Victoria Hotel (Toodyay)

Victoria Hotel
Victoria Hotel, Toodyay
Former names	Woods Store
Alternative names	Victoria Hotel Motel
General information
Architectural style	Victorian Georgian
Address	114-116 Stirling Terrace
Town or city	Toodyay
Coordinates	31°33′00″S 116°28′02″E / 31.550°S 116.4673°E / -31.550; 116.4673
Completed	1864
Renovated	1875, 1899, 1904, 1908, 1937, 1950s, 1970s
Design and construction
Architect	C.H. Whiteford, Northam (1891), T.B. Jackson, Perth (1904),
Architecture firm	Cavanagh, Cavanagh and Allom (1937)
Main contractor	George Henry Hasell (1864), H. Davey (1899)
References
Toodyay municipal inventory

The Victoria Hotel is located on Stirling Terrace in Toodyay, Western Australia. It was classified by the National Trust of Australia in 1977 and added to the Register of National Estates in 1980.

The village of Toodyay was established in 1836 and in 1864 George Hasell constructed a single storey building here for James Thomas Woods. The bricks were made at the riverside and the lime was carried from Clackline. Woods ran a store on the site and obtained a storekeeper's gallon licence. In 1875 Woods added eight rooms to the store and from 1880 provided a venue for dances in the "long room". In 1882 Woods applied for a Billiard and Bagatelle License. In 1888 Woods converted the store into a licensed premises, which he called the Victoria Hotel.

In 1892 Charles Corpaccioli leased the Victoria Hotel from J.T. Woods for a yearly rental of £100. In 1894 the first annual dinner of the Toodyay Vine and Fruitgrowers’ Association overtaxed the capacity of the dining room when 60-70 gentlemen sat down for a meal and "over a score were unable to find seats". Also in January 1894 ice cream was introduced at the hotel.

In 1896 James Butler was the licensee followed by John F Cavanah in 1897. In March 1898 the Northam Advertiser mentions bricks being on site for extensions to the hotel. In September 1899 the same newspaper also noted a billiard room adjoining the hotel (now evolved into the present day Victoria Billiard Saloon) was nearing completion. It was positioned behind a hairdresser and a second shop being enlarged for a jeweller.

In December 1900 Mr J Cavanah died and his widow M.H. Cavanah became the proprietress of the hotel. In September 1902 she married Frederick George Ashbourne Treadgold who became the licensee in 1902.

In January 1903 the Victoria Hotel was the only hotel in town with ice. In late 1903 a tender was accepted for the erection of a second storey and other improvements. Mr Treadgold was given permission to erect a balcony over the footpath in front of the hotel. The second storey was completed in 1904.

In 1906 Thomas John Donegan had taken over management of the Victoria Hotel and in 1908 an extension added the western section of the building. The cordials and aerated waters required for the hotel were manufactured on the premises. Before World War One the hotel was the rendezvous of the local volunteer Light Horse Regiment. In 1935 Patrick (Paddy) Andrew Connolly, James Ryan and Sydney Herbert Reidy-Crofts bought the hotel from Donegan.