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Th e Press Gallery Printers 12 Fi sh Creek ~ !~~~~~~~~~Gnamed Promontory Gate Hotel at Fish ~In 1889 when Andrew O'Keefe was contracted to Creek, better known throughout as The Fishy Pub, extend the railway line from Leongatha one of the was built in 1939 to replace a former timber building several camps established for the workers was at Fish destroyed by fire in January when was ablaze Creek which was home for a group of Italian men. with bushfires. Within a week plans were underway Patrick Ryan's hotel near the present primary school for a new building, built by C. Sherlock of Box Hill, was the social centre for the growing settlement. Not for the owner, JF Ryan of Balwyn. Despite a shortage only a hotel it combined the post office and general of building materials in a country that was already store with a farmhouse. preparing for war, the hotel was completed and The original inn was destroyed by opened in October the same year. fire soon after but the replacement, Possibly the fourth hotel on the site since 1893, it has Wiles Fish Creek Hotel, opened with always been the heart of the district, not only a full licence granted to the owner quenching thirsts but also as a meeting place for Frank Wiles in 1902. Apparently friends and families celebrating birthdays or fund this wa ~ also lost in a fire and yet raising for good causes, accommodating commercial another new hotel stood in its place travellers and hosting dances for troops stationed at when the Governor of Victoria, Sir Wilsons Promontory in war time. Thomas Gibson-Carmichael, and his Named for the teeming native blackfish, mountain wife, touring the state by train, trout and eels that filled the shady creek meandering stopped at Fish Creek to officially through the Great Forest of South as it was open the elaborately furnished then known, Fish Creek lost the marine life as the building. Mr and Mrs Andy Unger were licensees until trees and scrub were felled to provide rich farmland 1914 and the licence passed through several hands for the settlers who were leaving the Victorian over the years. The stylish newly built Promontory goldfields along with newcomers eager to take up Gate Hotel was known locally as The White House for ,., .. . many years but this now seems to selections in offered by the Pj (. t HfJ government under the 1869 Land Act. Jack J and W have faded with the memories to Patrick Ryan, two of the five sons of Irish born Patrick become The Fishy Pub in spite of Ryan who arrived in in 1862, bought their recent attempts to keep the freehold selection, the first in the district, at Fish registered name. Creek from their father, when W Patrick established a licensed wayside inn in 1896 together with a store and post office on the site now occupied by the Fishy Pub. ~ ~~~~~b~~!~~, The Ensign, records the news of 1939 following the fire which occurred during the third week of January in that year. 480 January 26, 1939 Plans have been completed for a new hotel to replace the former structure destroyed by fire last week, and Promontor~ 9ate . an early start on the building is anticipated. The new building, which will cost between £5000 to £6000, will HOTEL have accommodation for up to thirty and should be a fine acquisition to the town. The owner is Mr JF Ryan FISH CREEK -- Now a Nojern Up-to-date Hotel of Balwyn, an aforetime prominent Collingwood footballer. Foster and Welshpool recorded temperatures of 112 degrees Fahrenheit during the week. May 4, 1939 Good progress is being made by contractor, C Sherlock of Box Hill, with the erection of the new hotel, despite delays in the supply of materials. May 18, 1939 Mr J Ryan has had several offers for the purchase of the Promontory Gate Hotel which is rapidly approaching completion, but has made no decision on the matter.

CONTINUOUS HOT AND COLD W<~,TER SERV ICE - SEWERE:D October 5 1939 !INDOOR) - - ELECTRIC LIGHT -- EXCELLENT TABLE GOOD FlSH ING AND SHOOTING EXCELLE T SU RF Fish Creek In recent years the town has undergone A T WARATAH ~AY much improvement, the advancement of late being

Tours a rranger! I> W tl~::m's PromJn,.:>ry and particularly marked. The completion of the new two­ other Po •n ts :>f l•1tecest storey brick hotel has been the most notable addition, Apply The Manage r · ?~·ne ; FIS H CREE K 4

4 ~Obviously building regulations and requirements were not ~Margaret Edey was 17 and at boarding school in Melbourne what they are today and in a country that was preparing when she came home for the September holidays and for war which was declared on September 3 of that year, found her parents had bought the hotel in 1949. She The Promontory Gate Hotel would have provided a pleaded with her parents to stay and work for them rather cheerful topic of conversation and speculation as the local than return to school. It was a good argument and district watched the builders' progress. remembers her four years working there with obvious The farming families in quiet little South Gippsland towns pleasure. The family had their own rooms but Marg recalls ·~ faced new challenges during war time with the armed the private comfortable lounge room which her mother shared with the regular commercial travellers who stayed forces stationed at Wilsons Promontory which was not only .} a training camp for commandos but also a home for both there providing home style suppers for the guests who navy and air force personnel. The isolation from became friends and were treated like family. Melbourne meant that weekend leave was often spent Before the days of television, friends shared their evenings with local families who organised entertainment, dances relaxing after a busy day or to play cards and board and film shows in the towns in the halls and the hotels. games. Among the regulars was Mr Price who supplied the The dining room at the Fish Creek fuel for the lighthouse at Walkerville escorted by Mr Keane. hotel and the local hall became the There were many others whose jobs took them regularly hub of the community with fortnightly to the Prom and around the coast relying on the local dances and other functions organised people for transport. by the Red Cross and the Australian In 1980 the dining room was Comforts Fund as well as local groups. extended and the interior altered to Wedding receptions were held in the include the bottle shop which is now local halls as they still are, but in at the entrance and a few years later 1945 when Maudi Skinner married Ted nine motel units were built at the rear Thomson the 60 guests celebrated the of the hotel. These, together with the !i , fmu;~iu.,t ~ r'l f :tlvn..- ru1!} ."viJi/Um .\ .::;. if hotel bedrooms upstairs which now "' -~---~·------occasion at the hotel dining room. Maudi, now a noted local historian, provide backpacker accommodation, PROMONTORY GATE HOTEL are popular with visitors and record a FISH CREEK admitted she always wanted to be different but wonders how they all high rate of occupancy. fitted into a room less than half the size of the present room which she describes as 'the hub and cornerstone of the community'. But she remembers the reception was b;cry Comfort and Com·enwrx~ for Guest.; £n Complc-tf'ly beautiful in every way. Maudi recalled M-?d<:rn Building. iARITF ON 1\.PPt..tCA.':'tON the swamp that is now the carpark in Neufli Accommod

~Known not only for its distinctive archectural style and Stunned Mullett sculpture, the hotel hides the secret that it is haunted and claims its own ghost. A woman - who is she?- who has appeared frequently from time to time. The many who have see her over the years give the same description-a tall slim woman wearing her hair in a bun and dressed in the style of around 1900 with a high collared white long sleeved blouse, beneath a grey pinafore with buttoned straps. She comes mostly in the mornings as the staff begin their daily chores to stand silently watching from a kitchen corner. In very recent years, the apprentice who locked up each night before retiring to one of the upstairs bedrooms and was the only occupant in the building, frequently heard footsteps running along the passageway after he went to bed. And no, he never went to investigate but made sure his door was firmly locked every night.

Grateful thanks are extended to Kim Albert, Rab Best, Gavin Westaway, Robin Grow of Art Deco Society Inc., Will Kranen, Marg Smith (nee Edey) for her photographs and stories, Colin Suggett for his fishy tale, Leo Synan, Maudi Thomson for her memories, Foster & District Historical Society Inc.

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