The East-End Market Hotel was built in 1868 as a one storey structure. On 14 September 1868, Gustav Emil Hotterman applied to licence the East-End Market Hotel in court. He produced two witnesses in support of the new hotel, with two petitions full of signatures in support as well. Representatives of CH Brooks at the Stag Inn and Geo Taylor of the Stag Inn and Exeter Hotel appeared to voice their disapproval and to demonstrate that ‘about 40 residents in the neighbourhood’ did not see the need for another hotel. However, Hotterman’s licence application was successful.
The Characters, Events, and Development of the Hotel
Licensees of the East-End Market Hotel have promoted vegetables of novelty to publicise the East-End Market, controversially sold (or perhaps given away) liquor on Christmas Day, and renovated the property to preserve and increase its status.
On 14 March 1871, East-End licensee Hotterman applied to renew his hotel’s licence, and opponents argued that he provided insufficient accomodation; however the East-End Market Hotel’s renewal licence was approved.
The 3 August 1872 issue of the South Australian Register informed readers that Mr BO Hotterman of New South Wales had come to Adelaide to see his brother GE Hotterman, whom he had not met before. Mr BO Hotterman, a goldminer, brought ‘a large and varied collection of… specimens of gold’ for inspection, but assured the reporter that he had no interest in selling his stones. On 19 August, Mr H Hammond of the East-End Market Hotel was riding from Norwood into the city when the reins broke. Mr Hammond climbed on the horse’s ‘back to seize the bridle, but the animal kicked, and Mr Hammond fell heavily to the ground between the horse and cart, receiving severe bruises and kicks’. Mr Hammond was taken home and looked after by two doctors, who could not say if Mr Hammond had internal injuries.
In late January 1873, East-End Market Hotel licensee GE Hotterman invited some fellow members of the Princess Royal Lodge to meet at the Hotel Europe before he left Adelaide to join his brother in New South Wales. By 10 March that year, E Lange had become licensee of the hotel. The 7 April issue of the South Australian Register announced that E Lange had at the East-End Market Hotel ‘for inspection a monster potato’ grown by gardener Mr Davies of Spring Creek; the potato weighed 5.5 lbs.
In 1876, E Lange commissioned architect Michael McMullen (who designed the Botanic Hotel and Chambers) to design an addition to the East-End Market Hotel of another storey, ‘a dining-room, two bedrooms, a bar parlor, and a spacious staircase and balcony’ for a cost of £800.
By 10 March 1880, William Nicholas Waite had assumed the position of licensee at the East-End Market Hotel. The East-End Market Hotel had more peculiar vegetables on display in May 1882: ‘two splendid specimens of the vegetable trombone, one being 44 lb, and the other 42 lb’, which were both grown and carved from one plant by an amateur gardener in the eastern suburbs. That month, on 16 May, hotel licensee Mr WN Waite was riding as passenger on a horse carriage through Buckland Park when ‘the horses turning suddenly broke the pole and bolted’; as a result Waite sprained his left ankle and broke a small bone in his right leg.
On the afternoon of 30 May 1901, Mrs Ann Digan died at the East-End Market Hotel.
By January 1904, Mr R Jahn had become the licensee of the East-End Market Hotel; on the 20th that month he wed Miss Ruby Stevens of Rundle Street at St Paul’s Cathedral. However, the 9 August 1907 edition of Quiz announced that Mrs Willis, who had previously managed Bijou and Tavistock hotels, had become licensee of the East-End Market Hotel. Readers learned that the East-End Market Hotel ‘table is unexcelled in any part of the city, so visitors cannot do better than call and have their meals’ there. The society reporter indicated that George Christoph, ‘a very popular barman, and a really good fellow’ tended the bar, and dispensed ‘nothing in the way of liquor other than the best brands’.
On 25 January 1912, East-End Market Hotel licensee William Birdseye purchased the 24 room Angaston Hotel (on the eastern side of Barossa Valley) on auction at the Adelaide Town Hall for £3 540.
On 19 December 1913, former East-End Market Hotel manager Michael Patrick Hogan died at the age of 52 at the Thyne Memorial Hospital in Millicent. Hogan died of pulmonary tuberculosis, the symptoms of which started showing when he managed the East-End Market Hotel and sparked his retirement.
