Secrets of Toowong's Historic Pubs

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[{"address":"Regatta Ferry Terminal, Coronation Drive, Toowong QLD, Australia","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.0421,"latitudeDelta":0.0922,"latitude":-27.4831048,"longitude":152.9966646},"media":[{"metadata":{"width":633,"height":480},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_0_0.png?alt=media&token=b0c085e2-0058-4221-a211-7d931f902a3c"},{"type":"text","content":"We start our historic journey across the road from the Regatta Hotel. The hotel you see today was built in 1886 but it wasn't the first licence premises in the location. The first hotel a single story wooden building, was established on the side in 1874. Take a moment to admire the current building - impressive example of colonial Queensland architecture. Note the extensive use of cast iron balustrating and Corinthian columns. Before you were enter however turn to face the river. "},{"metadata":{"width":259,"height":194},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_0_2.png?alt=media&token=dda82871-74cb-49d4-84f2-53f32f07ffbd"},{"type":"text","content":"On the river you can see the Regatta Ferry Terminal. You may have even arrived by River Cat at the terminal if you travelled to Toowong from the City. If you didn't, you should certainly consider taking a leisurely ride on the Cat, as it's known to locals, to enjoy the river breezes and admire the expensive river front real estate."},{"metadata":{"width":726,"height":422},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_0_4.png?alt=media&token=1b6560e5-ca6e-4c5f-a2e4-9bf8e1d59696"},{"type":"text","content":"Just like the fact that the pub is not the first pub in the location, neither is the ferry terminal. This has been a landing point for ferries across the river for most of the time that European Australians have been in the area. And of course for tens of thousands of years prior, the local Turrbal people crossed the Brisbane River to trade using bark canoes. The entire area has a strong indigenous history. In fact the name of the suburb itself Toowong, comes from the Turrbal name for a local bird. Bulimba across the water, also gets its name from a Turrbal bird name. Far more attractive than nearby Indooroopilly, which means 'gully of leeches'."}]},{"address":"Regatta Hotel, Coronation Drive, Toowong QLD, Australia","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.0421,"latitudeDelta":0.0922,"latitude":-27.482501,"longitude":152.9964643},"media":[{"metadata":{"width":549,"height":554},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_1_0.png?alt=media&token=a1532dfa-6eb3-4691-ba8d-eac98204d8f7"},{"type":"text","content":"It's now time to enter the Regatta Hotel itself. Start at the large bar at the front. The hotel itself has multiple rooms and bars across three levels. We won't try and cover all of them but grab yourself a drink and take a seat on the front verandah or in the front bar."},{"metadata":{"width":600,"height":400},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_1_2.png?alt=media&token=5801f7ed-9460-469b-ba8f-6c52661c153c"},{"type":"text","content":"Take a look at the picture above and imagine this very bar in the 1950s and 60s. The front bar of the Regatta Hotel, like all Australian pubs at the time, was an almost exclusively male domain. In 1923 Queensland adopted 6pm closing time for licence premises. This meant that working men had just 1 hour to knock back a few after they finished work at 5:00pm. This was known as The 6 O'Clock Swill."},{"type":"text","content":"Now take a look at the photo of the two ladies below taken in 1965. They might not look like it to modern eyes, but these two women are staunch feminists doing their bit to smash the patriarchy. If you look closely at the photo of their feet, you can see that they have in fact chained themselves to the railing at the bar! Merle Thornton and Rosalie Bognor chained themselves to the public bar foot rail in protest of the fact that at the time only men could lawfully be sold drinks in public bars! This protest was the starting point of a movement which led to the law being changed in 1970. In 2014 the hotel renamed this area Merle's Bar in recognition. So raise your glass in salute to Merle and Rosalie and the other great women who helped lead Australia forward."},{"type":"text","content":""},{"metadata":{"width":862,"height":618},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_1_6.png?alt=media&token=3787d44f-32a9-4175-9d47-ac9c6109d69e"},{"metadata":{"width":707,"height":349},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_1_7.png?alt=media&token=0fb0800d-59b6-4efe-8e8d-fb07148638ee"}]},{"address":"Regatta Hotel, Coronation Drive, Toowong QLD, Australia","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.0421,"latitudeDelta":0.0922,"latitude":-27.482501,"longitude":152.9964643},"media":[{"metadata":{"width":554,"height":554},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_2_0.png?alt=media&token=44dd4f62-5233-4dd2-bed3-fb6726ea5e48"},{"type":"text","content":"If you're ready to move on to another part of the hotel, first stop to look at the majestic internal staircase which leads to the upper floors of the main building. Another great example of colonial architecture, the staircase now leads to function rooms and offices, however when it was first built, the Regatta hotel had bedrooms for hire. Indeed, up until the 1980s, almost all licenced premises were required to have rooms available, presumably in case patrons had a little too much festivities and were or unable or unwilling to go home. This is the reason why, to the confusion of many international travellers, Australians use the term hotel and pub inter- changeably."},{"metadata":{"width":678,"height":452},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_2_2.png?alt=media&token=3a5848dd-adaf-4546-bcfd-9dcd013735f7"},{"type":"text","content":"There are multiple bars at the Regatta, and if the weather is good, I would recommend that you sit on the Front Verandah or in the Courtyard. If sidewalk dining is more your preference, grab a table at the River Road Cafe. If the weather is not great or it's the evening, however then the place to be is the Walrus Club. Located in the cellar under the building the club serves 150 different rums, a huge range of cocktails and other beverages which you can enjoy while admiring the 150-year-old brickwork and enjoying the live music on offer."