Pubs of Albany: Freemason’s Hotel leaves a grand gap in Stirling Terrace

Pubs are community hubs where friendships are made, romances sparked and business deals brokered. Bad things can happen in places where people gather and drinks flow, but for the most part, these establishments are the keepers of fond memories. The watering holes of Albany are among the oldest in the State. In an ongoing series, the Advertiser explores their colourful history. In part six, we mourn the loss of the Freemason's Hotel. It was the grandest hotel in all of Albany, boasting three storeys of luxury and its very own farm just kilometres down the road — now it’s a parking lot. Despite a storied past, much of the history behind the Freemason's Hotel seems to have been muddied by time. Confusion lingers over its dates of redevelopment, when exactly its extra storeys were added and when the call was finally made to shut it down. But there does seem to be one thing that all sources agree on. By all accounts, this was Albany’s grandest pub. Frequented by top businessmen and WA’s political elite, the high flyers from around the State were all drawn to the Freemason’s Hotel before it was brought undone by Tom the Cheap. But the Freemason’s Hotel didn’t become Albany’s grandest establishment overnight. Thought to have been first built in the 1860s before being redeveloped in the 1900s, the hotel began its life fairly modestly, frequented by footballers, punters and protesters. In 1896. after an announcement that the mail train was to leave Albany on Saturday afternoon, instead of at 5pm on Sunday, protestors flocked to the old hotel to raise their voices. The next year, the hotel’s celebrations of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee were outdone by the lumpers pub, the Royal George. “Lamps were hung in front of the Freemason's Hotel, and about the bandstand,” the Albany Advertiser reported in 1897. “The most elaborate and the most effective illumination on the terrace was to be seen at the Royal George Hotel.” But from humble beginnings the hotel’s reputation grew. Substantial additions were made with another storey thought to have been added in 1904. “Old residents of Albany would find it difficult to recognise in the palatial structure recently completed in Stirling Terrace, any trace of the sombre-hued, shambling and old-fashioned ... Freemason’s Hotel,” the Advertiser reported in January 1905. “The former building has been entirely metamorphosed, the old order giving place to the very newest. For this most striking and splendid addition.” Credit for the renovations went to publican, John McKenzie. The changes must have seemed somewhat ironic as the hotel’s transition away from the working class was brought about by an ex-whaler. After retiring and serving as mayor for three years, Mr McKenzie might have moved in new circles and it was to these sort of people that the hotel began marketing itself. “There are many reports of grand functions including mayoral dinners hosted for visiting dignitaries in its 80-year existence,” the Albany Historical Society wrote in 2016. The White Star Hotel Conservation Management Plan by H+H Architects outlines this move to a more exclusive clientele. “The Freemason's aligned itself successfully with the marketing of Albany as a resort town, attracting tourists and holiday makers rather than wharfies or lumpers,” it reads. “The impressive architectural scale and expression of the Freemason’s Hotel, plus the fact it offered a dining room that could seat 130 people, was most likely what made it ‘the best hotel in Albany’. “The building featured three-storey timber-framed verandas across its main façade and was considerably larger scale than the White Star Hotel.” And over the next 50 years, plenty of high rollers would come through the hotel’s doors. One of these was Governor General Sir Ronald Craufurd who arrived by a “special train” from Mt Barker. Despite the hotel’s association with high rollers, no one was able to move Freemason’s Hotel from the path of progress when Tom the Cheap came to Albany. Tom the Cheap was a discount supermarket chain whose advertising mascot was a convict in prison clothes. With retailers commanding healthy margins, Tom the Cheap’s owner, Thomas Wardle, offered consumers a cheaper shopping experience that cut down on overheads and saved on costs. The experience was in stark contrast to what the Freemason’s Hotel had promised before it was demolished in 1972. But despite having more than 200 stores in 1971, with Mr Wardle even completing a stint as Lord Mayor of Perth, the business had gone under by 1978. About 50 years after the hotel was demolished, the site cleared by Tom the Cheap still sits vacant and serves as a parking lot between Dylans on the Terrace and the Stirling Terrace Indoor Markets. After it was State Heritage listed in 2020 and labelled “the original commercial heart of the town”, Stirling Terrace precinct is now protected. While stories of the old hotel remain, there lingers a sad sense of history lost. City of Albany local history coordinator, Sue Lefroy, said the demolition “left a gaping whole” on Stirling Terrace. “It was a majestic three storey building with a wonderfully detailed facade,” she said. “Its demolition was a lost opportunity to preserve an iconic building known for its impressive jarrah staircase, stained glass windows and large gas lamp suspended between two posts at the main entrance. “On the flipside, its demolition raised the profile of heritage retention and the importance of historic character, setting in motion a range of measures to protect heritage assets. “The pub had a rich history and held a significant place in the development of Stirling Terrace and by extension, the growth of Albany.”