By Frances Howe
A Glebe institution, the Friend in Hand pub, has housed many a barfly in its 150-year span of letting them in. None have been as consistent as Georgie, who for 16 years has loitered in the pub, watching as its owners, managers and the revolving door of part-time student bartenders have changed.
That’s why, when the pub was sold earlier this month and is set to be closed until Easter, locals took to the suburb’s community Facebook page to express their concern for her future. Georgie is no ordinary regular, but a sulphur-crested cockatoo.
Georgie overlooks the beer garden at the White Cockatoo in Petersham.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Georgie is aged 16, and previously believed to be male until a brief rendezvous on Cowper Street led to the discovery of a cockatoo egg. The December sale of her home in Glebe sparked rumours of her potential eviction or abandonment.
The opposite took place. In the courtyard of a pub in Petersham, sitting on top of a bird cage and apathetically watching over pub-goers, Georgie wafts in and out of sleep. Seemingly unbothered by the change, Georgie has taken up a guest residency, fittingly, at the White Cockatoo.
Pub goers at the White Cockatoo in Petersham have already warmed to Georgie.Credit: Rhett Wyman
The Petersham pub is owned by the Reilly Group, which bought the Friend in Hand in December. White Cockatoo licensee Scott Harrington said the transfer was “almost meant to be”.
The pub is adorned with cockatoo merchandise that now appears to be a shrine to Georgie but existed long before her arrival.
Harrington is happy to appease concerned fans congregating on Facebook. “There were no plans to evict Georgie, we just needed to come up with a game plan,” he said.
Harrington co-ordinated with the outgoing Friend in Hand owners, the Momento Hospitality Group, to bring Georgie and “her favourite snacks and toys” – including a lamb plushy and flower – to the White Cockatoo.
As to the stress of moving, Harrington is confident that Georgie will be fine.
“I sought advice from all avenues and have booked her in for a check-up after Christmas. The vet was very positive that we were doing all the right things for Georgie’s welfare,” he said.
Georgie will remain the Petersham pub’s mascot until Easter 2025 when planned renovations at the Friend in Hand are completed.
Leaving the White Cockatoo will be “a hard pill to swallow when the time comes” for the pub’s locals, who have quickly warmed to the bird, Harrington said.
Asked whether there’s a chance Georgie will stay at the White Cockatoo, he said, “Georgie’s home is in the heart of Glebe, but anything’s possible.”
In need of more good news? Sign up for our Greater Good newsletter for stories to brighten your outlook, delivered every Wednesday.