The 7 January 1920 issue of The Register indicated the shock of the police constable on duty on Christmas Day when he found that the East-End Market Hotel’s bar was open and the licensee, Mr F Choules, was supplying liquor. The constable reported this ostensible offence to the Crown Solicitor and the Attorney General, who concluded that Choules was acting within the confines of the law. However, the Attorney General HN Barwell suggested that the Licensing Act be revised to set a limit for opening hours in bars on Christmas Day, as the act only included a required time for bars to close. The Chronicle issue, released three days later, claimed that Choules distributed free liquor on Christmas.
The East-End Market Hotel defended itself in court on 14 April 1920, as the Adelaide Midland Licensing Court investigated whether there were too many hotels in the city and if some should be delicenced. Mr A Moulden represented licensee Mr Frank Choules and the owners of the property, and informed the court that the hotel had serviced 997 people from January 1919 to February 1920. The Register reported on the court session:
Inspector Smedley said the hotel was clean and fairly well furnished. The present licencee had greatly improved the house. The nearest hotel was the Botanic, which he thought could cater for the wants of the people attending the market. Mr. Choules, the lessee, stated that since his tenancy he had considerably improved the hotel, and it was now in first-class condition. He had never had any complaints against him. He charged 1/ each for breakfast and tea and 1/6 for dinner, and according to his returns he supplied between 3 000 and 4 000 meals a year. The hotel was very largely used by market gardeners and people doing business with them, and he specially catered for that class of customer… [the Adelaide Midland Licensing Court President, Mr RG Nesbit] knew from personal knowledge the of the service rendered for the hotel, and was glad to learn it was so well conducted, and the licencee was doing so well. Adjourned for further consideration.
The 24 August 1927 issue of The Advertiser announced that architects Cowell & Cowell of King William Street had submitted building tenders to make alterations and additions to the East-End Market Hotel. The same-day edition of News reported the plans outlined by Cowell & Cowell:
The whole of the ground portion of the building will be demolished, including a store owned by a fruit merchant. The hotel has a frontage of 40 ft. This will be increased to 68 ft. The cellar will be enlarged, and upstairs the number of bedrooms increased from six to 10. The island bar in the hotel will be enlarged, and one-quarter of it partitioned off to serve as a saloon bar. This bar will measure 30 x 24 ft. That portion of the hotel which is over the store is separated by a fire-proof ceiling, and it is here that the bedroom extensions are being made.
A verandah and balcony overlooking the parklands and running the whole length of the hotel, will be added. The front of the hotel will be completely remodelled. The lower portion will comprise a tiled dado, and above this the brickwork will be finished in white Atlas cement. A new blackwood staircase will be installed, and the bar fittings will be in Pacific maple. All the ceilings will be done in fibrous plaster.
In the 23 July 1936 edition of The Advertiser, society writer ‘Vox’ reported that East-End Market Hotel licensee Harry Clendinnen had acquired a hotel in Cockburn, a border town in South Australia. By late November that year, Vincent John Stephen Jordan and Julia Ann Piercy had become joint licensees of the East-End Market Hotel.
In the throes of the Second World War, the neighbourhoods of Adelaide divided itself into wards and chose air raid wardens in case of a bombing. The 8 March 1941 edition of News announced the wardens for the wards in Adelaide’s Central Business District, and listed co-licensee of the East-End Market Hotel Vincent John Stephen Jordan as the head warden for the Hindmarsh Ward, where he would oversee three posts in the area.
On 24 September 1941, 64 year old Frank Cregan, formerly of the East-End Market Hotel, died.
The 17 December 1941 issue of The Advertiser announced that Jordan and Piercy of the East-End Market Hotel joined other area hotels in donating £5 to the United Licensed Victualler Association’s fundraiser to raise £1 000 to buy a Christmas box for the Australian fighting forces. The United Licensed Victualler Association surpassed their fundraising goal with a final total of £1 155 6/ donated.
On 30 July 1942, Thomas Michael Quinn, late of the East-End Market Hotel, died at the age of 56 years old. Similarly, on 6 January 1953, co-licensee of the hotel, Vincent Jordan, died at the age of 73 years old. His obituary stated that he was a ‘beloved friend’ of his business partner Julia Piercy.
