Pub with no pokies for sale
The iconic Lord Wolseley Hotel, stripped of its pokies and takeaway sales after moving on to one of the new small bar licenses, will be on the market for the second time in four years, with an auction planned for November 4.
The historic pub, hangout of many of Sydney’s shadier characters during the 70s and 80s, has had a different kind of trouble in its recent history, with the previous owner Frank Camer (one of the few owner/bartenders still in business in Sydney the 21st century) selling the place to the Harvey Family (owners of Cheers and Three Wise Monkeys on George St) in 2007 after a stoush with council over access for his patrons to the adjacent Quarry Green. The sale was made, however, on the public condition that the Harvey’s would not close the pub as many had expected a new owner would, in order to move the gaming and liquor license to a bigger, more profitable venue.
The guarantee made more sense when, a few short weeks after the sale was announced, Clover Moore’s Small Bars Bill defied expectations and passed through NSW Parliament to became law. A cynical reading would imply that the Harvey family, possibly along with other major publicans, knew before the public that the bill would pass. This would mean they bought the pub knowing they could change the LW’s license to a much cheaper one in the small bar category, allowing them keep their promise to keep it open, and move the full hotelier’s license to a more profitable venue.
The result for the locals, however, has also been positive.
They were universally supportive of the removal of the pokies (even one punter found playing on the last day conceded it was probably better if they went). Their reaction to the news of the sale is not yet known, but agent for the Harvey Family Denis Roast (who also managed the transition of the pub from Mr Camer to the Harveys) has said that the pub, which he expects to sell for roughly two and a quarter million dollars, would really only be of interest to a person or family interested in living in the historic building as an owner manager, as no big corporate chains would be interested. He added that the long standing policy of heritage listing all Sydney pubs meant that any decision to change the function of the building (to, for example, a residential or office site) would meet legal obstacles from Council, as well as substantial and passionate local opposition.
By Austin Mackell
