The Tower Hotel
The Tower Hotel at Doncaster was built one hundred years ago in Doncaster Road at the corner of the present Tower Street. The Hotel was built by Alfred Hummel, a gentleman farmer, who three years before had built the Doncaster Tower.Hummel had provided refreshment rooms at the base of the Tower but, after visitors had climbed the Tower, the strenuous exercise made them feel in need of something stronger than a cup of tea. Seeing large parties ignore his facilities and go off to a hotel was too much for Hummel. He was a proud Englishman who did not like to be beaten.
The Hotel that Hummel built was bigger and better than any other in the district. There were thirty nine rooms and stables for twenty horses. He called it the Beaconsfield Hotel.
His decision to build a hotel, however, caused considerable criticism both from his family and the community. Hummel had been a supporter of the temperance movement in Doncaster. The Hotel had caused them to lose credibility and his wife Jane was one of the Lawford family who were strict teetotallers.
Hummel began to have financial problems. He had invested heavily with the Tower, the Hotel, and his many land holdings. In 1885, he sold up all his properties and moved to Tasmania where he lived for the rest of his life.
The Hotel was bought by William Meader, a man with much experience in the hotel business. Meader had come from Dorset at the age of twenty four and arrived at the time of the gold rushes. Meader became more interested in the land boom than in being a publican. He leased the Hotel, now called the Tower Hotel, to John Nicholls.
Nicholls was an auctioneer and land agent who already owned a large orchard in Reynolds Road, alongside Deep Creek. He lived at South Yarra and employed G. Edwards and his wife to run the Hotel.
A party who visited Doncaster while Nicholls was host wrote a description of the Tower Hotel:
“…. I say Doncaster Tower is the place for us all. The hills are beautiful and green, the sea breeze is fresh and cool in the town, and a wire before we start to Host Nichols will find a splendid spread waiting for us on our arrival. What better can we require.”
One hour from the start from town, our friends were seated in one of the numerous large summer houses attached to the hotel, indulging in various beverages suitable to their several tastes…..
This property has only changed hands last June (1888). It contains 13 acres of splendid land, with flower garden, picnic grounds, swings, track for foot and bicycle races. A roller skating track is about to be laid, and my intentions are to erect an extensive coffee palace, to be lit with electricity, for the accommodation of all classes of society. This tower, which has a world wide reputation, gentlemen. It runs up to a height of 219 feet, and is over 700 feet above the level of the sea. We have a splendid Assembly Hall, which will seat two hundred people, and is used by our guests for balls and parties in the season, several pianos, public dining hall, and private parlors. We cater for one or four hundred. Every delicacy that can possibly be procured at town establishments, we supply here at a very short notice, and no expense is spared to make this what it undoubtedly is - as near as poor mortals have to that desired goal - perfection.”
In 1895 the Tower Hotel was owned by C C Nisson and Passmore was the caterer and licensee. Alongside the bar was a small room where lamps were stored during the day and filled with kerosine. On January 25th, Nisson lit a lamp and returned to the bar to serve a customer. He looked back and saw the room filled with a mass of red flames. It was a hot north-wind day and soon the Hotel was blazing. Nisson tried to beat out the fire but was overcome with smoke and had to be carried out.
A bucket brigade was formed to carry water from the Hotel's large well to the fire. One of the Petty boys worked the pump. He pumped so hard that he broke the pump.
At the Box Hill Fire Station, the lookout saw the flames and rang the fire bell to call the fire crew from their homes. The men grabbed the first available horses and quickly harnessed them to the fire engine.
The Fire Brigade set off, hurrying along the tram line straight for Doncaster. It was a hard pull up the long hill to Doncaster Road and the horses were uneasy. They were accustomed to working on their own, pulling bakers' carts and farm carts, and did not like being harnessed alongside strange horses. Nearing Serpell's Corner, the horses jibbed and started to play up. By now the flames from the fire at the top of the hill were roaring up into the sky, all the brighter in the darkening light of evening, making the firemen aware of the urgency, but frustrated by unco-operative horses. The Captain, a large, portly man, struggled to control them, when from the side of the road a voice called out "Get off and walk. They'll go better without your weight!"
As the firemen once more got the team going, the engine moved forward to the scene of the fire, with a crowd running alongside. Amongst it, eight-year old Ted Galbus from the dairy.
At the fire; the hose was quickly dropped into the underground tank. The fire crew, despite the intense heat, manned the engine's pump. Two men on each side worked the rocking bar that forced water along the hoses. The building was a blazing inferno. As the hoses poured water onto the fire, part of the roof collapsed, sending sparks high into the sky.
