The Bull and Mouth Hotel at 83 Wilson Street has had a long and, mostly, illustrious existence. From its beginnings in 1875, when it was briefly known as the "Harp of Erin" then even more briefly as "The Australian", it has stood on its present site as "The Bull and Mouth" since 1878.
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Michael Healy built the hotel. He was a pioneer settler in Horsham and initially had a house on the property. He worked as a contractor and carrier of goods for more than 20 years until deciding to build a hotel in 1875 to cater for the influx of land selectors to the Wimmera. His hotel was in a prime location, right in the heart of the village at that time.
In the beginning
The wooden, single-storey hotel began life as the "The Harp of Erin". When Healy leased the hotel in 1877 it was renamed "The Australian Hotel".
In April 1878 the lessee became insolvent and the new publican, Radford Troy "Troy" Knight, renamed the hotel the "Bull and Mouth", the name it is known by today.
The name "Bull and Mouth" is a relatively common pub name in England and comes from the mispronunciation of the Boulogne Mouth in France, the site of a siege carried out by King Henry VIII in the 1500s.
Troy Knight's lease ended in January 1880 and he went on to become the first licensee of the Railway Refreshment Rooms.
In May 1908 Troy Knight reminisced about his time at the Bull and Mouth Hotel saying it was a very profitable business, taking over 140 pounds every week.
To put this income in perspective, land was being sold for one pound per acre.
The tiles, placed upon exterior walls, to around head height, meant that cleaning up those consequences, while still unpleasant, was made easier.
Restrictive laws come in
By the 1890s the licensing laws were becoming more restrictive, and more strongly enforced, largely due to the political influence brought to bear by the recently formed Temperance Movement.
In June 1891 the then licensee of the Bull and Mouth, Mary Crawford, was fined for not lighting the gas lamp in front of the hotel.
In December 1903, Charlie Ward, a well-known Wimmera identity, purchased the Bull and Mouth Hotel.
In 1908 he embarked on a huge expansion of the hotel to cater for his increasing clientele and to placate the authorities, who now considered wooden hotels a blot on the town.
The two-storey brick building we see today was designed by architects Clegg and Millar.
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In 1912 Ward leased the hotel to his son-in-law, Thomas Stanley "Stan" Young.
In October 1916 the Temperance Movement won the day and the six o'clock closing laws came into force.
The laws, which remained for 50 years, were stringently enforced.
In January 1919 Young was prosecuted for selling three bottles of beer to his brother-in-law, Thomas Ward, after six o'clock. He was fined two pounds, about $1,000 in today's money.
In May 1919 the Volum Brewing Company of Geelong purchased the freehold of the hotel.
They increased the number of bedrooms to seventeen and tiled the facade.
The tiling was an unintended consequence of the six o'clock closing laws because it was found that, in the rush to have a few beers after work, the drinking population, hitherto accustomed to several leisurely drinks over a few hours, would gulp down the same number of drinks in the hour or less that was permitted by law.
Throughout Victoria this time of the day became known as the "six o'clock swill".
The consequences were sometimes quite colourful but were always messy.
The tiles, placed upon exterior walls, to around head height, meant that cleaning up those consequences, while still unpleasant, was made easier.
Often nearby shops and offices also found it convenient to install tiling.
CUB steps in
On 2 August 1935 Carlton and United Breweries (CUB) purchased the freehold of the Bull and Mouth Hotel following a trend of large breweries buying successful hotels, thus ensuring a steady sale of their products.
In the evening of 19 September 1944 there was an event at the hotel that made nation-wide news, murder being relatively rare in those more genteel days.
George Binns from Nhill was discovered dead at the foot of the stairs leading to the accommodation rooms.
Injuries to his head suggested murder but a post-mortem carried out on September 22 found he had died from asphyxiation from inhaling his own "fluids".
A Horsham man, Donald McLean, initially charged with his murder, was later charged with assault and theft.
CUB sold the freehold of the hotel to a group of private investors in about 1990.
The current owners and licensees of the Bull and Mouth Hotel, Simon and Deb Mitchell, took over the lease in 2009 and purchased the freehold about 2014.
Earlier this year they carried out extensive renovations to the hotel including a verandah built using reclaimed timber.
Due to the second surge in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Horsham Historical Society is again closed.
Requests for historical information can always be made via the research tab at our website: www.vicnet.net.au/~hhs.
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