Chatsbury Hotel and Post Office

I wrote this article for the Taralga Historical Society Newsletter, it appeared in Newsletter #1 2022.

The story of the Chatsbury Hotel starts with the Martin family. John Martin was born in Somerset England in 1807. He received a life sentence, and arrived in New South Wales in 1826 on the “Marquis of Hastings”. According to the 1828 Census, he was assigned to Mr MacArthur of Strathaird, Cookbundoon. He received his Ticket of Leave on 26 September 1835. On 5th May 1842, he was granted permission to marry Margaret McDonald, they married on 27th May 1842. Margaret was the daughter of Donald McDonald and Catherine Cameron. She was born in Inverness Scotland in 1823. The McDonald family arrived in New South Wales in 1839 on the “British King”.

John Martin received a pardon on 1st February 1843, the pardon was recommended by Charles Cowper. John Martin’s occupation at the time of pardon was footman. From baptism records for their older children, John and Margaret’s address in 1844, was Tarlow (sic) River, by 1848, they were living at Strathaird, by 1850 they were living at Carrabungla, and by 1855, it was Cotton Valley (near Laggan, now known as Cotta Walla).

In 1857, multiple blocks of land were released in the Chatsbury area, they were auctioned on 18th February 1857. John Martin is recorded as purchasing 71 acres. John subsequently bought the adjoining block, and Margaret bought the one next to that. The map below shows the names of other original block owners from this time.

Newspaper reports from the mid-1860s onwards show that meetings and community events were regularly held at Martins. In 1866, meetings were held there to support the establishment of a Public School at Chatsbury. This was subsequently built opposite the hotel, and John Martin was a member of the original school board. Along with other residences in the area, Mass was regularly celebrated there as well. Inquests were also held there regularly, and it was also regularly used as a polling place for elections. Due to the time taken to travel between Taralga and Goulburn, it became a regular stopover for locals travelling there and back.

John Martin died 14 August 1874 at Red Hill, Chatsbury. According to his death notice the procession was “at the River.” John’s place of burial has not been found.

In May 1878, Margaret Martin was granted a licence for the Chatsbury Hotel¹. Her address was listed as Chatsbury Hotel, Red Hill, Chatsbury. She held the licence until her death, some 24 years later.

In May 1882, Margaret applied for her licence to be renewed. The Sub Inspector reported that the house did not come up to the standard of the Act, but that it was well furnished and well conducted. The licence was renewed, subject to required improvements being met². In January 1883, Margaret was one of many licencees to lodge a declaration that required improvements in their houses had been made, and for whom the Licencing Court Bench approved the declarations and confirmed their icences³.

In March 1884, when Mrs Cunningham who was postmistress at Tarlo resigned, Margaret Martin was appointed her successor, and the Post Office was moved from Tarlo to Red Hill. Red Hill was recommended as a convenient and central location, and no one was willing to take on the role at Tarlo at the salary offered⁴. Sureties for the bond of £200 were posted by Thomas Taylor, farmer of Taralga, and Charles McAlister, Hotelkeeper Auburn Street Goulburn, Mrs Martin commenced duties on 24th April 1884⁵. The Post Office was run adjacent to the Chatsbury Hotel.

Many of the Tarlo residents protested the removal of the Tarlo Post Office to Chatsbury. As a result, the Post Office was reinstated at Tarlo, with Mr J Cunningham appointed as Post Master, and the new Post Office to be continued at Mrs Martin’s (to be called Chatsbury Post Office)⁶.

In 1891 Margaret’s son Ranald was granted a slaughtering licence for the premises⁷. In 1896 it was reported that Margaret had been seriously ill for some time, having been confined to her bed for almost twelve months, was on her way to recovery⁸. This may be connected to a fall she suffered at the Hotel in 1895, when she suffered a fracture of both bones near the ankle⁹. From other news articles, it appears
Ranald ran the business on her behalf during this time.

When Margaret applied for the Hotel licence renewal in 1899, initial objections against the application, on the grounds that outbuildings required work on them, these were subsequently withdrawn as the work had been completed¹⁰.

As well as the Primary School, a tennis court and cricket pitch were also located opposite the Hotel. Many social occasions were held here, frequently catered for by the Martin family.

Mary Margaret Martin, daughter of Margaret, was Assistant Post Mistress, and in 1902, applied to take on the Post Mistress’ role, as a result of her mother’s declining health. She was appointed Post Mistress and commenced duties on 17 June 1902.

