Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Page 1 of 16 Heritage Hotel Dorrigo History and Heritage Hotel Dorrigo’s Heritage Listing Reads:- Hotel Dorrigo is NSW State heritage listed for its evidence of the entrepreneurial activities of Michael and Elene Feros and their contribution to a regional community Architecturally, Dorrigo’s most impressive building, and one of the best in the Shire. Located at the town’s key intersection, ensuring its considerable street scape potential is fully realised. An important local landmark, essential to the town’s historical identity. Built during the period when the Dorrigo Plateau achieved its greatest prosperity, and reflecting the optimism of the time. Has survived better than most of the town’s older buildings of note. Typical of the Filigree style hotels which characterised country towns in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Little altered and well maintained. Two storey hotel dated 1925. Face brick, now with rendered dado. Impressive double verandah with rendered and moulded parapet above. Solid cornices. Balcony area features wrought iron balustrading, brackets and valence. Art Nouveau pattern. Also wrought iron brackets to verandah below. Solid timber posts with moulded astragals. Original openings, doors and windows.
Page 2 of 16 Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Early Days In Dorrigo In the above photo, the empty paddock on the left is where the Hotel Dorrigo was later built. In the early 1920s the brewer, Tooth & Co. (Tooths) did not have an outlet for their beer in Dorrigo because the existing Commercial Hotel sold a rival brewer’s beer. At the time the Glenreagh to Dorrigo railway line was being constructed in order to bring in fertiliser and parcels and to take out timber, potatoes, livestock, and butter from Dorrigo. This railway line construction had many men “working up a cold hard thirst”. To obtain an outlet for its beer in Dorrigo, Tooths approached Michael Feros, the owner of the block of land on which the hotel now stands, to buy the block of land. Michael was a 26 year old Greek migrant who operated the White Rose Cafe and Bakery in Bielsdown Street, Dorrigo. He had come from the island of Kythera in 1911 as a 15 year old. Michael informed Tooths that he was not prepared to sell the block of land, but if Tooths guaranteed the bank loan for the construction costs of a hotel, he would build the hotel and sell Tooths beer. The Bank of NSW advanced £19,241 for building the hotel. The bank wrote “we consider the hotel too big for a town like Dorrigo but are safe with Tooth & Co behind same”. The hotel opened on the 13th August 1925 as a “40 year tied house”. The photo below shows Michael laying the foundation stone of the first brick house in Dorrigo. The hotels three level water tank stand can be seen in the left background
Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Page 3 of 16 Michael and Elene Michael Feros was a migrant to Australia, arriving from the Greek island of Kythera. Kythera is an island in the Mediterranean, situated at the southern end of Greece. In the Greek classics, Venus, the Goddess of Love, rose unadorned from the waters near Kythera. Thus is the Kytheran claim. The story is also told that when God made the world, he used a great sieve to distribute soil over the land. The rubble that was left in the sieve, God tipped into the sea off the end of Greece; and thus Kythera, the stony island, was created. As a 15‑year‑old boy, Michael left the port of Athens on February 25, 1911, for Australia. Travelling by way of Suez and Bombay, he arrived in Sydney on June 12th, 1911, unaccompanied and friendless in a strange land, with but a limited knowledge of English. However, he was lucky inasmuch as he met an old schoolmate of his father, who employed him in his restaurant at Circular Quay. There young Mick worked from 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, for the significant wage of 5/- a week. ‘Half day off’ was a Wednesday when the boy finished work at 4:30 p.m.! At this time Sydney was a city of 350,000 people, and horse‑drawn trams were the order of the day. Mick’s next move was to Boggabri, where he worked in a refreshment room on the same conditions as Sydney, except that he earned 7/6 a week for 18 months. He then returned to Sydney and was employed in a restaurant opposite the Town Hall at one pound a week. City life did not agree with our young adventurer, and he soon ‘packed his traps’ and headed for the North Coast. He travelled by coastal ship to Coffs Harbour, and has vivid recollections of being hoisted in a basket onto the wharf there. Yes, coastal ship was the passenger transport system along the coast. Travelling to Bellingen by horse and buggy, he recalled that the journey took some ten hours. Whilst in Bellingen, Michael developed a respiratory condition. His doctor’s advice was to relocate to the clear Dorrigo air. In 1919, Michael sold his partnership in the Bellingen business and came to Dorrigo, where he conducted a refreshment room in Bielsdown Street. Mick prospered and bought the corner block on which his hotel now stands. He applied for a licence at Bellingen Licensing Court in 1923, and the doors of the hotel were opened to the public on August 13th, 1925. Below is the wedding photo of Michael Feros and Elene Haniotis. Elene was the eldest daughter in a family of five girls and one boy. In Greece in the 1920s, for women to marry, they had to have a dowry, or in Greek, a ‘prika’. As Elene’s family had five daughters, there was little prospect of her marrying in Athens. Michael, on the other hand, was looking for a Greek bride. A mutual cousin arranged the match, or ‘proxinia’. Michael sent an engagement ring in the post. Elene travelled to Australia, and Michael met her when the boat arrived, presenting her with a gold watch. Both items of jewellery are preserved by family members. Elene stayed with another cousin in Bowral. After Michael visited three times, the parties confirmed the match, and the wedding took place on January 29th, 1929. Michael and Elene had four children: Nick, Taso, Maria, and Peter.