Organisations
The East-End Market Hotel served as a convenient venue for blue-collar organisations and sports clubs to meet and host functions.
On 28 September 1869, Mr T Collins held a meeting at the East-End Market Hotel to gauge interest among fruitgrowers and others interested in forming the South Australian Jam Company. On 6 November that year, interested persons met again at the East-End Market Hotel, and elected directors. The South Australian Jam Company would meet at the East-End Market Hotel for each of their sessions; the organisaiton was last mentioned in newspapers on June 1870.
Shareholders of the East-End Market also met at the hotel, like they did on 16 February 1875 to elect directors G Soward, T Playford, R Vaughan, J Ridgway, and J Rowell. On 14 July 1876, the directors of the East-End Market held their half-yearly meeting at the East-End Market Hotel. On 30 July 1880, the East-End Market met at the East-End Market Hotel; 10 people were present, and represented 6 178 shares. Chairman Playford proposed pulling down and rebuilding many of the market sheds that summer, which would cost about £1 100.
On 15 February 1881, Adelaide No 1 Rifle Company had their first march, which started on North Terrace by the Royal Hotel, and ended at the East-End Market Hotel, where participants had refreshments. On 19 December that year, market growers were invited to a meeting at the East-End Market Hotel to discuss the price of raspberries for the upcoming season; tangents included demand for raspberry jam and rival growers in Tasmania. Shortly after, on 8 June, the East Adelaide Cricket Club held their annual dinner at the East-End Market Hotel; East Adelaide politician Mr T Johnson was present.
On 24 November 1883, the East-End Market Hotel reflected the Australian surge in union participation in the 1880s, and increasing globalization, when growers and market salesmen met at the venue to discuss forming an association. Attendants at the meeting decided to call their organisation ‘The Gardeners’ and Market Salesmen’s Assocation’. Members of the association, which any gardener or salesmen could join, held their meetings at the hotel; the organisation was last mentioned in newspapers in 1903.
On 21 August 1884, I Zingari Cricket Club held their annual meeting at the East-End Market Hotel to elect club officers and new members.
On 27 August 1885, the East Adelaide Cricket Club again held their annual meeting at the East-End Market Hotel. Attendants proposed new members and elected officers for the next year; East-End Market Hotel licensee Mr WN Waite was elected to the General Committee and as an Association Delegate.
Later that year, on 21 November 1885, the East-End Market Hotel hosted a public meeting for gardeners to talk about how to price fruit in the next year.
On 8 July 1886, the A Troop Cavalry Carbine (Short rifle) Club held their annual meeting at the East-End Market Hotel and elected their officers for the next year.
On 22 July 1886, the East Adelaide Junior Cricket Club held their annual meeting at the East-End Market Hotel. Hotel licensee and club president Mr WN Waite attended; the South Australian Register reported that the club ‘heartily drunk’ to toasts. The club’s secretary repeated the team’s results: they had won twenty-one matches and lost two that year. The team chairman received the cup won by the Junior Cricket Club from playing in the South Australian Junior Cricketing Association, and a framed photo of the players.
On 5 November 1887, Mr Hanton hosted a meeting at the East-End Market Hotel to consider forming a co-operative company to take over Kent Town Fruit and Vegetable Preserving Company. About sixty gardeners came to the meeting, and unanimously decided to form the organisation. Mr Armstrong, Mr Johns, and Mr J Hammer were elected to a committee to visit the property of the Kent Town association and report on it.
In late March 1888, the gardeners and the salesmen of the East-End Market held their annual cricket match on the East Park Lands. The match ended in a draw, and East-End Market Hotel licensee Mr Waite organised ‘a splendid luncheon on the grounds’.
In 1891, Marcus Newman of the Adelaide Lancers (better known as the 18th Light Horse Machine Gun Regiment) had a memorable rainy day when the Lancers abandoned drill on Montefiore Hill. He recalled in a 1942 issue of The Advertiser:
We adjourned to Sgt. Bill Waite’s East-End Market Hotel, and after having been there for some time we started to race down Rundle Street to Tom Heming’s Tattersalls Hotel in Hindley Street. Constable Mitchell and Constable ‘Sunflower’ had them all arrested, but they got off with small fines. In the race were Sgt-Major Peter Cook, Sgt-L Baldwin, Farrier-Sgt J Hawke, Tprs Jess Holland, CV Pridmore, W Madeley, Fred Fisher, and I. I am the sole survivor of that lot. I happened to see the policemen, and, scenting trouble, went straight on home to Woodville.
