By Tom Cowie
St Kilda’s Beaconsfield Hotel, which was boarded up in the aftermath of the death of Australian cricket legend David Hookes, is set to reopen after almost 20 years.
The building’s owner has sought planning permission from Port Phillip Council to reopen the 143-year-old building on Beaconsfield Parade, where Hookes died following an argument with a bouncer in January 2004, as a bar.
The Beaconsfield Hotel in St Kilda has been closed since December 2004.Credit: Paul Jeffers
Port Phillip Council Mayor Heather Cunsolo said the planning application, which was lodged in June, is being assessed and expected to be advertised this month to allow the community to provide feedback, including any objections.
“The applicant is seeking to use the property as a bar, to repaint the facade and requesting car park dispensation,” she said.
The pub closed in December 2004 – less than 12 months after Hookes’ death – after patronage fell amid public outcry over the incident, which led to manslaughter charges for the bouncer and a verdict of not guilty in the Supreme Court.
In the lead-up to the pub’s closure, staff were threatened and bricks thrown through windows as anger spilled over in an outpouring of anger and grief for the ex-Test player and Victorian cricket coach. A former manager was quoted at the time saying they had received multiple death threats.
Since then, its grey exterior has loomed silently on Melbourne’s bayside waterfront after plans to build 15 apartments on the site in the mid-2000s were abandoned.
Port Phillip councillor Andrew Bond welcomed the potential reopening of the pub after two decades. Before the Hookes incident, it was described by The Age as a “buzzing mecca for backpackers and the over-28 crowd”.
Bond said it was “an exciting opportunity and it would do well given all the great things happening on Fitzroy Street”.
“It would be wonderful thing,” he said. “All the people I’ve spoken to have great memories for what it was and it would be great to see it up and running again.”
A sign at the Beaconsfield Hotel.Credit: Paul Jeffers
Title documents show that the pub has been owned by Perth-based company Chercove Nominees since 1994. The company belongs to publican Geoffrey Ogden whose family runs several venues in Western Australia, including the Windsor Hotel in South Perth.
When contacted, a representative of the Ogden family declined to comment on plans to reopen the pub. They noted there were still sensitivities over the Hookes incident and how a resumption of trading would be received by the community.
It is 20 years this week since Hookes, then 48, died after drinking at the pub with members of the Victorian and South Australian cricket teams following a one-day match between the two teams.
Hookes fell to the ground after he was struck by bouncer Zdravko Micevic, hitting his head on the concrete and suffering severe head injuries. He died in hospital the following day.
David Hookes was killed after an argument with a bouncer at the pub in 2004.Credit: Andy Zakeli
Micevic was charged with manslaughter and acquitted at a September 2005 trial after five days of deliberations. He gave evidence that Hookes was argumentative and threatened to publicly criticise hotel staff.
Micevic told the court he threw the single punch in self-defence after being struck twice in the stomach by Hookes.
Hookes played 28 Tests for Australia and was credited with restoring the fortunes of the Victorian cricket team after he was appointed coach in 2002. He was also a broadcaster with 3AW.
The bar of the Beaconsfield Hotel in 2004.Credit: Melanie Faith Dove
Hookes’ widow took legal action against Micevic, the security firm that employed him and Chercove Nominees but dropped the case in 2007 after a confidential settlement.
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