Hero of Waterloo Hotel

Item details


Name of item:	Hero of Waterloo Hotel
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Commercial
Category:	Hotel
Location:	Lat: -33.8577617738 Long: 151.2058271480
Primary address:	81, 83 Lower Fort Street, Millers Point, 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	32		DP	788672

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
81, 83 Lower Fort Street	Millers Point	Sydney	St Philip	Cumberland	Primary Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
OzColour Pty ltd	Private	03 May 99

Description


Construction years:	1843-1844
Physical description:	The Hero of Waterloo Hotel is a three storey, solid sandstone building with cellars and a hipped iron roof behind simple parapets. External alterations are limited.(Sheedy 1978)
Modifications and dates:	Post 1988 - some maintenance, repairs and minor renovations.


Current use:	Pub, Bar, Restaurant
Former use:	Aboriginal land, town lots, Hotel

History

Historical notes:

ABORIGINAL OCCUPATION
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).

Prior to European settlement the Millers Point area was part of the wider Cadigal territory, in which the clan fished, hunted and gathered shellfish from the nearby mudflats. Shellfish residue was deposited in middens, in the area known to the early Europeans as Cockle Bay; the middens were later utilised by the Europeans in lime kilns for building purposes. The Millers Point area was known to the Cadigal as Coodye, and Dawes Point as Tar-ra/Tarra (Sydney City Council, 2019).

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).

Subject site:
The Hero of Waterloo stands on land sold by a man named Clarke to George Payten, a builder, in 1840. Payten built the Garrison Church in 1842 and the hotel in 1843-44. He took out a licence in the name of 'Hero of Waterloo' in 1845.

The present main bar was two rooms until the removal of the dividing partition in 1928 to create one large room.

The stone for both the church and the hotel probably came from quarries in Kent Street, the earliest in Sydney. (Sheedy 1978)

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.	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	Environment - cultural landscape-Activities associated with the interactions between humans, human societies and the shaping of their physical surroundings	Landscapes of urban amenity-
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	Landscapes and gardens of domestic accommodation-
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
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	(none)-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Going drinking in bars or clubs-
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	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 a restaurant-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	Activities associated with relaxation and recreation-
9. Phases of Life-Marking the phases of life	Persons-Activities of, and associations with, identifiable individuals, families and communal groups	Associations with George Peyton, builder-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The Hero of waterloo is one of the earliest remaining hotels in Sydney, being of simple yet strong vernacular design and an excellent example of an 1840s city pub. (Sheedy 1978) It has been in continuous trade since 1845 and is one of the oldest surviving trading hotels in Australia. (Central File 1988)
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	The hotel retains substantial evidence of its original form and is an integral component of the Millers Point precinct, an area demonstrating the changes of over a century of Sydney life and which has remained virtually unchanged since the 1920s. (Central File 1988)
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Procedures /Exemptions

Section of act	Description	Title	Comments	Action date
57(2)	Exemption to allow work	Heritage Act	See File For Schedule 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.	Mar 17 1989
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		00633	02 Apr 99	27	1546
Heritage Act - Permanent Conservation Order - former		00633	17 Mar 89	32	1450
Local Environmental Plan	CSH Local Environmental Plan 4		07 Apr 00
Register of the National Estate			21 Mar 78
Register of the National Estate			21 Oct 80

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Tourism	Attraction Homepage	2007	Hero of Waterloo Hotel	View detail
Written	D.Sheedy	1978	Hero of Waterloo. National Trust Listing Card
Written	Heritage Office	1988	Hero of Waterloo Central File
Tourism	TourismNSW	2007	Hero of Waterloo 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:	5045581
File number:	HC 863024

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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