The annual cricket match between the gardeners and salesmen of the market on 3 April 1902 took place at the Adelaide Oval, and the Salesman had ‘an easy win’. Both teams had dinner at the East-End Market Hotel under Mr Jahn.
On 4 March 1914, the Kent Town Ramblers Football Club held their annual meeting at the hotel to elect new officers and 12 new members.
In early April 1914, packers and gardeners of the East-End Market met at the East-End Market Hotel to commemorate Mr George Mark’s retirement, which was sparked by his declining health. Mr Mann gave Mr Marks an inscribed gold watch and ‘spoke in appreciative terms of the good feeling existing between the packers and gardeners’. Mr Cook, Mr Bishop, Mr Mullins, and Mr Martin spoke as well.
To inform Adelaide locals of where their visiting friends were staying for the upcoming Royal Show Carnival, the 30 September 1927 edition of The Register listed those booked to stay at the East-End Market Hotel: Mr Clem Parry of San Francisco, Mr Dick French of Sydney, Mr A Lour of Spalding, Mr Bill Burrows of Erskine, Mr Roy Quintrell of Peterborough, and Mr Alf Cavenagh of Martindale.
Teetulpa Gold Rush of 1886
In mid-October that year, licensee Mr WN Waite was joined others in the gold rush in Brady’s Gully in the Teetulpa gold field (7 miles north of Yunta) in South Australia, however, the 23 October issue of the South Australian Weekly Chronicle reported that the hotel manager had not found anything of value. Mr H Bealey, who returned to Adelaide the day before, told reporters that there was an epidemic food shortage: flour was sold at 6d. a pound, and was gone within hours; bread could not be found; and meat was scarce. Meanwhile, herds of people were still coming in to the gold fields in search of riches. The 25 October edition of the South Australian Register indicated that Mr WN Waite had returned after being in the gold fields for four days. Waite talked with a Register reporter, and gave insight into the rustic landscape, food shortage, and drastic inflation in the mining fields:
Provisions were scarce… Two or three stores have been opened, but they do not contain sufficient supplies. In every case provisions are dear except bacon, for which we were charged 10d. a lb. Flour was 3d. a lb., salt 3d., 2-lb. tins of jam 1s. 6d., and bread 6d. a loaf when procurable. Water could be obtained for nothing if we brought it from the dam, but if it was carted to us we had to pay 3d. a bucket. We had a terrible trip on the way up from Petersburg to Mannahill. Forty-two of us, with our swags, were put into a second-class carriage which was provided with sitting accommodation for only thirty-two. For this extremely uncomfortable journey we had to pay £1. It was simply misery. We were packed like herrings in a box. Others were even less fortunate, for they had to be content with goods trucks, but no reduction in the fare was allowed them. On leaving the train at Mannahill we had to walk about 2 1/2 miles to the hotel, whence coaches started for the scene of the discoveries, some 23 miles distant. Ten shillings was charged for the coahc trip, and if our swags were heavy they had to be forwarded by wagon, which necessitated an additional payment of 2s. 6d. or 5d. We were taken right to the field by the coach. I worked with two others for two days, but got nothing, as I have said… I shall strongly advise every one not to go up until the field has been developed. If they do go they certainly should take a stock of provisions.
Coincidentally, Adelaide native Mr WR Evens declared a week later that he continued digging Mr Waite’s hole of 8 feet to a depth of 12 feet, and found half an ounce of gold.
Criminal Activity
Like most historic hotels in Adelaide, the East-End Market Hotel was a venue for some criminal activity. On 24 May 1871, milkman Francis McCoy steered his horse to turn from Pulteney Street to Rundle Street, and in the process his horse knocked a child over and ran over its arm. Although many people called for McCoy to stop, he did not; in fact he increased his speed. The witness caught up to McCoy when he stopped at the East-End Market Hotel to give his horse a drink, ‘he was so drunk he was hardly able to stand’. Francis McCoy paid a 10s. fine and 7s. costs.
