| Stuart Arms Hotel | |
|---|---|
 The Stuart Arms Hotel, 1924 | |
  Location within Northern Territory | |
| General information | |
| Location | Todd Street, Alice Springs |
| Coordinates | 23°41′56″S133°52′59″E / 23.698800°S 133.883114°E |
| Opening | 1889 |
| Closed | 1986 |
| Management | William Benstead |
The Stuart Arms Hotel was the first hotel in Alice Springs, Northern Territory (which was originally called Stuart). Located on the corner of Parsons and Todd Street, it was centre of social life for 96 years.
The Stuart Arms Hotel was established by pioneer pastoralist William Benstead, who received his publican's license in 1888. It was initially intended to be named the "Great Northern Hotel"; when the date and nature of the name change is not known. Benstead purchased lot 78 and 79 of the just gazetted town of Stuart on 9 April 1889. [1] The hotel was erected on lot 78, "a modest structure of stone and iron, about the size of an average house". [2]
Benstead left town in 1892 and leased the Stuart Arms to Thomas Gunter, initially on a five-year lease, but Gunter stayed until 1900. [3]
Charles Rutherford South then took over the pub for seven years. During this time Benstead, who still owned the establishment foreclosed in 1902, and it was sold to William Garnet South in 1903. [3]
In 1914 "The Bungalow" was built at the rear of the hotel, sharing the lot, where Topsy Smith and Mariah McDonald, cared for "halfe-caste" children in a galvanised iron shed that Robert Stott had built; 16 children were living there by November 1914. [4] Living conditions at "The Bungalow" were less than ideal and food could be limited so the children would often look for scraps at the hotel. [4] They remained in the hotel's "backyard" until 1928, when they were moved out to Jay Creek. [5]
Mona Minahan, Alice Springs' first barmaid, began work at the Stuart Arms in 1931. [3]
The pub was destroyed by fire in 1960, and later replaced by a two-storey building, also known as the Stuart Arms. [3] This building was demolished over the weekend of 11–12 January 1986, [1] so that a shopping centre, Alice Plaza, could be built on the site. A new pub of the same name was established in the shopping centre. [3]
Alice Springs is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin and Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd, wife of the telegraph pioneer Sir Charles Todd. Known colloquially as The Alice or simply Alice, the town is situated roughly in Australia's geographic centre. It is nearly equidistant from Adelaide and Darwin.
Marree is a small town located in the north of South Australia. It is located 589 kilometres (366 mi) North of Adelaide at the junction of the Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track, 49 metres (161 ft) above sea level. Marree is an important service centre for the large sheep and cattle stations in northeast South Australia as well as a stopover destination for tourists traveling along the Birdsville or Oodnadatta Tracks.
Jay Creek or Iwupataka is in the MacDonnell Ranges 45 kilometres (28 mi) west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory in Australia. It was once the home of The Bungalow and, as such, is strongly associated with the Stolen Generations.
Hetty Perkins was an elder of the Eastern Arrernte people, an Aboriginal group from Central Australia. Several of her descendants have had prominent careers in various fields, both in the Northern Territory and in other states and territories.
The Bungalow was an institution for Aboriginal children established in 1914 in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. It existed at several locations in Alice Springs, Jay Creek and the Alice Springs Telegraph Station.
Topsy Smith was an Arabana pioneer of Central Australia in the Northern Territory. She spent her life caring for Indigenous children at an institution known as The Bungalow in Alice Springs.
The Australian Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 100–104 Cumberland Street, The Rocks, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The current structure was constructed from 1914 to 1915, and Property NSW owns the property, being added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 10 May 2002.
Trephina Gorge is a gorge in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the locality of Hart in the East MacDonnell Ranges about 85 kilometres (53 mi) east of Alice Springs.
Lulu Benstead was an Australian opera singer and performer.
Robert Stott was a constable and later police commissioner in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Ida Standley was the first school teacher in Alice Springs, Australia. For 15 years, from 1914 to 1929, she worked at The Bungalow. Standley was appointed MBE for her services to children's welfare.
Edith Espie was a Western Arrernte foster mother and lay social worker in Alice Springs, Australia.
The Todd Mall is a mostly pedestrian mall in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia which serves as its "main street" and is one of the primary locations for shopping and leisure in the town. It contains many of the town's restaurants.
Adelaide House also known as Australian Inland Mission Hostel on the Todd Mall in Alice Springs was the first purpose built hospital to a design by the Reverend John Flynn and was completed in 1926. It now operates as a museum managed by Heritage Alice Springs Incorporated.
Billy Goat Hill, or Akeyulerre, is located in Alice Springs (Mparntwe) in the Northern Territory of Australia and, together with the nearby ANZAC Hill, has important Dreaming associations include two sisters, alongside uninitiated boys, who were travelling north and were engaged in flirtatious and humorous behaviour these sites; further north these interactions became violent.
Simon Rieff was one of the first miners to open up The Granites goldfield in the Northern Territory of Australia before moving to Alice Springs to become a property developer and business man.
Gloria Ouida Lee or Siew Yoke Kwan, also known as Gloria Purdy-Lee was a Chinese-Australian miner. She was the daughter of Alice Springs Chinese Market gardener Ah Hong and his Western Arrernte wife Ranjika. Lee travelled between Australia and China and experienced discrimination because of her mixed parentage. She is included in the archive collection of the Women's Museum of Australia, formerly known as the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame. Her oral history is held at the National Library of Australia.
William Garnet South was a police officer in Alice Springs and Chief Protector of Aborigines. He was also, for a short period, proprietor of the Stuart Arms Hotel in Alice Springs.
Little Flower Mission operated from 1938 to 1942 and it was a mission to Eastern Arrernte people who were living in and around the township of Alice Springs. The mission was established by Catholic missionaries, part of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart order.
Annie Meyers was the owner of the first guest house called 'Stuarts Guest Home', sometimes referred to as 'Mrs Meyers Guest House', in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
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