Wollongong artist captures secret connections between historic pubs

If you’ve noticed some similarities between otherwise unrelated Illawarra pubs – say, the Clifton Imperial Hotel and Mount Kembla Village Hotel – you have a keen eye.

Thanks to the installation of the railway line, initially between Coalcliff and Wollongong, in the decade between 1884 and 1895 there was a boom in pubs built to serve thirsty miners.

The Clifton Imperial Hotel, Bellambi Hotel, the Scarborough Hotel, Ryans Hotel in Thirroul and the Bulli Family Heritage Hotel all sprang up in that period, as suburbs dotted along the region became more accessible to each other and visitors from Sydney.

The Bally Pub followed in 1904 and the Centennial Hotel in Helensburgh opened in 1914.

Retired architect Warren Marsh noticed the similarities in building styles when he and his wife started house hunting in the Illawarra several years ago.

Inspired by their history, he’s created a series of sketches featuring the region’s oldest and best-known pubs.

“We would often stop for a coffee at the Imperial and I appreciated the way they had done it up and preserved the history,” Warren said.

“Then we went for a run to Bunnings and I saw the Bellambi pub and noticed they were quite similar, and that got me interested in the history.

“When they were first built, they would have looked even more similar than they do now, a big body of a building with a decorative open verandah around the outside.

“Sadly, the timber boards and the iron latticework don’t survive long in the seaside atmosphere, but some are still there, especially in Balgownie because it’s further away from the ocean.”

Warren often creates series of sketches with accompanying notes on his travels and circulates them among his friends.

He begins by taking photographs of his subject from several angles before retiring home to draw.

He initially thought his Illawarra sketches would focus on mining remnants, “gutsy, heavy stuff” around Port Kembla and abandoned train lines.

That idea was sidelined as he discovered more of the region’s historic pubs still standing, like the Illawarra Hotel, built in 1938 when brewing company Tooth and Co was determined to put a pub on every corner.

Warren began to work up the series on his iPad when he came across the Australian Pub Project on social media.

The page is dedicated to photos and stories of some of Australia’s most iconic pubs, and Warren decided it was the right place to share some of his sketches.

“I was surprised by the number of likes they got, I’ve never posted publicly before,” he said.

“I got some suggestions for other pubs in the area as well, and I’m happy to add to the collection – it’s a good body of work now.”

Check out Warren’s sketches here.