Closed Hotels of South Australia: The College Arms Hotel. (Cnr. Currie & Rosina Streets.)

Closed Hotels of South Australia: The College Arms Hotel. (Cnr. Currie & Rosina Streets.)

Situated on the corner of Currie Street and Rosina Street, the Coronation Hotel was established in 1846 as the Golden Fleece Inn. From 1871 until 1937, the hotel was known as The Crown Inn, from 1937 until 1979 it was known as The Coronation Hotel. From 1979 until 1984 it was known as Hotel California, and from 1984 until 1987 it was known as Armstrong’s Tavern. Its last incarnation was as The College Arms Hotel when it was run in conjunction with the TAFE-SA.

  The hotel was opened by Andrew Harriot in 1846, who leased the hotel in 1848 to Donald Stewart. Stewart didn’t see out the year before he sold hotel lease to William Gardener. Gardener on-sold to Francis Bunn in 1850 who kept the hotel until 1854. The next lessee was James Robinson who in 1855 sold the lease back to Andrew Harriot.

  The hotel was sold to Goodman Hart in 1860 who operated it until 1862. The next two lessees were female, Margaret Dymond: 1860-1862, and Mary Ann Richards from 1862 until 1866. Three more Lessee’s took the hotel (Charles Mallen: 1866-1867, Robert Poole: 1867-1868 and Joseph Backhouse: 1868-1869) before Goodman Hart retook his lease from 1869 until 1871.
From 1871 until 1937 the hotel had another 34 publicans – you can find a list of all publicans here: https://localwiki.org/adelaide-hills/Adelaide_Hotels_-_Currie_Street

The Crown Inn - 1918. SLSA B84 

  The hotel changed its name in 1937 under the ownership of Elise Maude McKeown to The Coronation Hotel. In the next few years, the hotel was constantly in the news for all the wrong reasons. Publicans were caught selling alcohol illegally after hours, and bar staff and patrons were caught betting illegally by the undercover Police Gaming Squad.


  The Coronation Hotel was also at the centre of a legal case in 1939 when under the ownership of Daniel Kenny. Kenny had challenged in court the legality of Ballroom dancing to be held in South Australian hotels. The law at the time stated that for dancing to occur in a hotel, the licensee had to have written permission from two Justices of the Peace, one of whom must be the Commissioner, a superintendent, inspector or sub-inspector of the South Australian Police.
Kenny lost the case when Justice Muirhead found it illegal. During an appeal the following year, it was revealed that other hotels in the vicinity were allowed to hold dancing. Lawyer for Kenny, Mr Travers equated the allowing of one hotel, over another to hold dances as an act of: “one law for the rich and another for the poor”.
 Due to the stresses of the court case and the constant harassment of police, Kenny sold his lease to Joseph Kilgariff in 1940.

The Coronation Hotel - circa 1966. SLSA: B16356 

 In 1979, the hotel rebranded as the Hotel California, a discotheque featuring a raised DJ box above the dance floor. From 1984 until 1987 it was known as Armstrong’s Tavern which was considered a safe hotel for the local gay community. From 1987 it was known as The College Arms Hotel and was used to train TAFE students. The hotel was demolished to make way for an update to the Adelaide TAFE-SA campus.



Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2019

Sources:
'ADELAIDE POLICE NOT INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, POLICE SAY', The Advertiser, (21 March 1940), p. 7.
'Obtained Liquor After Hours', The Advertiser, (3 February 1939), p. 30.
'ADELAIDE POLICE', The Advertiser, (16 January 1940), p. 6
‘'Put-and-Take Players Fined 5/’, The News, (30 November 1942), p.5.
'ADELAIDE POLICE', The Advertiser, (2 July 1946), p. 5.
'BARMAN TO PAY £42', News, (7 June 1950), p. 2.
'Four Men Fined For Liquor Offences', News, (2 February 1939), p. 16.
'MAGISTRATE RULES HOTEL DANCING IS ILLEGAL', News, (28 November 1939), p. 7.
'DANCING IN HOTEL', News, (15 January 1940), p. 8.
'ADELAIDE POLICE', The Advertiser, (16 January 1940), p. 6.