The old girls story.

The Oxford Hotel in Inverell opened on 25th September 1886 and is the oldest surviving hotel in Inverell with a continuous licence.

It was built by Thorley Brothers of Inverell who won the tender on 11th July 1885 for 10,000 pounds.
During the construction, a labourer, Lochie McKechnie, laid 1500 bricks in one day for a wager of 20 pounds.

The property belonged to William Onus; who leased the hotel to his brother, Joseph Onus. It was the first-two-storey brick hotel in Inverell and contained 40 rooms, 20 of which were fitted with the latest convenience - electric bells.

It has also been known as the Sportsmen’s Hotel and the Travellers Rest.

The original building had a passage way from Otho Street through the building under the balcony for vehicles to proceed to a yard where a 20 stall stable had been provided for patrons.

In 1904, the establishment was advertised by way of boxes of cigarettes with the words “The Oxford Cigarette” printed on the lids. Each cigarette also bore the words “The Oxford” in gold letters.

Behind the hotel, the Oxford Auction Salesyard was built and in 1888 Inverell’s second public hall called The Oxford Hall was constructed. It had a large stage and could seat 400-500 people. It was a place of entertainment and meetings until it was dismantled on August 8th 1911. The hall was removed to the property “Argyle” east of town and used for shearing and farm purposes.

Tom Roberts painted a portion of his famous “Bailed Up” masterpiece in the Oxford Hall using one of the parked coaches as a model. He had been a guest at The Oxford Hotel at the time.

Boxing matches were also held in the hall. The papers mention boxing bouts at the back of the Oxford even after the hall had been removed.

In May 1925, the old billiard room had been converted to an up-to-date lounge room. In the newspapers there are many mentions of meetings being held in the lounge of the hotel, both sporting and community business.

In 1933, licensee Tom Hughes had his bar extended by 20 feet and servery room refitted. This was achieved by moving the outer wall into the old lane adjacent to L. B. Miller, Chemist. At this point the carriageway was closed.

The balcony was a very important place for welcoming home soldiers from the Boer War in the street below, farewelling soldiers for WW1, election speeches for politicians, and announcing election results.
Unfortunately, at times it also enabled thieves to escape with guests’ and hotel goods. This escape route must have been in the mind of an intruder while the owner, Mr Hardy was away. He administered chloroform to Mrs Hardy as she was sleeping in order to search the room for keys to the safe. He was disturbed and frightened away.

In 1939, the balcony was rendered unsafe by the Building Inspector. The Council advised cantilever awnings be erected when the proposed extensive alterations were to take place.

John Henry Hall was charged with the theft of 10 chickens and 1 turkey from the pens at the rear of the Oxford according to the Inverell Times in December 1942. They were to be used for Christmas Day; 6 chickens were found and returned along with the turkey!

The sewerage was connected by the Council in August 1953.

The awning was finally erected in March 1958.

Many licensees have come and gone since 1886, each having shared many memories with guests and patrons. Numerous renovations and extensions have been undertaken over the years ensuring that while the publicans may be long gone or moved on, their patronage lives on etching an everlasting mark on The Oxford Hotel.

In 2017, The Oxford Hotel became available for sale through auction after some unsavoury practices occurred behind the bar with the previous licensee. The lucky buyers - two couples with a passion for historical buildings and restoring them to their previous glory.

During their period of ownership, many hours, blood, sweat and tears were poured into restoring the central staircase with each balustrade post carefully removed, lathed and replaced. Some other renovations of the 17 upstairs rooms were undertaken including the addition of private ensuites to two of the rear rooms, the rest using shared male and female bathrooms. The rooms were then being consistently rented on a weekly basis.

With the assistance of state heritage, funding was awarded to rebuild the front verandah previously removed in 1958. A local building company was employed to complete the work. During construction many persuasive conversations were had between the builder and owners resulting in another 50% change of ownership and firmly rooting the ownership of the building in the local community.

This is where we come in.