The Victoria Hotel, or The Vic as it is commonly known, is a

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

listed

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

located in Darwin,

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Built in 1890, it is an important historical building but is currently closed.

History

The Victoria Hotel was built by Ellen Ryan, one of the Territory's wealthiest women, who owned land and several mining leases. In 1888 Ryan moved into the Territory hotel trade, lodging a successful application with the licensing board for a prestigious hotel to be built at 27 Smith Street in central Darwin, then known as Palmerston, during the northern Australia

gold rushes A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Gr ...

of the 1870s onwards.Vic Hotel (2007
Victoria Hotel History
Retrieved on 4 Oct 2011. Constructed by H.C. Debross, it was built for £4,000 and was the first stone building in Darwin. The two-storey hotel was made of local, multi-coloured

porcellanite Porcellanite or ''porcelanite'', is a hard, dense rock somewhat similar in appearance to unglazed porcelain. It is often an impure variety of chert containing clay and calcareous matter. Locations where Porcellanite has been found include Nort ...

stone, with a facade dominated by a parapetted gable and

verandah A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

s.Welke, A.C. and Wilson, H.J. (1993). ''Darwin Central Area Heritage Study''. Report for the Conservation Commission of the NT, Darwin. Upon completion, the building dominated Smith Street and remained that way for over half a century.Turnbull, Kay (1985). ''The Victoria Hotel, Smith Street Mall, Darwin''. Copy (unpublished) held by Charles Darwin University, Special Collection. The hotel opened on 8 September 1890. It was first called The Royal Hotel but was renamed the North Australian Hotel a few days after opening. It was renamed the Victoria Hotel in 1896.

1897 cyclone

The Victoria Hotel lost part of its roof and was damaged internally during a

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

on 6 January 1897. Known as the "Great Hurricane", it killed 28 people, sank 19 vessels in the harbour including the entire pearling fleet, and caused around £150,000 damage () throughout the town. Structurally however, the hotel was one of only a few buildings that remained intact and it was repaired shortly afterwards.Murphy, Kevin (1984). ''Big blow up north: A history of tropical cyclones in Australia's Northern Territory''. NT University Planning Authority. .

Early 20th century

In 1908, the hotel accommodated Henry Dutton and Murray Aunger, the first motorists to cross the Australian continent from Adelaide to Darwin. In 1915, the hotel was one of several to be nationalised by Northern Territory Administrator, John Gilruth. Known as the government take-over, the hotel was the focal point for political turmoil and union unrest between 1911 and 1919, which came to a head on 17 December 1918 in what was known as the Darwin Rebellion.

Ross Ross may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ross (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan Places Antarctica * Ross Sea ...

and Keith Smith and other

aviators An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

connected with the air race from England to Australia stayed at the hotel in December 1919. Mining entrepreneur

May Brown May Brown (24 May 1875 – c.1939) was a flamboyant Northern Territory miner, publican and pioneer, who became well known her role in developing the Tungsten, wolfram (tungsten) mining industry in Australia. She was known as "The Wolfram Queen". ...

became the first publican win the lease on Darwin's Victoria Hotel in 1921 when the era of state control of Top End hotels came to an end.

Christina Gordon Christina Gordon (25 December 1863 – 31 October 1952) was a miner, publican and business woman and she has been called the most colourful woman the Northern Territory had ever known'. Early life Gordon was most likely born in Bristol in En ...

took over the hotel in August 1926. Gordon upgraded the Vic Hotel including the refurbishment of a new dining room. She continued the connection with aviators. Many of their signatures from the 1920s and 1930s remain on a masonry section in the hotel which has been preserved. The well-known Government architect

Beni Burnett Beni Carr Glyn Burnett (1889–1955) was the Commonwealth principal architect for the Northern Territory of Australia. He designed many well-known heritage buildings in both Darwin and Alice Springs. He is known for designing innovative, climate-a ...

, who had a very significant influence on Darwin architecture from the late 1930s, stayed at the hotel for several years.

1937 cyclone

The hotel lost its roof for the second time in March 1937, during another cyclone. Although not as formidable as the 1897 cyclone, it still caused considerable damage to the town and killed one person. The hotel was quickly repaired.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the hotel was occupied by United States and Australian naval authorities who remained there until the end of the war. In September 1941, rioting soldiers in the Darwin city area caused superficial damage to the hotel, such as broken windows and furniture. With many troops stationed in Darwin, a fight broke out in the hotel that quickly spread outside into Smith Street. Although the damage was blamed on the soldiers, records show that civilians were involved in the riot. On 19 February 1942, Darwin was bombed by Japanese air raids, the largest attacks mounted by a foreign power against Australia. It was the same fleet that had bombed

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

, though a considerably larger number of bombs were dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbor. The attack killed at least 243 people and caused immense damage to the town. They were the first of many raids on Darwin. Despite this extensive destruction to the town, the Victoria Hotel survived with little damage. Ironically, just as much damaged was caused to the hotel by the September 1941 soldiers riot, as the Japanese bombing raids. In September 1946, the pub reopened under the ownership of the Lim family, who bought the hotel from the Gordons. The Lims operated the hotel for nearly 20 years, selling it in 1965. During this period, the hotel was a popular 'watering hole' frequently attended by crocodile shooters, buffalo hunters and mining prospectors, as well as the local office workers and bank staff.

Cyclone Tracy

On Christmas Day 1974 the hotel survived yet another cyclone, when

Cyclone Tracy Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small but destructive tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, in December 1974. The small but developing easterly storm was or ...

hit Darwin killing 71 people and damaging 95 per cent of buildings at an estimated cost of over A$800 million. The hotel was significantly damaged but survived structurally, losing its roof for the third time in less than a century. The cyclone left Darwin nearly uninhabitable, so the Vic Hotel was not reconstructed until 1978. Some original stonework was repaired at this time, particularly in relation to the Smith Street gabled parapet. Other stonework repairs were minimal as it was still in generally good condition, despite the severity of Cyclone Tracy. The hotel has had several refurbishments since Cyclone Tracy. The hotel facade was registered on the "National Estate" as a Historic site in 1999 for its historic associations with important events and individuals for more than a century.

Present day

The Vic Hotel closed in October 2014. It was reported to be more than $750,000 in debt. The hotel's co-owner Andrew Chigwidden said that the hotel "struggled to get market share due to its geographical position... a lack of a suitable downstairs smoking area has also had a massive negative commercial impact on the viability (and) the social ambience of the hotel."

References

{{coord, 12, 27, 43.18, S, 130, 50, 33.43, E, region:AU-NT_type:landmark, display=title Hotel buildings completed in 1890 History of the Northern Territory Tourist attractions in Darwin, Northern Territory Buildings and structures in Darwin, Northern Territory Hotels in the Northern Territory Heritage hotels in Australia Pubs in the Northern Territory 1890 establishments in Australia