On 4 September 1875, labourer John Corcoran appeared in court for having created a disturbance at the East-End Market Hotel and for having assaulted a patron and the licensee Edward Lange. Corcoran paid 40s. as a fine and 7s. for costs. Edward Lange took James McMahon (aliases Steer, Spencer, and Henry Dean) to court the next month, on 31 October, for having forged a cheque. Upon McMahon’s arrest, he declared he could not write a cheque because of his wounded hand; he was committed to trial.
On 20 December 1880, Marcella Beal was charged with two months’ imprisonment with hard labour for having stolen three bottles of porter from the East-End Market Hotel, worth 2s. 3d.
Although the East-End Market Hotel was rarely a subject in legal proceedings in the late nineteenth century, it was a topic on 19 March 1883, as John Clayton and Frank Wright were charged for stealing £3 from William Cotter. After Clayton and Wright met Cotter one morning, they had drinks at three hotels- the East-End Market Hotel being one of them- before walking to the North Park Lands, where Cotter had his money stolen. The judge decided there was too little evidence to convict Clayton and Wright, so they were released.
William Nicholas Waite appeared as plaintiff in court again on 30 May 1885, and accused Edward Page of obtaining a bottle of brandy worth 1s. 4d. that morning at 4 AM. Page called at the hotel and ordered brandy for Mr William Horsfall, claiming to be his son. Waite sold Page the liquor, but followed him and took him to Mr Horsfall, who denied even knowing Page. At his arrest, Page claimed he acted on a dare; in court he paid £6 9s. in fines and costs.
On 16 July 1886, William N Waite, East-End Market Hotel licensee, took another man to court: labourer Charles Carroll, for having stolen Waite’s boots, worth 42s. Carroll was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment with hard labour.
On 7 December that year, William N Waite met 32 year old Stephen Page before the Supreme Court. Waite accused Page of forging a cheque for payment at the East-End Market Hotel on 12 June. Page claimed to have been paid wages with that cheque from employer Mr Gates, which he denied. Defendant Page then changed his story, declaring a man from Port Augusta had given him the cheque. The jury found Page guilty and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment, since he had been convicted three times before.
John Hogg took Arthur Erskine to court on 25 June 1889 for having stolen a gold pin valued 40s. On 22 June, the complainant and the defendant went to Exeter Hotel and the East-End Market Hotel; upon heading home Hogg realized he was missing the pin. Erskine pawned the ring that morning, and when he was arrested on another charge he dropped his pawn receipt and denied that it belonged to him. He insisted that he had randomly picked up the receipt. Erskine repeated this claim under oath, and was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment with hard labour.
On 13 March 1908, East-End Market Hotel manager Emma Willis appeared in court as a defendant for having served liquor during prohibited hours to people who were not lodgers or travellers. Inspector Davey and Constable Hannon entered the hotel at 8:30 AM on 8 March, and saw two men drinking whisky at the bar. Willis pled guilty and was fined £5 with 15/ court fees.
By late May 1910, William Birdseye had become the licensee of the East-End Market Hotel, since on 4 June he appeared in court for ‘having permitted unqualified persons to be on the premises’ the previous Sunday. Birdseye pled not guilty, since the men- Thomas Kennedy, William Gurnert, and Bernard McSwigan- represented themselves as bonafide travellers. East-End Market Hotel barman PS Almond corroborated Birdseye’s statement, yet Birdseye was still found guilty and charged a fine of £2 with £1 costs, while Kennedy, Gurnert, and McSwigan were each fined £2 and 15/ costs.
On 13 September 1910, labourer Charles Harvey Calder took Harry Bennett, William Chesterfield, and Alfred Arthur Swanson to court for assault and robbery that took place on 20 May. Calder and his friend McKenny were walking on East Terrace and stopped at the East-End Market Hotel, where Chesterfield asked for a loan of 1/. Calder replied that if the loan was for a drink he could buy some, and bought drinks for Bennet, Chesterfield, Swanson, and his friend McKenny. Calder put the change from the transaction in his pocket, and upon leaving he was attacked by Swanson. Swanson choked Calder while another of the accused rummaged through his pockets. When the trio left, Calder’s purse, keys, and change were missing. Calder found McKenny nearby, also bleeding. McKenny was knocked out and woke up to find his watch missing. Bennett was acquitted, while Chesterfield and Swanson were committed for trial. On 15 October that year, the judge found Chesterfield and Swanson guilty, and sentenced them to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour, the lowest offence possible for their crime.
