Corner Hotel, Richmond
| The Corner Hotel | |
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| General information | |
| Address | 57 Swan St, Richmond, VIC 3121 |
| Coordinates | 37°49′29″S 144°59′33″E / 37.824858°S 144.992377°ECoordinates: 37°49′29″S 144°59′33″E / 37.824858°S 144.992377°E |
| Opened | 1871 |
The Corner Hotel in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, is a remodelled 19th-century pub which has been a live music venue since the 1940s and, since 1995, a popular rock music venue.
In 1871, the premises were licensed to David and Jane McCormick. Business thrived because of the close proximity to the Richmond railway station. In 1881 it was renovated by William Malone, who improved both the accommodation and the liquor quality. Malone was the licensee until 1895. Between 1895 and 1929 the hotel changed hands seven times. From 1929 to 1935 it was operated by Nelly O'Connor and her husband.
The pub is thought to have begun presenting live music during the 1940s jazz era. During the 1950s it was owned by the Melbourne Cooperative Brewing Company, an offshoot of Carlton and United Breweries. This was the peak time of an Australian custom known as the six o'clock swill, where venues were required to stop serving alcohol at 6 p.m. This law was a relic of World War I and operated from 1915 until its abolition in the mid-1960s (1966 in Victoria). It meant that workers would rush to pubs after finishing work and consume as much alcohol as possible before the bar closed.
In 1966 the pub was demolished and rebuilt in a slightly shifted location, to make space for the widening of the railway lines.
In 1984 Wayne Gale was approached by Brian Hartung from Carlton United Breweries and asked if he could start music at The Corner Hotel. At that time he was running the music at The John Barleycorn hotel in Collingwood, The Tiger Lounge (Royal Oak in Richmond) and The Prospect Hill Hotel in Kew.
The first bands to play were The Adventure and Big Music Works on the Friday night 28 February 1983 and Big Pig on the Saturday night. At first there was only live music on Friday and Saturday nights. During the period Wayne Gale was the owner the cream of Australia's music industry played there and at one point he achieved 15 full houses in 16 days. This was an outstanding achievement because the Melbourne music industry was very strong and the competition fierce. Bands like Johnny Diesel, Spy vs Spy, Baby Animals all used the venue to build their profile in Melbourne. Mick Jagger performed there unannounced in 1988.
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