The flames on the top of Doncaster Hill were seen by look-outs at Kew and Hawthorn.who sent their Brigades. It was too late to save the Hotel but they were able to stop the fire.
spreading to the Recreation Hall.
The Tower Hotel was re-built. An elaborately decorated brick building was erected in front of the old Recreation Hall. A curved drive led into the entrance with a light on a post to welcome visitors at night and there was a horse trough to refresh their horses.
In 1898, a local man, Edward Kent; took over the Hotel and ran it for six years till Wenke , became the licensee. In 1914, the Tower was dismantled and three years later the Hotel was delicensed. The building became Thomas' Grocery Store and a shop-front was added on one side. Later the shop was used by the Doncaster Mower Service and, in 1969 when Doncaster Road was widened, the building was demolished. The solicitor's office of Garry Glover now stands on the site of the Tower Hotel.
Irvine Green writing in 1981 02 DTHS Newsletter
c1910 Tom Wenke's Tower Hotel and the Doncaster Tower, both on the north side of Doncaster Road between Williamsons Road and Council Street. Among the signs on the cladding of the tower is an advertisement for Latham's prize ales. The sign on the picket fence behind the lamp post reads "Tower Hotel - Martin Wenke - Afternoon Teas - Good Accommodation". Another sign, on the front of the hotel, mentions "The Cyclists Rest", indicative of the time when cycling road races [such as the 'Kew Flyer' race] were in vogue. The original of this photo was a Kodak Post Card. DTHS-DP1058
| "Greeting from Doncaster Victoria. Looking towards Melbourne from the Tower Doncaster." Roof paint: Tower Hotel Doncaster M. Wenke. Doncaster Williamsons Cnr visible c Serpells building. Posted to Facebook by Belinda Smith. |
| After 1920. Jimmy Thomas' general store at the corner of Doncaster Road, Doncaster, Victoria, and Council Street. The shop was built on to the front of the Tower Hotel after it closed in the 1920s. The shop and the attached dwelling were demolished about 1970 when Doncaster Road was reconstructed. (DTHS-DP0135) |
| c1966 Tower Hotel building as it was used by 'Doncaster Mower Repairs' up until it's demolition. (Alan Campbell-Drury) |
Fire at the Tower Hotel, 1895
A hot more wind was blowing that day early in 1895. At box Hill fire station, they had been expecting trouble so the lookout was on the alert. Then, early in the evening, smoke was seen in the north. When the bell sounded, the fire crew rushed from their respective homes grabbing the first available horses - even horses which were not accustomed to working in a team.
Original Tower Hotel, Doncaster, Victoria, built in 1881 by Alfred Hummel. The building on the right contained bedrooms and a large entertainment room. The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1895 and a new brick hotel built in front of the guest accommodation. A number of people are standing in the foreground, one of whom is carrying bagpipes. DTHS-DP0156
The engine set off, hurrying along the tramline heading straight for Doncaster. It was a hard pull up the long hill to Main Road and the horses were uneasy with their strange companions. Nearing Serpell's Corner, the horses jibbed and started to play up. By now the flames from the fire at the top of the hill were roaring up into the sky - all the brighter in the darkening light of the evening - making the fireman aware of the urgency but frustrated by uncooperative horses. The captain, a large portly man, struggled to control them, when from the side of the road, a voice called out "Get off and walk. They'll do better without your weight." Then, as the fireman once more got the team going, the engine moved forward to the scene of the fire with a crowd running alongside - amongst it eight years old Ted Gallus from the dairy. At the fire, the hose was quickly dropped into the hotel's large underground tank. A bucket brigade had been desperately trying to fight the fire. One of the Petty boys had worked the old hand pumped at the well so hard that it had broken. The crew, despite the intense heat, manned the engine pump which, with for strong men, could feed water at a rate of 200 gallons per minute. The hotel was a blazing inferno. As the hoses poured water onto the fire, part of the roof collapsed sending sparks high into the sky. The fire had gone too far and despite the efforts of the fireman the tower hotel was burned to the ground. But hard efforts were not altogether in vain. The recreation hall was saved and this later became a home on another nearby site and was still there until recent times.
Thanks to Mr Irvine Green for compiling the article on the tower hotel fire.
Extract from DTHS Newsletter Feb 1967
FIRE AT DONCASTER. THE TOWER HOTEL DESTROYED.