}]},{"address":"Royal Exchange Hotel, High Street, Toowong QLD, Australia","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.0421,"latitudeDelta":0.0922,"latitude":-27.4863889,"longitude":152.9925},"media":[{"metadata":{"width":821,"height":365},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_3_0.png?alt=media&token=fcef6bda-63ce-4e5f-bafb-da550ff02c64"},{"type":"text","content":"When you've enjoyed your fill of the beautiful Regatta Hotel, it's time for something just as authentic but really quite different. Gritty even.\n\nJust 9 minutes walk south along Coronation Drive ( named to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II) you will find the Royal Exchange Hotel. Universally known as the \"R.E.\" and sometimes pronounced as a single word, \"Ree\" (to rhyme with tree), this pre-federation hotel was also built in 1886. However whereas the Regatta has maintained much of its colonial charm and so attracts the well-dressed and well to do, the RE is unashamedly working class. Take a moment to look at the building. No lace or columns here! Just good solid brick and arched windows. Even the paint colourchoices say \"sensible, solid, no frills service\"."},{"metadata":{"width":640,"height":468},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_3_2.png?alt=media&token=dfac3d0b-9747-46b7-8180-17334e4e6812"},{"type":"text","content":"Next to the main pub building itself is the Royal Exchange Garage building. Built in 1927 to accommodate a motor garage and commercial businesses, it now houses the pub's detached bottle shop and gaming rooms. Mechanics from the garage, railway workers from the nearby railway station and students from the University of Queensland all found an ideal watering hole in the RE. While the mechanics and most of the railway workers were gone by the 1960s, the university students have stayed and the pub continues with its solid, no-frills offering of cold beer, entertainment and good food for students and local workers."}]},{"address":"Royal Exchange Hotel, High Street, Toowong QLD, Australia","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.0421,"latitudeDelta":0.0922,"latitude":-27.4863889,"longitude":152.9925},"media":[{"metadata":{"width":600,"height":337},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_4_0.png?alt=media&token=80c37b8c-e838-417c-a6a8-f8f549ce0e66"},{"type":"text","content":"Although almost all locals enter through the beer garden, if this is your first time, I suggest that you enter the RE via the Public Bar. Little has changed in this bar for at least the 30 years that I've been visiting and I imagine for many years before that. The bar with its TAB and television screens still exhibit some glimpses of the glory days of the 1950s and 60s. Certainly here you can still imagine the 6 O'Clock Swill. Indeed except perhaps on Friday and Saturday nights, it's still quite rare to find a woman in the Public Bar, not because of any legal restrictions or that they are unwelcome, so much as the fact that the bar has very little to offer but cold beer and gambling.\n\nLeaving from the Public Bar to the Beer Garden, you will see the RE's own internal staircase. Built about the same time as the one in the Regatta, the contrast couldn't be greater. "},{"metadata":{"width":297,"height":273},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_4_2.png?alt=media&token=11cd7802-6dbd-4ff3-bdb3-04a232fd692d"},{"type":"text","content":"while it has very little to offer architecturally, the Beer Garden is the heart of the RE. It's here that the live bands play and the bistro does a roaring trade of filling, if not five star, meals. The Half Chicken and Chips has been a staple for university students for over 40 years. The long bench-like tables are conducive to striking up a conversation with strangers and the atmosphere is vibrant and congenial. Certainly in contrast to the Regatta, this is where you are far more likely to find yourself meeting and forming friendships with locals."},{"metadata":{"width":542,"height":412},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_4_4.png?alt=media&token=5f4dc60a-6dda-4fda-b4c3-5ed7be78a860"}]},{"address":"Regatta Hotel, Coronation Drive, Toowong QLD, Australia","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.0421,"latitudeDelta":0.0922,"latitude":-27.482501,"longitude":152.9964643},"media":[{"metadata":{"width":640,"height":480},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_5_0.png?alt=media&token=23ab4bd2-e7ef-4733-a5ca-a595a9e305f4"},{"type":"text","content":"From the Beer Garden, head upstairs, either using the internal staircase you saw before or the external \"Queenslander\" style staircase open to the elements. Again like the Regatta and all hotels in Queensland, upstairs used to contain accommodation for patrons right up until the 80s. "},{"metadata":{"width":549,"height":554},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_5_2.png?alt=media&token=521f6ae6-5d2a-4661-865e-bdc1ee2333e2"},{"type":"text","content":"Upstairs at the RE is where you'll find more bars and be able to take part in that time honoured tradition, Pub Pool. If others are playing when you arrive, indicate that you wish to play next by placing your coins on the table above the coin slot. Remember however that these are definitely not championship tables and if a local suggests that you play against him or her for money, you are definitely about to get hustled. More than one university student has kept themselves in beer money by winning pool against the unsuspecting."},{"metadata":{"width":549,"height":554},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FXmWa9Cys1Tk3MxAaBR6b%2Fstop_5_4.png?alt=media&token=65560177-281b-49e3-8467-44fb3307e507"},{"type":"text","content":"If you arrive in the afternoon before the crowds, you may be fortunate enough to score yourself a seat on the Upstairs Verandah. Admittedly, the seats are uncomfortable and the view in to the near by shopping centre is not great, but these seats are much coveted, as you're able to watch patrons come and go, and of course call down to your mates."},{"type":"text","content":"The Regatta and the RE are two much loved pubs in Brisbane's West. Notwithstanding that they were both built in the same year, they were and remain, very different in terms of atmosphere and clientele. Both representing quite different but parallel parts of Brisbane's history. I love them both.\n\nNow, who's ready for another drink?"},{"type":"text","content":"Looking for more to do around Toowong? Check out the University of Queensland Hidden Treasures tour at the link below:"},{"type":"link","content":"https://app.freeguides.com/share/MDZ5"}]}]