Namoi Hotel’s long history in Narrabri

The late John Brooks, author of Narrabri’s Twenty-Five Hotels, penned this article for the occasion of the Namoi Hotel’s centenary in 2014. The iconic venue marked the anniversary of the current brick building.

The Namoi Hotel has a long and proud history in Narrabri, with 2014 marking its centenary.

The Travellers Hotel, the original hotel on this site, may have faced Bowen Street.

This may have been to catch some of the trade from the main old teamster’s track which passed down Tibbereena Street.

In the early days this track was the main carrier’s route from Narrabri to Gunnedah.

A report in ‘The Town and Country Journal’, dated August 28, 1878 shows that William Coleman’s Travellers Hotel was in existence in Narrabri during that time.

It is very possible that he was running the hotel for some time before that date.

Mr Coleman operated this hotel until it was taken over by Mr Samuel Arndell in the mid 1880s.

Mr Arndell then changed the name to the Phoenix Hotel.

How long the Phoenix Hotel was in the hands of Samuel Arndell is not known, but he was known to have held the licence again in 1889 and 1891.

Mr Thomas Lovelee took over the Phoenix Hotel in January 1889, with his advertisement in the local paper stating that he was late of Moree and Little Bumble.

Research in the state archives gives us the following details of some of the early licence holders of the Phoenix Hotel:

Thomas Lovelee (1893-1895), William George Thurlow (November 1895-June 1896), Letitia J. Coleman (November 1896-November 1897), Matilda Arndell (wife of Samuel Arndell who died in 1985] (November 1897-November 1898).

The hotel then underwent another name change, when in 1898 it was named in the official records as the ‘Namoi Hotel’.

Mrs Mary Lloyd acquired the freehold and took over the licence on November 3, 1898. It remained under her control up to 1919.

The present brick building was erected in 1914, when the hotel was owned by Mrs Lloyd.

Mr A.J. Hulbert was named as the contractor for the construction of the hotel.

A small item in the local Narrabri paper reported on the death of Mrs Lloyd, who died at her daughter’s residence, (Mrs P.J. Levey), at Maroubra on November 15, 1934, aged 84 years.

Mrs Lloyd’s husband, Edward Lloyd, had predeceased her, dying at Narrabri on October 2, 1889, aged 47 years.

In February 1920 the licence for the Namoi Hotel was transferred from a Mr Cook to a Mr Wright, late of Wagga.

Later in that same year Mrs Marie Whorlow was named as the proprietor of Lloyd’s Namoi Hotel.

The following is a list of the known licence holders and the dates that they were shown to have been at the Namoi Hotel;

Mrs Catherine Edith Hardman, in January 1926, Mrs McLeod, November 1929, Mr Frank Moran, July 1930, Mr E.S. Face, July 1930, Mrs Edith, July 1931, Tooth and Co. were reported to have owned the freehold for the Namoi Hotel in 1931, Mr Alf Gray, formally of Sydney, in 1932 and 1933, Mr Jim and Joan Bannon, from 1942 to 1945, Mr Frederick K. Hill, in November 1949, Mr D.D. Gubbay, in December 1950, Mrs C.G. White, in 1952, Mr and Mrs P.J. Dolahenty, in October 1953 to October 1959.

In October, 1959 it was reported that Mr Arthur Wyatt took over the Namoi Hotel and states that he had purchased the freehold.

Later (around 1964) Mr and Mrs Arthur Wyatt leased the Namoi Hotel to a Mr Len Keeffe, a farmer from Bellata.

Around two years later Graham and Ann Wyatt, son and daughter-in-law of the owners, took over the management, running the establishment for around 18 months.

The verandahs on the Namoi Hotel were the last to be removed in the main street of Narrabri.

In March, 1968 a report stated that ‘the last post-supported verandah in Narrabri’s main street is soon to come down.’

To comply with local government regulations, the verandahs outside the Namoi Hotel were to be replaced by hanging awnings.

Bill Lofts was the licensee after Graham and Ann Wyatt, (from around 1968 to 1974), Ron Bale, a local man, was in partnership in the ownership of the freehold of the Namoi, with Bill and Gloria Lofts.

Bill Lofts was followed by John Brock.

After John Brock left the Namoi Hotel, Dave Peacock took over the licence. Dave Peacock was the licencee there for eleven years from 1988 to 1999.

Local man, Jimmy Bruce went to the Namoi as licencee in September 1999 and was there up to May 2004.

David Hall then took it on for around 12 to 18 months.

The present licencees Vince and Wendy Weakley then took over.

Wendy Weakley holds the licence for the Namoi and with her husband Vince runs the hotel.

The Namoi Hotel appears to have survived well in the past, and is surviving well in the present climate.

One hopes that this will be the case for at least another 100 years.

My thanks to the following people for information supplied on the recent licence holders: Jimmy Bruce, Wendy and Vince Weakley, Cheryl Pawley, Graham and Ann Wyatt.

[Editor’s note: Previous owners Vince and Wendy Weakley handed over the keys to the business to new licensee and general manager Jeff Fisher in early 2022]