Chatsbury Hotel c.1900.  The original photo is owned by Mrs Rita Tyrrell, a descendant of the Martin family.

Margaret Martin died on 15 June 1902 aged 66, and was buried at Stonequarry Cemetery Taralga. Her obituary stated that two other Chatsbury residents had been shipmates with her on the “British King”, Ranald McDonald and John McCallum, that all three lived within a radius of a few miles, and all three had died within a few months of each other¹¹.

In September 1902 Joseph Müller (Miller), Margaret’s son-in-law, applied for permission to carry on the Chatsbury Hotel until the expiration of the current licence, to conduct the hotel temporarily until the hotel was sold. The application was granted on the understanding that the applicant lived at the hotel¹².

Mary Martin married Edward Michael Hughes on 29 April 1903. In May and June 1903, the Chatsbury Hotel was listed to be auctioned on 13 June, if this auction went ahead, it appears to have been passed in.

An application for a renewal of the hotel licence held by Joseph Müeller was withdrawn in June 1903, as the hotel had not yet been sold as per the terms of the 1902 licence, he stated he would make an application for a fresh licence¹³.

In June 1903, the Hotel was again listed to be auctioned on 2nd Jul 1903¹⁴, it was sold to Mrs E M Hughes for £69¹⁵¹⁶.

In July 1903, Joseph Müeller applied for a new licence for the Chatsbury Hotel¹⁷. Objections lodged by the licensing inspector were: Premises were dilapidated; Licensee resided some distance away and it would not be convenient for him to reside at the hotel; Minimum accommodation under the Act was not provided and Application was not made in applicant’s interest, but in that of Mrs Hughes who recently purchased the property. Evidence at this time stated there were seven bedrooms, four of which were being used by family members. This hearing was adjourned until 13th August.

Evidence given at the resumed August hearing stated that there were eight bedrooms in the house, three of these would be occupied by family members (Mr and Mrs Hughes in one, Phillip Martin and Joseph Müeller in another, and the Misses Müeller in the third), leaving five bedrooms for the public. The other rooms in the house were a front room, a dining room and a bar. A petition signed by over 400
people in favour of the licence being granted had been submitted. The licence was approved, subject to the applicant residing on the premises and required repairs were completed¹⁸¹⁹.

After the residents of Chatsbury made an application for the connection of Chatsbury to the Goulburn Telephone Exchange in April 1905, approval was granted in June 1905, and a telephone was granted to the Chatsbury Post Office. Hours of operation were 9 am to 6 pm, excluding a meal hour²⁰.

When Joseph applied to renew the licence in July 1906, the original hearing was postponed, as an objection against the application had been lodged, on the grounds that he was not on the premises as often as he should be.

Mary Hughes (nee Martin) continued on as Post Mistress until 1907, when Robert Gordon (Sen) took over the licence and took on the role as Post Master. A farewell for Mr and Mrs Hughes and Mr R Martin was held at the Hotel on 20th June 1907²¹, prior to their taking up residence at Wombeyan Caves. Robert, his wife Kate (nee Mooney) and their 2 young sons Robert and Kevin moved in soon after.

In the letter approving Robert as the new Post Master, mention was made that the Mrs Hughes “conducts the duties in premises adjacent to, but not under the Hotel roof, and Mr R A Gordon who has purchased the business proposes to carry on the duties of the Post Office in the premises as hitherto”²². The annual allowance at that time was £16 per annum plus a “scale rate” for telegrams. The same letter stated that Mr Gordon had resigned his position with the Railway Department “in order to undertake Hotelkeeping and sheep farming with a view of improving his prospects”.

Robert became very involved in local sports, both competing and supporting. In October 1908 he hosted a programme of various events at the Hotel, including bicycle races, athletics, quoits, and a foot race handicap with a prize of 30 shillings²³. It may be that the below photo was taken at this time. From newspaper articles, it appears that he sponsored and hosted similar sporting events for several years.

Chatsbury Hotel c. 1907. The gentleman third from left is
Robert Gordon (Sen), the woman next to him is likely his wife Kate. The original photo is held by the Taralga Historical Society.

In 1911, Robert successfully applied for permission to make improvements to the Hotel. These changes were the erection of a new dining room and kitchen, thoroughly renovating the hotel²⁴.

