Welcome Inn Hotel

Item details


Name of item:	Welcome Inn Hotel
Other name/s:	Bristol Arms Hotel
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Commercial
Category:	Inn/Tavern
Location:	Lat: -33.8678347145 Long: 151.2032310000
Primary address:	81 Sussex Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Parish:	St Philip
County:	Cumberland
Local govt. area:	Sydney
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Metropolitan

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
LOT	6		DP	707526

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
81 Sussex Street	Sydney	Sydney	St Philip	Cumberland	Primary Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
Coranton Pty Ltd	Private	04 May 99

Description


Construction years:	1898-
Physical description:	1898. A simple two storey five bay face brick building with rendered Ionic pilasters, string courses, entablatures and balustraded parapet with small central round pediment bearing the date and a panel of garland mouldings. Doors and windows to ground floor altered. Suspended awning. Interior has original cast iron columns and pressed metal ceilings - otherwise bars etc. substantially altered (NTA (NSW), 1974).


Current use:	Nightclub, Bar, Pub
Former use:	Aboriginal land, town lot, Hotel

History

Historical notes:

The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country". Within the City of Sydney local government area, the traditional owners are the Cadigal and Wangal bands of the Eora. There is no written record of the name of the language spoken and currently there are debates as whether the coastal peoples spoke a separate language "Eora" or whether this was actually a dialect of the Dharug language. Remnant bushland in places like Blackwattle Bay retain elements of traditional plant, bird and animal life, including fish and rock oysters (Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani).

With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Cadigal and Wangal people were decimated but there are descendants still living in Sydney today. All cities include many immigrants in their population. Aboriginal people from across the state have been attracted to suburbs such as Pyrmont, Balmain, Rozelle, Glebe and Redfern since the 1930s. Changes in government legislation in the 1960s provided freedom of movement enabling more Aboriginal people to choose to live in Sydney (Anita Heiss, "Aboriginal People and Place", Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/barani).

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Other open space-
1. Environment-Tracing the evolution of a continent's special environments	Environment - naturally evolved-Activities associated with the physical surroundings that support human life and influence or shape human cultures.	Changing the environment-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Commerce-Activities relating to buying, selling and exchanging goods and services	Innkeeping-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Commerce-Activities relating to buying, selling and exchanging goods and services	Developing discrete retail and commercial areas-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Commerce-Activities relating to buying, selling and exchanging goods and services	Developing Commercial Enterprise-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Developing local, regional and national economies-National Theme 3
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Events-Activities and processes that mark the consequences of natural and cultural occurences	Developing local landmarks-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Accommodation-Activities associated with the provision of accommodation, and particular types of accommodation – does not include architectural styles – use the theme of Creative Endeavour for such activities.	Building settlements, towns and cities-National Theme 4
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Land tenure-Activities and processes for identifying forms of ownership and occupancy of land and water, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal	Early land grants-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Creative endeavour-Activities associated with the production and performance of literary, artistic, architectural and other imaginative, interpretive or inventive works; and/or associated with the production and expression of cultural phenomena; and/or environments that have inspired such creative activities.	Developing cultural institutions and ways of life-National Theme 8
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	musical gatherings-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Activities associated with relaxation and recreation-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Going to the pub-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Social institutions-Activities and organisational arrangements for the provision of social activities	Developing local clubs and meeting places-

Recommended management:

Recommendations

Management Category	Description	Date Updated
Recommended Management	Produce a Conservation Management Plan (CMP)
Recommended Management	Prepare a maintenance schedule or guidelines
Recommended Management	Carry out interpretation, promotion and/or education

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Heritage Act	Record converted from HIS events Refer to standard exemptions gazetted 23 October 1998. Order Under Section 57(2) to exempt the following activities from Section 57(1): change of use; strata subdivision * maintenance of any item (building, works, relics or places) on the site, where maintenance means the continuous protective care of existing fabric. Minor repairs where minor repair means the repair of materials and includes replacement of minor components such as individual bricks, where these have been damaged beyond reasonable repair or are missing. Replacements should be of the same materials, colour, texture, form and design as the original it replaces. alterations to the interior of a building which are of a minor nature and will not adversely affect the significance of the building as an item of the environmental heritage.	Apr 6 1990
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	HERITAGE ACT 1977 ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) TO GRANT STANDARD EXEMPTIONS FROM APPROVAL I, Penny Sharpe, the Minister for Heritage, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales and under section 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977: revoke the order made on 2 June 2022 and published in the Government Gazette Number 262 of 17 June 2022; and grant an exemption from section 57(1) of the Act in respect of the engaging in or carrying out the class of activities described in clause 2 Schedule A in such circumstances specified by the relevant standards in clause 2 Schedule A and General Conditions in clause 3 Schedule A. This Order takes effect on the date it is published in the NSW Government Gazette. Dated this 29th day of October 2025 The Hon Penny Sharpe MLC Minister for Heritage For more information on standard exemptions click on the link below.	Nov 7 2025

Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register		00408	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - Permanent Conservation Order - former		00408	09 Aug 85	114	4134
Local Environmental Plan	CSH Local Environmental Plan 4		07 Apr 00
National Trust of Australia register		6516	23 Jul 94

Study details

Title	Year	Number	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
National Trust of Australia (NSW)	1977	6516	David Sheedy	Shields-Brown, I.	No

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Tourism		2007	Bristol Arms Retro Hotel	View detail
Tourism	Attraction Homepage	2007	Bristol Arms Retro Hotel	View detail

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5045270
File number:	S90/01120 & HC 31211

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