Writted by Peter Wilmoth
The Naracoorte Hotel is nearly as old as the town of Naracoorte itself. It has, in various forms, been a central part of this Limestone Coast settlement township since 1850, witness to the steady growth of the township which began as a service town for people going to and from the Victorian goldfields.
Originally named the Merino Inn, its first licensee William Macintosh can claim to have founded the township of Naracoorte in 1845. Naracoorte was formed from the merger of two towns Kincraig and Narracoorte, established as a government settlement in 1847.
Constructed in 1850 from wood and calico the hotel was first licensed to Macintosh, a Scottish settler, who was a – if not the – pioneer of the town.
The Merino Inn, which Macintosh owned and ran from 1850-1857, played a crucial role in the development of the township. It was the venue for all public gatherings from church services to public meeting, and provided the new settlement with a gathering place and a sense of community.
We know a little about how the hotel looked in its earliest days from a description in a book ‘A History of Naracoorte’ by J. Murdoch and H. Parker.
“So they alighted at a little primitive wooden inn and were shown into a room neatly lined with calico [with] ceiling to match, with small pigeon holes (bedrooms) leading from it.” It was, the report said, “very clean”.
There was also a glimpse of the hospitality that was offered in the 1850s.
“A woman came and Ethel asked for a little hot water, a cup of tea and some bread and butter. ‘We can give you tea and bread, ma’am, jam, fish or mutton but no butter.”
On 30 July 1953 The Naracoorte Herald wrote about the hotel’s earliest days and Macintosh’s pioneering role, with the spelling of his name varying in reports.
“It was on July 4th 1845 that William McIntosh arrived in the district. Seeing the country in all its rugged and pristine beauty, and not being able to obtain suitable land for a [sheep] run, he decided to start a storekeeping business, especially as the district was on the overland run to Port Phillip [Melbourne].
“A general store was erected on the site where Eudunda Farmers [retail group] now stands and he also built a public house (Merino Inn) where the present Naracoorte Hotel is situated.
“This gave the business portion of Naracoorte a practical start and, in conjunction with the blacksmith’s shop of Aitchison Grieve, gave Naracoorte the usual foundation of a town.”
William Macintosh was evidently generous, civic-minded and a much-admired leader in his community. The Naracoorte Herald noted: “It was this gentleman who gave the land for the Presbyterian Church in Naracoorte, and he also presented the bell in the church steeple.
“Fifty years after the founding of the township of Kincraig in 1895 the then residents of the town presented Mr McIntosh with [a] bank deposit receipt for 85 pounds in commemoration of his founding and 50 years continuous residence in the town.”
The Merino Inn was renamed Naracoorte Hotel when the licence was taken over from Macintosh in 1868 by a Mrs McDonald.
Around that time a galvanised iron Assembly Room was built which for many years was the only place large enough for town gatherings. Reports say the room was said to be so cold that the ladies had to dance in their opera coats.
It’s no surprise that William Macintosh had chosen in 1850 to call his hotel The Merino Inn as the area was an agricultural region proud of the quality of its merinos.
This is noted in newspaper reports of the time. On 21 August 1875 the Border Watch reported on the Naracoorte Show which took place on 19 August and featured “stock, grain, flowers etc”.
“On Thursday a better day could not have been chosen for the occasion for the sun shone out beautifully all day.
“The show of stock, which always occupies the principal place on the programme of the society, was held in the Narracoorte Hotel yards and the show of flowers in the Assembly room.”
It noted “the quality of the sheep exhibited, for better merino sheep could not have been desired than those exhibited”.
The report noted that a Mr John Robertson “carried off the principal prizes. He took the Narracoorte Cup for the best 10 rams, and also for the champion ram and ewe. The ram, which was admired by everyone, was really a magnificent animal.”
An article in The Narracoorte Herald in 1953 added an interesting note to the spelling of the town (and therefore the hotel). “The late Mr Archibald Caldwell, editor of ‘The Narracoorte Herald’ for many years religiously stuck to the two ‘r’s’ when writing ‘Narracoorte and until his death the two ‘r’s were always used in the paper, although the Postal and Railways Departments dropped the one ‘r’. However at the present time only the one ‘r’ is used in the word.”
The town has used that spelling since.
The hotel flourished in later years. Around 1906 an advertisement appeared in a publication called ‘The Delightful South East’ noting The Narracoorte Hotel was “conducted” by Mr P.R. Lee, one of “the most reliable publicans in South Australia”. “His hotel is a thoroughly up-to-date one in every respect, containing as it does comfortable sitting and smoking rooms [and] billiards room.”
“A fine balcony was erected some time ago and greatly enhances both the appearance and comfort of the hotel. The cuisine is an excellent one, sufficient to gratify even the most fastidious. The rooms are beautifully cool in summer and the sleeping apartments are roomy, scrupulously clean and comfortable.
“Mr Lee, who is known to his familiars as Phil, is ably assisted by his wife in conducting Naracoorte Hotel on the best principles – assuring commercial travellers, visitors and residents every convenience that is naturally expected.”
The precise date of the advertisement is unknown, but records show Mr Lee held the licence for the hotel in 1906. It also added that he was born in Adelaide in 1874.
In the 1850s visitors to the hotel were often heading to or from the Victorian goldfields. Today it is still a perfect stop-over, now for those travelling along the Melbourne-Adelaide touring route.
As it celebrates 174 years of operation the Naracoorte Hotel Motel can today reflect proudly on having welcomed many generations and made their stop-over a happy one.
