history in every brick
History
More than just a hotel, this building has stood at the heart of Beechworth’s story since the gold rush days. From its earliest days as the Miners Rest in the 1850s to its transformation into the elegant Hotel Nicholas of today, every corner holds a tale. Whether you're here for a drink, a meal, or a moment of curiosity, we invite you to take your time, look around, and let the history speak.
It is reputably reported that the first Hotel, the Miners Rest (which had its name changed to the Alliance), was built on this site in 1853. Originally it was thought that the alliance Hotel was built in 1857 however, this has changed with the discovery of an advertisement for a cook which appeared in the Ovens and Murray Advertiser on the 31st of May1855.
The original hotel building (and adjoining shop) was constructed of weatherboard. In the early 1870s, both buildings were ‘bricked’ and shared a common wall. The Hotel has held a continuous license to this day. There has been may owners and licensees and many stories to tell
With the arrival of the railway in 1876, the name was changed to the Railway Hotel. It was during this period that the hotel played a prominent part in the life and times of Ned Kelly and his associates
In August 1931, when Walter John Nicholas purchased the single-story Railway Hotel and the adjoining shop. (The owners of the shop lived in the cellar beneath where the stage and dance floor are located). Mr. Nicholas replaced the shop front with the Kookaburra windows (as well as in the main bar), and with the addition of the pressed tin ceiling, created a larger dining room. The Hotel became renowned in the district for its fine dining with an extensive silver service, every piece of which was engraved with the hotel’s name.
Mr. Nicholas added a second story in 1935 and changed the name to the Hotel Nicholas. Unfortunately, in the late 1970s, the Camp Street wing of the Hotel, the coach house, stables, horse yards and Blacksmith’s forge, were demolished to make way for a ‘drive through’ bottle shop and motel.
Ross and Lorraine Lucas purchased the hotel in 2001 and have overseen the restoration in keeping with both the Victorian period when it was first built, and the Art Deco period when the second floor was constructed.
We invite you to wander and absorb the history reflected in the photos and memorabilia and enjoy the experience of a unique building in our beautiful town.
Historical Snippets
November 1861– the second publican, Charles Francois Duchatel (Charley), advertised that he had imported ice directly from Wenham Lakes in Massachusetts for the express use of his customers. He was consequently able to offer his patrons “Sherry Cobblers, Cocktails, Mint Juleps and Smashes prepared with translucent ice. It is believed that Charly was so saddened at the death of exotic dancer, Lola Montez in the January of 1861, as she had not had the opportunity to perform in Beechworth, he developed a gin- based cocktail in her name. ‘The Lola Montez’
January 1862 – The English Cricket Team, playing as the All England Eleven (AEE) visited Beechworth for a match with the Ovens Twenty -Two having just beaten the Melbourne Team. Charly placed an add in the Ovens and Murray advertiser: ‘Englishmen if you want a glass of ALE that will lick the London Tap in the same style as AEE turned over the Melbourne buoys, call at Charley’s’
Sometime after 1865, Carl Esther became the third publican. Despite the photographic evidence that the hotel at this period was small and compact, the reality was clearly somewhat different as in 1868 the Ovens and Murray Advertiser announced a Ball and supper was to be held at the Alliance Hotel and that ‘Mr. Esther always provides good music, being a musician himself’.
July 1870 – War breaks out between France and Prussia. Mr Esther was clearly on the side of the Prussians and allowed his hotel to be used for meetings of German sympathisers, prominent among whom was Mr. Falcke, the jeweller. The magnificent and unique display cabinet from Falcke’s shop is now in the Burke Museum. It was donated by the founders of the Beechworth Credit Union (now WAW) after his shop in Ford Street was purchased in the 1970s.
It was in the blacksmith’s forge of the then Railway Hotel, that Joe Byrne’s (the Kelly gang) armor was fashioned by Charles Knight, from plough shears ‘smuggled’ by locals. Hence the name of the motel, ‘The Armour Motor Inn’. · A Beechworth local, Ali Pemberton, was later apprenticed to Charles Knight and is responsible for making the magnificent mining tools from horseshoe nails which are on display in the Burke Museum.
The current courtyard, and previously the yard of the hotel, overlooks the site of the bare-knuckle fight between Ned Kelly and Isaiah ‘Wild’ Wright.
The timber uprights in the main bar were salvaged when the Beechworth Railway line was removed. The red gum used as ‘sleepers’ and bridge timbers, was supplied before 1876 to the Beechworth Railway Company by Ned Kelly when he was an overseer at Burke’s Holes Creek Sawmill near Greta.
1920 – Jack Sherritt (brother of Aaron,) who had driven the steam engine to Beechworth and Paddy (Patrick) Byrne (brother of Joe Byrne, member of the ‘Kelly Gang’), who had brought stock to the Beechworth Sale yards in Loch Street, met in the bar at the then Railway Hotel. They had not spoken since Joe, Paddy’s brother, murdered Aaron Sherritt at Sebastopol, 40 years previously.
The Sideboard – The beautiful Victorian mahogany sideboard has returned home. It had been sold to a family in Wangaratta in the 1960s where it eventually found its way to Sydney. Mrs. Nicholas had taken it from the hotel when Walter Nicholas retired as the publican. It appeared on Facebook Market place, was purchased and returned to the hotel with the provenance that it was in the original Alliance Hotel.
According to a letter written by Mrs. Nicholas, Ned Kelly and his associates would rest their drinks on the sideboard when visiting the hotel – maybe just folklore!