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Cremorne Hotel, Cinema & Gardens
Trevor Tuckfield:
In Murray Street (or Goderich Street as this part was then known) a hotel appeared called the Horse and Groom in 1851. When it ceased as a hotel it became the Cremorne Gardens (and I have a feeling the Cremorne Hotel is now the Y.M.C.A. building—with additions). However, in 1851 G. Hayson was applying for a licence and in June 1852 it was announced that George Hayson would open the Horse and Groom Tavern in Murray Street in July. In February 1859 Hayson was advertising alterations and enlargements including lock-up coach and gig house, large ballroom—firewood supplies as usual.
Hayson occupied until 1868 when in May he died and Charles Taylor took over from Mrs Harriet Hayson. Taylor remained until 1870 when James Lewis Lambley's name appeared again (late of the Shamrock) when he took over. In 1873 it was licensed in Mrs Lambley's name and in 1874 to 1888 or later Edward Connor was licensee. A number of inns flashed across the screen and were seen no more.
Allen Graham (Pubs - past and present of WA - in Facebook):
This is part two of the story of Mrs Annie Oliver and The Westralia hotel, and while that hotel by name came into existence from December 1895, the hotel at the time she acquired it was known as the Horse and Groom. That hotel was built as a single level building by George Haysom on his block in Murray Street, just east of Barrack Street. It opened in 1855. Haysom remained as Licensee until his death in 1868, after which there was a succession of licensees, but in the late 1880s, early 1890s, a run of bad luck dogged some of these publicans. One committed suicide, (Connor, April 1888), another’s wife died, (Maggs, June 1890) and a third publican died (Chipper, August 1892). When Mrs Oliver bought the hotel in early 1895 she also acquired other property abutting the hotel which gave her a substantial block of land stretching between Hay and Murray Street. She then proceeded with extensions to the hotel and the establishment of Cremorne Gardens which was an outdoor picture and refreshment garden, and during the golden age of the Gold Rush this was the place to be. And ironically the hotel became better known as The Cremorne, than The Westralia. The story of the hotel and gardens is too long to tell here but the twist to the is story is that in the early 1900s Mrs Oliver found religion and joined the Baptist Church and so gave up the hotel trade. However, she retained ownership of the hotel and gardens and over the next twenty years she was a generous benefactor to the YMCA. In 1920 she sold the hotel to the YMCA and it became their Perth Headquarters. She died in 1921 and The Mirror told how ‘Mrs Oliver was a very generous woman all through her life, and gave liberally to all charities, and later of all to the YMCA which seems to me most appropriate, in view of the fact that the money she possessed was principally found by young men who were not precisely YMCA. members … It is not often that the Bohemian and the Wowser can both have happy memories.’ The attached pictures show the Westralia as used by the YMCA, (SLWA), Mrs Oliver and the entrance to the Gardens (both courtesy of AMMPT). The hotel and gardens, like many Perth buildings being demolished in the path of progress. (Pubs - past and present of WA', 26 May 2018)
David Coppock (Cinema Treasures):
The Cremorne Theatre opened on 25th June 1896 behind the Criterion Hotel (now called Cremorne Hotel?) at 31 Howick Street (now Hay Street) with the entrance at 111 Murray Street. The first screening of pictures was on 12th December 1896. When pictures were not screened, it returned to vaudeville shows. The name changed to the Bijou Theatre for a few months in the summer of 1902 and 1903, and then the name changed back to the Cremorne Theatre. Name changed to Palace Gardens and Theatre in 1904. The name changed back to Cremorne Theatre in July 1910. Name changed to Cremorne Theatre and Palace Gardens on 25th December 1912. The Cremorne Theatre and Palace Gardens closed in (1914 or in the summer of 1918?), by that time showing vaudeville only.
The entrance later became Cremorne Arcade running through to Hay Street (only the Hay Street end remains, now shops, the arcade entrances gone at both ends.) The Murray Street end was demolished(?) and later used by the YMCA. The site is now a chemist (Chemist Warehouse), a gym (Snap Fitness), and internet cafe. (Cinema Treasures, 2018)
From an unidentified book via a photo on the above page:
DATING from1895 the Cremome Gardens faced Murray Street behind the Criterion Hotel. They adjoined a small indoor theatre.
Roofed latticework kiosks were placed around the walls, each named for a gold-mining town — Boulder, Kanowna, Coolgardie ... On these walls were murals of lakes and woodlands, suggesting on environment far away from Perth.
Wrote The Leader of 1898 "... during long, sultry summer evenings a string orchestra discourses sweet music, and concerts are held nightly by the best talents to be found in the colonies. The Governor and suite, judges, the Premier and Ministers of the Crown with their wives and families are usually seen there on Friday evenings, the fixed fashionable night.
Before the South African War (Boer War) the band rotunda was removed and replaced by a covered stage on which vaudeville, pantomime and music hall acts were performed.
In 1904 it re-opened as the Palace Gardens and its last season seems to have been the summer oi 1917-18, as World War I drew to its close.
References and Links
Tuckfield, Trevor 1971, 1975, 'Early colonial inns and taverns', Early Days: Journal and proceeedings of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, Part 1, 7, 3: 65-82; Part 2, 7, 7: 98-106.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 15 July, 2021 and hosted at freotopia.org/hotels/cremorne.html (it was last updated on 28 November, 2023), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.