The Tower Hotel at Doncaster was destroyed by fire at half-past 6 o'clock on Wednesday evening. The flames spread with great rapidity through the large wooden building, and the local firemen, who promptly attended, were unable to save the main premises. They succeeded, however, in saving the dining-hall and the outhouses and tower. Mr. Nissen, the landlord, in trying to save some of the contents of the hotel was over-powered by the smoke, and was rescued with difficulty by Mr. W. Meader, bank manager. The hotel, which was owned by the Commercial Bank, was insured, but the contents were uninsured, and Mr. Nissen's loss is consequently extremely heavy.
1895 'FIRE AT DONCASTER.', The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), 4 January, p. 6. , viewed 04 Nov 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9340336
A disastrous fire resulting in the total destruction of the Tower Hotel, Doncaster, occurred at about 6.15 on Wednesday evening. The great volume of smoke seen arising in that vicinity indicated that it was no mere bush fire, but that a building of some kind or other was burning. The Box Hill fire bell gave warning, and the men turned up to about the number of nine, and after a hard struggle succeeded in reaching the spot. When they had arrived however, the whole of the building was down, and merely the debris was burning ; on to this they got the water at once, and after a time extinguished the flames. Three other brigades made their appearance, namely, Hawthorn, Kew, and Surrey Hills, but there was very little they could do. Previous to the arrival of the firemen the men of the district, young and old, worked most bravely endeavouring to save some of the valuables; a partition joining the hotel to a large wooden building was pulled down in quick time, and water was passed from one to another in order to keep the flames down at this particular point. The origin of the fire remains a mystery; the barman had just left the lamp-room to serve some customers when they noticed a smell of fire and immediately the fire was seen to be issuing from that room. Up to. this time there had been no one in the hotel. As far as we can ascertain the building (which was a large wooden structure) was insured, but not the stock, and as there was a very large stock on the premises the loss will be considerable. Several accidents, which might have terminated seriously were narrowly averted; for instance, the licensee, Mr. Nissen, be came overpowered with the smoke and it was with considerable difficulty that lie was rescued from his very perilous and unenviable position. One of the chimneys fell and several men who were working the pump narrowly escaped being struck by the scatter ing of bricks. Great credit is due to all who assisted in any way, for al-though they could not have the hotel, it is mainly due to their vigorous de fence that the other building escaped as it did.FIRE AT DONCASTER
1895 'FIRE AT DONCASTER.', Reporter (Box Hill, Vic. : 1889 - 1918), 4 January, p. 3. , viewed 04 Nov 2016, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article90364200
1896 'No title', Sportsman (Melbourne, Vic. : 1882 - 1904), 5 May, p. 8. , viewed 22 Feb 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227709419
MR. WILLIAM MEADER,
President of the Victorian Licensed Victuallers' Association. Mr. William Meader was born at the Swan Hotel, Shaftesbury, Dorsetshire, in 1826. For a while Mr. Meader was in business in London, but the stories of the fabulous wealth to be found on Bendigo induced Mr. Meader, with his wife and two children, to try their fortune in the distant south. After six or seven years of varying fortune at mining, Mr. Meader first entered into hotel business in Victoria at the Pavilion, Sailor's Gully, Eaglehawk, and assisted in founding the Bendigo Licensed Victuallers' Association at Harmey's Bridge Hotel, and for some time ocoupied the position of hon. sec. Afterwards he had the Elysian Flat, Whipstick, an aerated water business, the Napier Arms, White Hills, and ultimately the Albion, which he took from Crowley and Heffernan. When the original Beehive was burned down in the early 70's, Mr. Meader opened the present well-known establishment in the Mall at a rental of £47 per week, and refused a bonus of £1000 for his venture. In 1874 he took the Meat Market Hotel, North Melbourne, which he successfully conducted for twelve years. After a most exciting battle with the prohibitionists at Box Hill he succeeded, by the narrow majority of four votes, in obtaining a license for the Railway Hotel, which he opened. Successively he has kept the Tower, Doncaster ; the Australian, Bourke-street ; the Junction, St. Kilda ; and is now to be found at that comfortable and commodious hostelry, the Tower, Burwood-road, Auburn. Mr. Meader, whilst always zealous in the interests of his own trade, has, with the proverbial traditions of the Licensed Victuallers' trade, ever taken an active interest in all benevolent movements. He was one of the original promoters of the Bendigo Easter Fair, was president of the Bendigo Benevolent Association, on the committee of the Bendigo Hospital, and is now Grand Master of the M.U.I.O.O.F. and president of the Victorian Licensed Victuallers' Association.1896 'No title', Sportsman (Melbourne, Vic. : 1882 - 1904), 5 May, p. 8. , viewed 22 Feb 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227709419
No comments:
Post a Comment