), known professionally as Missy Higgins, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her Australian number-one albums are ''The Sound of White'' (2004), ''On a Clear Night'' (2007) and ''The Ol ...

References

{{Commons category, Empire Hotel, Queenstown Hotel buildings completed in 1901 Buildings and structures in Queenstown, Tasmania Hotels in Tasmania Tasmanian Heritage Register Hotels established in 1901 Australian companies established in 1901