In 1917, Robert bought the adjoining “Glenroy” property from the McCallum brothers. This property had previously been owned by James Hayes²⁵. This allowed Robert to expand his farming pursuits. His farming prowess was regularly reported in local papers, regularly harvesting bumper crops, and achieving good prices for the sale of his cattle and sheep. In correspondence from the District Inspector, there were 4 subscribers to the Chatsbury Telephone Exchange in 1917.

Chatsbury Hotel 1924

The Gordons purchased the former Prince of Wales Hotel about 1927. The licence for the Chatsbury Hotel was eventually transferred to the Prince of Wales Hotel, after multiple application rejections. The Chatsbury Hotel closed its doors for the last time on 19th March 1928, and the new Hotel Gordon opened on 20 March 1928²⁶.

The Post Office and Telephone Exchange continued to be run by members of the Gordon family at Chatsbury until about 1966. The last post mistress was Gena Gordon. During the 1965 Chatsbury bushfire, Gena was assisted by her daughter-in-law in running the Telephone Exchange. When Gena was admitted to hospital in Canberra in 1966, her husband Bert, moved into Goulburn, and lived with his sisters Lil Gordon and Jean Bowerman at the Hotel Gordon.

Old Chatsbury Hotel c.1964
Gena Gordon (nee Cunningham), Ron Gordon, George Cummins

The house remained unoccupied until the property was sold about 1992. The new owner, undertook significant renovations to the old hotel, and built a new house set back further from the road. He merged this with his existing property, “Gordonvale”. “Gordonvale” was sold again in the early 2000s. The old hotel is now operated as an Airbnb.

Old Chatsbury Hotel 2008

Martin Family:

The children of John Martin and Margaret Mary McDonald were:

• William J Martin (1843 – 1898)
• Catherine Martin (1846 – 1874) married James Siddons – children: James, Sarah Ann, John and Donald Siddons
• Rebecca Mary Martin (1848 – 1888) married John Murphy – children: Terrence J Murphy
• Phillip Martin (1850 – 1905)
• Flora Mary Martin married Joseph Müeller (Miller) – children: John Joseph, Anthony, Julia, Mary Anne, Margaret, Sarah A, Francis Patrick and Rebecca Flora Miller
• Anne Martin (1853 – 1902)
• Mary Margaret Martin (1855 – 1933) married Edward Michael Hughes
• Donald Joseph Martin (1858 – 1921) married Elizabeth Agnes Hughes – children: Mary Genevieve and William L Martin
• Ranald Joseph Martin (1860 – 1925) married Margaret Augusta Byrne
• Sarah Ann Clare Martin (1864 – 1901) married James Joseph Hanly – children: Thomas Patrick and James Harold Hanly

Footnotes:

1. The Goulburn Herald and Chronicle 15 May 1878 Page 2 ↩︎
2. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 20 May 1882 Page 3 ↩︎
3. Goulburn Herald 27 January 1883 Page 3 ↩︎
4. Goulburn Herald 27 March 1884 Page 2 ↩︎
5. National Archives of Australia Chatsbury Post Office File 1884-1917 downloaded 5 Nov 2011 ↩︎
6. Goulburn Herald 24th April 1884 Page 2 ↩︎
7. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 13th August 1891 Page 4 ↩︎
8. Goulburn Herald 12 August 1896 Page 4 ↩︎
9. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 13 July 1895 Page 2 ↩︎
10. Goulburn Herald 26 June 1899 Page 3 ↩︎
11. Goulburn Herald 16 June 1902 Page 3 ↩︎
12. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 30 September 1902 Page 4 ↩︎
13. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 22 June 1903 Page 2 ↩︎
14. Goulburn Herald 26 June 1903 Page 5 ↩︎
15. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 4 July 1903 Page 5 ↩︎
16. Goulburn Herald 3 July 1903 Page 2 ↩︎
17. Goulburn Evenng Penny Post 28 July 1903 Page 4 ↩︎
18. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 18 August 1903 Page 4 ↩︎
19. Goulburn Herald 17 August 1903 Page 2 ↩︎
20. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 15 June 1905 Page 4 ↩︎
21. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 27 June 1907 Page 4 ↩︎
22. National Archives of Australia Postal Inspector Letter dated 13 May 1907, downloaded 5 Nov 2011 ↩︎
23. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 26 September 1908 Page 5 ↩︎
24. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 23 September 1911 Page 2 ↩︎
25. Australian Town and Country Journal 7 August 1907 Page 6 ↩︎
26. Goulburn Evening Penny Post 21 March 1928 Page 2 ↩︎