An Hotel by any other name

In last week’s’ Ripping Yarns and Tragic Tales,’ you may have read the story of the Hay family. While getting the story ready for the blog, which was sent to me by Nick Allan, I made a mistake in the name of one of the hotels his family ran.

I got confused between the Club Hotel v Union Club Hotel. The photograph that Nick had in his story was the one below:

Club Hotel Hannan Street Kalgoorlie – Photo Nick Allan

I said to Nick that I thought this looked to me to be the Union Club in MacDonald Street.  However, there is a Club Hotel listed in the WA Post Office Directories for 1897 in Hannan Street, but it had disappeared by 1901 edition when the Kalgoorlie Street Directory section was included, so I couldn’t locate the exact address. It was known as Quigleys. Quigley was a well know hotelier and had several Goldfields hotels. The following is another photo that clearly shows the name ‘Quigley’ on the single-story part to the right. You will agree that these are both the same building.

Photo SLWA

I realised later, that these are definitely different from the Union Club Hotel building in MacDonald Street, Kalgoorlie. The reason for my mistake, apart from the ‘Club’ part of the name, was the front profile of both hotels. A two-story building with a single-story section attached on the right-hand side.

Following are two photos of the Union Club Hotel, ‘Then and Now’, and you can see the similarity.

Photo SLWA

Photo Google Maps

My error arose because I couldn’t find the two hotels listed as existing at the same time until I came across the following advertisement which solved the mystery.

Kalgoorlie Miner  15 May 1897, page 8

So the Club Hotel in Hannan Street was renamed the Tattersalls Hotel sometime in 1897, hence the lack of the name in the Post Office Directories.

Im not sure if any of the fabric of the Hannan Street Hotel still remains or was it demolished and a new one built? This is the Tattersalls Hotel building location today which was the ‘much altered’ Club Hotel. The Post office directories show it to be at this location, 76 Hannan Street, Kalgoorlie. The building is attached to the Cohn’s Building, which must have been added on later. You can see the words ‘Tattersalls Hotel’ on the top.

Photo Google Maps

I was amazed at how many ‘Club’ Hotels, and hotels with the Word Club in their names there were on the Goldfields. A bit like the story I did a while back on all of the hotels called ‘The Grand Hotel’.

Hotel on ther Goldfields, and probably elsewhere, had name changes on a regular basis. often the licenses were sold off and moved to a new location but keeping the same name. In other cases like the Black Swan Hotel, they stayed in the same spot. The Black Swan had five names which I think may be a record, but that is for another story.

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Moya Sharp

Owner at Outback Family History

My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.

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