On the edge of Adelaide’s north western boundary, where the Adelaide CBD stops and the park lands begins, sits this historic pub on the site of the starting point drawn out by Colonial William Light in 1837 when he surveyed the city of Adelaide and make out the plan for Adelaide.
Newmarket hotel
constructed in 1883 the pub gets its name from the older building that occupied the site the Newmarket Inn that gets its name from the livestock market and slaughterhouse on the opposite side of north Terrace. The pub had a level on top of the current balcony roof and a lower frontage along the road but these were removed in the early 1960s.
King of the West
The Newmarket hotel was owned by Albert Augustine Edwards, also known as Bert or King of the West. He was the hotels owner between 1924 – 1931 as well as owning many other pubs in South Australia. Edwards was also an official at the West Adelaide Football club. Edwards was a Labour politician and held Grey ward as part of the Adelaide city council. He was a major supporter of Adelaide’s poor and prisoners and had strong views on anti-conscription. In 1931 he lost his influence with his imprisonment by a selection of his enemies and he was sentenced to five years hard labour at Yatala. When released Edwards continued to work on his hotels and build back his influence but without the Newmarket as punishment of his trial meant he could never return to the hotel.