Swanson, a criminal patron of the East-End Market Hotel, came back to court on 17 October that year on a charge of assaulting and robbing another man-labourer Tom Ackland- at the East-End Market Hotel on 11 October. Since Swanson had started serving time for his assault and robbery of Calder, the trial took place in the Adelaide ‘Gaol’. Swanson and Montville Franklin were accused of following Ackland to the outhouse, where Franklin restrained Ackland and Swanson took his belongings. Swanson was sentenced to six additional years of jail with hard labour, and Franklin was sentenced to three years with hard labour.
On 28 July 1911, East-End Market Hotel manager William Birdseye came before the Adelaide Police Court on a charge of having supplied liquor on a Sunday. Birdseye had to pay £5 in fines and £1 in costs, as he was found guilty.
On 16 October that year, manager Birdseye appeared in court again, this time as a plaintiff: he accused Clarence Gibson, Boxer Fry, and David Tully of destroying his property. As The Narracoorte Herald reported, Birdseye’s lawyer Mr Smith claimed that
They [Gibson, Fry, and Tully] threw manure and rubbish into the hotel and amused themselves by pouring stout into the piano. Tully smashed the electric light globe and made use of the most foul language; then went into the office and picked up a gun belonging to the licensee. When Birdseye endeavored to obtain posession of the weapon Tully said he would break his skull, and that culminated in gentle Fry and lamb-like Gibson seizing Birdseye by the throat. They escaped and took the gun with them. They returned with reinforcements, and stole some globes.
Defendants Clarence Gibson, Boxer Fry, and David Tully were sentenced to 14 days in jail.
On 3 April 1913, William Ryan accused Frederick N Rattary of having stolen gold sleeve links worth 30/ and 18/ in cash from his pants at the East-End Market Hotel the day before. Rattary admitted to stealing the links and was sentenced to two months in jail.
William Gilbert Thomas was a defendant in the Adelaide Police Court on 3 March 1922, for having allegedly stolen cutlery from John Shepherd Beare, a resident at the East-End Market Hotel. Although the judge did not believe Thomas’ story (that a man named ‘Bailey’ gave him the cutlery), Thomas’ ill health and lack of previous conditions meant that Thomas only had to ‘be of good behaviour for the next two years’.
On 29 April 1924, Ethelbert Renfrey’s trial-based on an accusation that Renfrey had been unlawfully betting by means other than the totalisator (a device that adds up bets to convey information, usually at racetracks) at the East-End Market Hotel. Renfrey claimed that he entered the hotel only to pay a man money he owed, walked outside, and stopped to look at a book. Detective Sergeant Allchurch found and confiscated £43 7/11 found on Renfrey, £36 17/ of which Renfrey claimed to owe another patron at the hotel; the difference belonged to Renfrey. A witness declared that Renfrey came to the East-End Market Hotel nearly every day. Renfrey was fined a whopping £100 in fines and costs for unlawfully betting.
East-End Market Hotel cook Jean Jennings accused laundress Nellie Cronin in court of stealing her stockings on 8 October 1929. The day before, Jennings was walking on Rundle Street when she saw Cronin wearing her stockings, which were stolen from her clothesline outside the East-End Market Hotel that morning. As her defense, Cronin claimed that she met a man named Bill in the East-End Market Hotel, who told her, ‘Here, quick, put on these stockings, they’ll fit you beautifully’. Cronin was sentenced to fourteen days in jail.
