Pier Hotel

Lots 25 and 26, Cliff Street, cnr Croke Street, 1873-1955

The Pier Hotel was in Cliff Street from 1873 to 1955, on the corner of Croke Street. This photo is from about 1903, and is from the Fremantle Library Local History Collection, #604. The text accompanying the photo on their website is as follows:

Library:
On the right is the Cliff Street Post Office (opened 10.08.1889). Note the horse hitching rails and the notice boards for shipping news. On the corner of Croke Street is the Pier Hotel, with an advertisement for The Port Brewery Ship Brand Pale Ale. The hotel was opened in 1873 and demolished in 1955.

This earlier photo of the Pier Hotel is from the Fremantle Library Local History Collection, #1396, c1885.

Library:
On the right is Flindell's Pier Hotel, originally built for William Brown. He was formerly a Coxswain with the Water Police and applied for a Publican's licence in 1873. The Pier Hotel had a convenient location between the ships and the railway, with a stockyard and holding paddock for horses imported from the Eastern States for the North West. (FHC)

The advertisement (right) is from the 1881 WA Almanack.

One publican was Frederick Caesar (1838-1904) who arrived from Guildford, Surrey in 1871. He later ran the Emerald Isle (Orient) and then the Richmond. James Flindell was the owner around the turn of the century, 1900-1901.
Alterations and additions in 1893 were designed by architect, Herbert Nathaniel Davis.
John Dowson tells us that the Pier Hotel 'hosted an outdoor cinema at the rear'. (Dowson 2003: 121) The Pier Hotel Picture Gardens was in existence 1912-1915.

Heritage Council:
Cliff St in the 1850s was a busy thoroughfare connecting the sea front jetty with the river. Many businesses were located along the route. The street was paved in 1858 with hand-tolled Yorkshire flagstones by sappers of the Royal Engineers. The job was completed by private contract after the sappers were needed elsewhere. Apparently, convicts were not skilled enough for the job. To meet the expense, dog licences, poundage fees and fines were raised by the Town Trust.
The Pier Hotel was built by William Brown in the 1870s. Brown was an ex-water policeman and sailmaker. The hotel was delicensed in 1922 and demolished in 1955.
As at 2002 the lot was a carpark associated with Notre Dame University. In 2009 plans were approved by the City of Fremantle for development of the site for NDU. Heritage Council.

There is a 2010 NDU Education building, ND4, Tannock Hall of Education, designed by Marcus Collins, on the site now. The spire in the distance is that of the Hotel Fremantle, on the corner of High Street.

The fine building on the south side of the corner of Croke Street was the Post Office until 1907 when the current building in Market Street took over. It was demolished in 1967, and has been ever since yet another car park.

"Pier Hotel" Fremantle.
Notice.
THE undersigned having taken over this business from Mr. Wm. Brown, begs to inform his friends and the public generally that his Hotel accommodation is now replete with every comfort; that his wines, spirits, and beer, are of the best brands, that his "Bar" is much improved to meet the requirements of his numerous friends and visitors, and he trusts by the exercise of due attention to secure their undivided patronage.
F. CAESAR.
Western Australian Times, Tuesday 18 July 1876.

References and Links

Flindell family photo taken at the rear of the Pier Hotel c. 1901, #1552B. George Owen Flindell Junior b. 1899 is in the pram; Mrs Shaw in the centre and George's mother, Clara Sophy Flindell on the right. George was married in 1928. Clara lived to the age of 91, dying in the 1960s. Diane Oldman (personal communication).

Dowson, John 2003, Old Fremantle, UWAP.

Heritage Council page.

Streets of Freo page for the hotel, including a list of licensees 1897-1922.

Freotopia

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 21 September, 2014 and hosted at freotopia.org/hotels/pier.html (it was last updated on 5 December, 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.