| Chockerup Inn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Inn, hotel |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Opened | 1854 |
Chockerup Inn (also known as Chorkerup Inn) was a roadside inn on the mail coach route between Albany and Perth that was built in 1854 and closed in 1889 when the Great Southern Railway opened.
The Inn was established as a simple wattle and daub hut in 1854 when the mail route between Albany and Perth began running. [1] The mail coach was drawn by horses, and Chockerup Inn was the first place to change horses or have a meal after leaving Albany, being a couple of hours journey or around 15 miles from the port town. [2] [3]
In the 1870s, Joseph Nelson, one of the Sappers and Miners who came to Fremantle in 1851 to help build Fremantle Prison and other public works, took over Chockerup Inn. [4] He was the blacksmith who led the execution of the iron gates at Fremantle Prison in 1855, and it would have been useful to have a blacksmith on the road to help with shoeing horses and repairing coaches and wagons.
In 1884 James and Emma Gorman took over, [5] and they ran the Inn until it closed in 1889 when the railway opened and travellers stopped passing by Chockerup. The Inn thrived in this period, with many visitors, and Emma Gorman provided people with generous meals at any time of day, as reported both in the local newspaper [6] and by visiting dignitaries like the Lady Brassey, a best-selling travel author of the time [7] (see p 241 and 249). Lord Brassey noted that they gave the horses a feed at Chockerup Inn. [8]
After the railway opened in 1889 Chockerup Inn was abandoned due to lack of traffic. By 1928 only a few bricks remained. [9]
The coaching inn was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point (layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of travellers, for food, drink, and rest. The attached stables, staffed by hostlers, cared for the horses, including changing a tired team for a fresh one. Coaching inns were used by private travellers in their coaches, the public riding stagecoaches between one town and another, and the mail coach. Just as with roadhouses in other countries, although many survive, and some still offer overnight accommodation, in general coaching inns have lost their original function and now operate as ordinary pubs.
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