The next month, on 19 November, Mrs JJ Mathot, wife of the East-End Market Hotel licensee, reported her bag missing from the second floor of the hotel. The bag contained £18. On 23 January 1930, licensee Jean Joseph Mathot was fined £5 for carrying away liquor in a water trough from the hotel at a time when sale of liquor was prohibited. The next year, on 5 January 1931, Mathot was again charged for unlawfully carrying liquor away from the hotel. Though the beer was ordered before the liquor-prohibited hours (which start at 6 PM), Mathot started to deliver the liquor after 6 PM. Mathot paid a fine of £5 with £1 5/ costs, however, he received a magistrate’s certificate stating that the offence was trivial. Two years later, on 14 February 1933, Mathot faced another charge, this time for allowing a betting slip to be displayed in his hotel. Mathot pled guilty and paid £2 in fines and £1 in costs.
On 16 April 1935, waitress Eileen de Laine accused labourer John Grey Brown of stealing her purse, worth 6d., and £4 6/5 in money, from her room at the East-End Market Hotel. Brown, who had been released from Pentridge Prison in Victoria on 28 March, pled guilty but argued that he was intoxicated during the theft. Brown was committed to three months’ imprisonment.
Months later, on 29 August, East-End Market Hotel licensee Harry Douglas Clendinnen was charged with having unlawfully supplied liquor during prohibited hours on 14 August. Clendinnen paid £5 in fines and £1 5/ costs; he applied for a certificate of triviality but was denied.
On 27 November 1936, Vincent John Stephen Jordan and Julia Ann Piercy, joint licensees of the East-End Market Hotel, were each fined £5, which was reduced to £2/10/ with 17/6 costs for having unlawfully supplied liquor during prohibited hours on 10 November.
On 9 February 1937, Patrick Shannon of the East-End Market Hotel was accused of robbing Arthur Harris of 8/ and assaulting the man. Shannon, who worked with an accomplice, opposed an adjournment of the trial because he had allegedly never seen his accomplice before. Still, the trial was adjourned, and Shannon got out on bail of £40. On 16 February, Shannon was arrested again, this time conveniently in front of the court house, for having stolen a black fur coat worth £10 10/ from John Martin & Co Ltd. Again, Shannon paid his bail of £30 and was released.
Vincent John Stephen Jordan, East-End Market Hotel licensee, returned to court on 1 July 1937 for ‘having unlawfully had in his possession for sale whisky which was not in accord with the particulars on the bottle’. Jordan pled guilty and paid £3 in fines and £8 4/ costs.
On 29 November 1938, Julia Ann Piercy (co-licensee of the East-End Market Hotel with Vincent John Stephen Jordan) appeared in court, and pled guilty to a charge of having unlawfully carried away liquor from the hotel premises on the night of November. Piercy paid a fine of £5 with 10/ costs.
The two licensees of the East-End Market Hotel faced another charge of illegally taking away liquor from the hotel in court on 28 September 1942, and each paid £5 in fines and 7/6 in costs.
Years later, on 17 April 1946, Kenneth Frederick George Hastings, motor driver for the East-End Market Hotel, faced a charge of stealing six bags of wheat worth £3/18/ from his employers.
On 24 April 1951, tailor Francis James Reardon was found guilty of unlawfully betting in the bar room of the East-End Market Hotel on 29 March. Reardon paid a hefty fine of £40 with costs of 7/6.
35 year old East-End Market Hotel cook Douglas Frederick Kerr appeared in court on 16 November 1954 for having hindered a constable’s entrance to the hotel; Kerr was found guilty and paid a £5 fine with 7/6 costs.
1 and 3 January 1926 Fires
Just after 1:30 AM on New Year’s Day, a fire started in the East-End Market and spread ‘with remarkable rapidity’, since the premises of the market were mostly constructed of wood and iron. A large crowd gathered on East Terrace to watch ‘the flames shooting high into the air’. When the firemen arrived, they focused their priority on containing the spread of the fire instead of extinguishing it in the market. They arranged four lines of hose within the market and three lines by the front side of the endangered buildings, and aimed for Frearson’s Hardware store and the East-End Market Hotel.
Mrs J Goodfellow, wife of the East-End Market Hotel licencee, spoke to The Advertiser,
She and her husband had spent an anxious time, as it appeared almost inevitable that the hotel would be destroyed. The stout brick wall, however, formed a strong barrier against the approaching fire, and the brigade saved the property. Considerable damage, however, was done by water, especially in the kitchen and dining-room. In the latter paper came off the ceiling in large sheets.
