Great Northern Hotel

Item details


Name of item:	Great Northern Hotel
Type of item:	Built
Location:	Lat: -32.9272864369 Long: 151.7848753310
Primary address:	89 Scott Street, Newcastle, NSW 2300
Parish:	Newcastle
County:	Northumberland
Local govt. area:	Newcastle
Local Aboriginal Land Council:	Awabakal

Property description

Lot/Volume Code	Lot/Volume Number	Section Number	Plan/Folio Code	Plan/Folio Number
LOT	100		DP	834251

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
89 Scott Street	Newcastle	Newcastle	Newcastle	Northumberland	Primary Address
5 Watt Street	Newcastle	Newcastle	Newcastle	Northumberland	Alternate Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
	Private


Current use:	Hotel
Former use:	Aboriginal land, town lot, hotel

History

Historical notes:

The History of the site included in the CMP is summarised as:
Prior to 1861 - Site occupied by F Smith and Company Retail Grocers.

1861 - Construction of first Great Northern Hotel attributed to Dangar Gedye and Company. The first hotel is a three storey rendered masonry building with column-supported verandas to ground and first floors.

1866 - First official record of license at Great Northern to William Fitch [Feb 1866]

April 1866 - Lady Carrington [wife of Governor Carrington] stays at The Great Northern.

1868 - Prince Alfred Duke of Edinburgh stays at The Great Northern.

1880 - The Great Northern substantially extended along Scott Street by this time accommodating 50 beds.

1890-1910 - Centralisation of brewing facilitated by expanded NSW Rail network sees Tooths Brewery Sydney acquire The Great Northern Hotel

1923 - Tooths completes rebuild of the hotel in late Federation Style.

1936 - Design for new hotel proses staged construction enabling eastern end of existing hotel to remain operational during first stage of new construction. This approach appears to have been abandoned in the revised scheme which modified the initial Art Deco design in favour of a design more influenced by the then emerging Inter War Functionalist Style.

1938 - Completed fourth version of the Great Northern Hotel opens on 24 January 1938.

1940-1960 - The Great Northern maintains prominent position as premier hotel in Newcastle.

1954 - Fifth floor additions raise outer wings to height of central elevation.

1961 - Extensive interior refit removes or covers much of the Art Deco detailing in the hotel or provides poorly resolved copies of original detailing.

1964 - The Great Northern accommodates 150 guests in 132 rooms.

1973 - August 1973 reports of The Great Northern Hotel being sold to Sydney based syndicate Yoxlang Pty Ltd.

1977 - The Great Northern Hotel transferred to local family Gerakiteys family

1979 - National Trust of Australia (NSW) classifies The Great Northern Hotel

1981 - The Great Northern Hotel included in the Register of the National Estate.

1987 - Controversy over removal of large mural paintings from Lobby saw these eventually acquired by the Newcastle Art Gallery in 1988.

1988-The Great Northern Hotel put to auction on 12 November 1988.

1989 - The Great Northern Hotel extensively damaged in Newcastle Earthquake. Limited repairs undertaken. The hotel was partially closed and limited to low rent tenants with further degradation of fabric.

1997 - Lease controlled by Donna Batist of Hazrahan

2001 - Action against Batist and Hazrahan under the Heritage Act for illegal works to the hotel interior.

After 2003 - Lease passed to current owner who applied for and acquired development consent for restoration/ adaptation of existing interiors and additions to the eastern end and roof top area.
Source of the above: Brady, 2017).

The owners of the Great Northern Hotel say work is on track to reopen its downstairs bar early next month and start accepting overnight visitors by mid-2019.

2019. The Herald reported in July that work had begun on fitting out the heritage building, and the new publican, Ben McBeath, hoped to open before the Melbourne Cup on November 6. Former owner Kurt Braune, who is handling the refurbishment on behalf of Sydney Developer Bass Elhashem, said this week that contractors were working to meet that deadline after Scott Street reopened to traffic two weeks ago.

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.	Cultural - Coasts and coastal features supporting human activities-
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	Trading along the NSW coast-
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	Innkeeping-
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-
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	Townships-
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	Sub-division of large estates-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Subdivision of urban estates-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	19th century suburban developments-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	20th century Suburban Developments-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Developing ports-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Suburban Consolidation-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Creating landmark structures and places in regional settings-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Cultural Social and religious life-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Developing suburbia-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Developing towns in response to topography-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Role of transport in settlement-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Towns, suburbs and villages-Activities associated with creating, planning and managing urban functions, landscapes and lifestyles in towns, suburbs and villages	Beautifying towns and villages-
5. Working-Working	Labour-Activities associated with work practises and organised and unorganised labour	Working in an Inn, Public House, Hotel etc.-
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.	Architectural styles and periods - Interwar Streamline Moderne-
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.	Interior design styles and periods - Art Deco-
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.	Applying architectural design to utlilitarian structures-
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.	Architectural styles and periods - 20th century Art Deco/Jazz Age-
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.	Adaptation of overseas design for local use-
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.	Designing in an exemplary architectural style-
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	Visiting heritage places-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Gathering at landmark places to socialise-
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	Places of informal community gatherings-
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-

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Heritage Act	Great Northern Hotel only Order Under Section 57(2) to exempt the following activities from Section 57(1): (1) The maintenance of any building or item on the site where maintenance means the continuous protective care of existing material. (2) Work specified in Application No. 86/0040 approved, subject to conditions, by the Heritage Council on 13th October, 1986.	Apr 3 1987
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Standard Exemptions	ORDER UNDER SECTION 57(2) OF THE HERITAGE ACT 1977 Standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977. I, the Hon James Griffin MP, Minister for Environment and Heritage, pursuant to subsection 57(2) of the Heritage Act 1977, on the recommendation of the Heritage Council of New South Wales do by this Order, effective at the time of publication in the New South Wales Government Gazette: 1. revoke the order made on 9 November 2020 and published in the Government Gazette Number 318 of 13 November 2020; and 2. grant the exemptions from subsection 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 that are described in the attached Schedule. The Hon James Griffin MP Minister for Environment and Heritage Signed this 2nd day of June 2022. To view the standard exemptions for engaging in or carrying out activities / works otherwise prohibited by section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 click on the link below.	Jun 17 2022

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 Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - State Heritage Register	00507	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - Permanent Conservation Order - former	00507	03 Apr 87	62	1787
Local Environmental Plan		03 Jul 92	107	9344
National Trust of Australia register
Register of the National Estate		25 Aug 81

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	Colin Brady Architecture & Planning	2017	Great Northern Hotel, Scott Street, Newcastle - Heritage Impact Statement for proposed amendment to approved development
Written	Colin Brady Architecture & Planning	2008	Great Northern Hotel, Scott Street, Newcastle - Conservation Management Plan
Written	McMillan, 2017 (2)	2017	'The Great Northern Hotel set to re-open'	View detail
Written	McMillan, Melinda	2017	'Great Northern Hotel set for renaissance - photos'	View detail
Written	Parris, Michael	2017	'Great Northern still planning to restore hotel rooms despite delay'	View detail

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

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Heritage NSW
Database number:	5045384
File number:	S90/03251 & HC 33514

Every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the State Heritage Inventory is correct. If you find any errors or omissions please send your comments to the Database Manager.

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