Step back in time: Gladstone Commercial Hotel’s rich history

Now called the Reef Hotel, the premises was purchased by the Ganim family in 2002.

The Reef Hotel Gladstone as it stands today, on the corner of Goondoon and Yarroon Streets. The hotel is owned by the Ganim family and was purchased in 2003. Picture: Rodney Stevens

WHEN the Gladstone region was growing in the 1850s, it didn’t take long for the first hotel to be established, where locals and visitors could gather, have a chat and partake in a few social alcoholic beverages.

Based on the words of the legendary William Robert Golding (1890-1985), the book Shanties, Pubs and Hotels was published by Pamela Ward in association with the Calliope and District Heritage Group.

In the book, Mrs Ward’s exhaustive research through Mr Golding’s manuscripts, the State Archives, Libraries, The Licensing Commission of Queensland, Local Court records and various other sources, chronicles the rich history and culture of pubs and hotels in the Gladstone region.

In the Prologue on March 19, 1977, Mr Golding writes “Looking back to the years before the (licensing) commission was set up, there were a great many hotels established, served their need and either pulled down or accidentally destroyed by fire.

“The number of hotels in Gladstone, which came into being in the town’s early days, appears to have been 11.

“Today, even with the addition of the Rocky Glen Hotel on 11/11/1974, there are only seven hotels to serve approximately 18,000 people, against the twelve hundred inhabitants of the early twentieth century with 24 hotels in the country, mostly with mining centres.

“Today the picture is entirely different, what country hotels exist are to be found in rural settlements and now number 10.”

The hotels were all granted licences by the Queensland Licensing Commission, which was established in 1835.

We begin this special Gladstone region pub history series featuring the Commercial Hotel on the corner of Goondoon and Yarroon Streets, now known as the Gladstone Reef Hotel.

The original Commercial Hotel from Pamela Ward's book Shanties, Pubs and Hotels.

What began as The Commercial Hotel in 1856, is now called the Reef Hotel, a modern hotel and motel, with state of the art facilities and features.

In April 1856, Gladstone postmaster Richard Hetherington applied for a Publican General Licence, for The Commercial Hotel, on behalf of J Pujolas.

William Ellis was substituted for Francis Pujolas on May 3, 1856 and in 1859 postmaster Richard Hetherington was the licensee.

On September 18, 1860, Mr Hetherington applied for the licence to be transferred to William Prizeman, who was granted permission to sell spirits at a race meeting later that year.

Mr Prizeman continued a licensee until July 1869, when owner of the steam boat “Tug Wave”, James Worthington, was named as licensee.

He was succeeded by Walter Cowan on June 30, 1875.

Mr Cowan introduced billiards to the hotel on April 17, 1877, when he applied for a licence to operate a billiards table when he renewed his publican’s licence.

Then, in 1896, John McLean Bruce was granted the licence for the hotel and two years later an old portion of the building was pulled down and a new section added.

On April 15, 1913, Susannah Bendeich listed the hotel as a wooden building consisting of three sitting rooms, 12 bedrooms, one bar, five stalls for the stabling of horses and two loose boxes.

From 1930 to 1970, Richard Oakley, Joseph Hogan, Tom Hogan, the Ibell family, Ted Weiss, Charlie Emerson, Doug and Betty Johns and Jack and Shirley Insch, then Kevin Purcell were licensees.

The hotel became the Telford Hotel in that period

Mr Purcell changed the name from the Commercial Hotel to the Reef Hotel in 1970.

The Reef Hotel as it stood in 2000 before it was purchased by current owners the Ganim family. Picture courtesy of Christian Ganim.

The current owners of the hotel, the Ganim family, purchased the premises in 2003, when it was vastly different to the modern premises that stands today.

Director Christian Ganim said the business, which is owned by three brothers, was purchased from Gladstone Reef Hotel Motel Pty Ltd and was operated by tenants National Leisure and Gaming Limited until 2011.

Then the hotel went through one of its darkest periods, under a questionable manager, until the Star Hotel Group took over the management in June 2014.

“Over the years we have done a couple of rounds of refurbishments on the hotel and motel,” he said.

“In 2015 and 2016 we invested a significant amount of money refurbishing and renovating both the hotel and the motel accommodation.

“The Star Hotel Group have been a fantastic operator for us and I think the locals would be able to attest to the quality of establishment now.

“We can’t thank the Star Hotel Group, the staff and management of both the hotel and the motel for what they have done over the years to build the businesses into what they are today.”

Currently, Mr Ganim said, the hotel features a modern, multi award-winning restaurant serving delicious food, three bars, a gaming area and full gaming facilities, a bottle shop and the adjoining 52 room motel, with rooftop pool and Wi-Fi throughout.

READ MORE: Daily 16-page digital edition to feature major stories

Originally published as