“I want to say,” continued Mrs Goodfellow, “that we are very grateful to four tramway employees who came to the rescue, and, with difficulty, removed the piano from the drawing-room into the street. They also took the wireless set and a valuable talking machine from the premises. The task was not an easy one, but they worked hard and successfully.
Asked if she and other persons on the premises had been in any real danger, Mrs Goodfellow replied, “Yes; I was on the balcony when I first discovered that a fire had broken out. At that time there were no visible flames, but there was a strong smell of burning, and I could see the smoke rising from the right-of-way at the eastern boundary of the market property. If I could have got a prompt reply from the telephone exchange I don’t think much damage would have been done.”
The Advertiser found that a cable junction box near the fire had burst, and thus lost communication with the exchange. Mr LH Griffiths of the Telephone Exchange, ‘stated that quite a large number of lines were put out of order by the fire’.
Two days later, on 3 January, another fire started just behind the East-End Market Hotel. Eerily, this fire was reported at 1:25 AM- almost 48 hours exactly after the fire of 1 January. The Chronicle reported that several taxi drivers were near the East-End Market when this fire started, and one of the drivers, Fawcett, ‘climbed up a verandah pole on to the [East-End Market] Hotel balcony and warned the occupants. He carried one woman from the premises in a fainting condition’. Luckily, ‘occupants of the East-End Market Hotel, who were rudely disturbed on New Year’s morning, wasted little time in getting out into East-terrace with their personal belongings’. Total damage of properties affected by the fire was estimated to be £8 000.
A New Era: PJ O’Brien’s
On 15 July 1998, manager Paul O’Brien opened his aptly-named pub PJ O’Brien’s. The institution’s opening night extended far belong its stated 9 pm closing time. PJ O’Brien’s, located on the southern half of the former East-End Market Hotel, upheld its predecessor’s tradition of hosting a variety of functions: on 4 August that year, the pub hosted a dinner party to celebrate the Australia v Ireland jumping jockeys challenge at Morphettville Racecourse, which would happen that weekend. In 2006 December, when Britain’s and Australia’s cricket teams played each other in Adelaide, PJ O’Brien’s became the unofficial watering hole for the British fans, and even organised buses for patrons to get to the matches. O’Brien’s also regularly hosted (and still hosts today) Celtic bands and artists; on 26 August 1999 local Adelaide Irish trio Ceol Maith even recorded live tracks at the pub for their upcoming album.
In 2000, comedian Chris Franklin (famous for his hit song ‘Bloke’) performed at PJ O’Brien’s multiple times. The next year, on 7 March 2001, P.J. O’Brien’s established itself as a comedy venue when it hosted the finals of Triple J’s national Raw Comedy competition. Comedian-actor Dave Hughes also performed at the hotel in 2001. In July 2005, PJ O’Brien’s celebrated its fifth anniversary jointly with comedy venue Rhino Room’s 300th stand-up performance by throwing a party and hiring comedians Greg Fleet and Justin Hamilton. The next month’s issue of The Advertiser announced that PJ O’Brien’s had started hosting a weekly comedy night on Tuesdays.
A New Era: East Terrace Continental
Since the opening of East Terrace Continental in the late 1990s by hospitality entrepreneur James Tambakis, it has hosted several exhibits as part of Adelaide’s Fringe Festival. The cafe has long had a reputation for serving great food; the 23 February 2000 issue of The Advertiser declared that the eatery had ‘good, simple, fresh food’. In 2002 November, the cafe bolstered its culinary influence by catering for The Advertiser‘s massive search to find the 100 best wines, from 1631 tested. The Advertiser praised East Terrace Continental’s breakfast options nearly every year since 1998. When Matt Preston of MasterChef Australia came to Adelaide in June 2009, he labelled the restaurant as ‘a perennial contender for best cafe in the state’.
Business at East Terrace Continental has also taken a charitable angle: since the death of Mariann McNamara’s husband to brain cancer in 2004, she has held Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea events every year at the restaurant. The cafe also has donated 10 percent of their earnings from these functions. Additionally, in late October 2010, the eatery hosted a Caring for the Children of Africa dinner, meant to fundraise for ‘orphanages, schools, and displaced persons camps in Kenya’.