Page 4 of 16 Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Greek Dowries The photo on the right shows, from the left, Elene, Michael and Elene’s second sister Penelope, at the back stairs of Hotel Dorrigo in 1936. The stairs led down to a sunken fernery garden. The veranda post behind Penelope is the post in the current Fernery Bistro near the cutlery bench. Elene arranged for her sister Penelope to come from Greece in 1936 and settle in Dorrigo. Elene was worried about where she would fine a suitable husband for Penelope in Dorrigo. But cupid solved the problem. Penelope met Jim Castrisos on the boat coming from Greece. They fell in love, married in August 1938 and settled in Nowra. Jim operated the Red Rose Cafe in Junction Street, Nowra.Without a dowry, the three sisters left in Athens, Irene, Elizabeth and Ann, never married. They lived well into their nineties. Community Involvement Michael took a very prominent part in the growth of the town, and numbered among his interests the following:- Chairman, honorary secretary and treasurer of the Hospital board Member of the Urban Committee for many years Treasurer and committee member of the Dorrigo Bowling club Chairman of the National Park Trust for 18 years. Chairman of the Recreation Ground Committee for 25 years Member of Parochial council of the Church of England Assisted in putting every church in Dorrigo on a sound financial footing. Was the first guarantor for Dorrigo Hydro-Electric Scheme stated in 1922. Chairman of Board of Directos of Dorrigo Motors Benefactor of the Dorrigo Football Club Life member of the Dorrigo Agricultural Association Benefactor to the Golf Club and Tennis Courts Was responsible for the transfer of 16 acres from the Lands Department to the Education Department through representations to the then minister for Education, Mr Dave Drummonds, who came to the Platuea to discuss the needs in Dorrigo. The above list is extracted from the Don Dorrigo Gazette, Wednesday, August 17, 1960.
Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Page 5 of 16 Heritage Hotel Motel Dorrigo Doors opened 13th August 1925. 5 al h rs e o t. This brochure describes the hotel’s heritage features. If you are staying in or visiting the hotel you could read this brochure as you follow the walking directions it contains. Start your walk on the opposite side of Cudgery Street outside the antique shop looking south towards the hotel. As well as the north facing verandah, Elene created two other places to dry washing. The first was down in the cellar where the motors for the cool room generated heat. Clothes lines were placed in the motor room and clothes dried there. The second was in the kitchen. By fuelling the combustion stove after serving dinner was completed and hanging sheets across the kitchen they could be dried. Two clothes lines were strung from the kitchen door wall to the kitchen window wall. The kitchen work benches were pushed to the sides of the kitchen to allow the full drop of the sheets. Elene then climbed on to each work bench and pegged one side then another side of the sheets to the clothes lines as the Feros children handed the sheets and pegs up to Elene. To continue your heritage discovery, enter the hotel via the Cudgery Street corner bar door. Photo taken in January, 1927 As shown in the photo above, the parapet of the Hotel Dorrigo was originally plain cement render left unpainted. Plain render was an acceptable building finish in the 1920's The parapet is now painted to create, with the hotel bricks, a background for the wrought iron balustrade. The balustrade colour is yellow to match the yellow strip in the tiles at ground level. This yellow strip is continued on the parapet. The window lintels and sills were also originally plain render. Two examples can be seen on the window and door behind the bistro counter. The photo above shows washing drying on the north facing verandah of Hotel Dorrigo. Drying washing in the Hotel Dorrigo’s early decades was always a challenge, as Dorrigo averages 154 rainy days per year. The average rainfall is 1,932mm per year. Dorrigo’s record amount of rain in one day occurred on 21 February 1954- 809mm! st st
Page 6 of 16 Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Stained glass window beside main stairs Example of leadlight panels above doors French Doors of Heritage Family Suite From the bar, walk past the reception desk to the hotel’s main staircase. As you walk up the front stairs take notice of the stained glass window part way up the stairs. As you enter from Cudgery Street: *Note the lead light panels over the entrance doorways and in the bar canopy. This window was installed in 2016 and features design elements from the 1925 leadlight panels above the hotel doors. The same floral patterns can also be seen in the staircase balustrade and the wrought iron on the hotel verandah. Proceed upwards to the upstairs dining room which has been converted into the heritage family suite, with a queen bed and three single beds.How this room became available to establish the family suite goes back to the original 1925 design of the hotel. In 1925 the Dorrigo Hotel had two dining rooms. One downstairs for the general public. This room can be seen through the first door on the right then entering the hotel from Cudgery Street. This room seats 50 persons. The second dining room was upstairs and is the same size as the downstairs dining room. Meals for guests in the upstairs dining room came by dumb waiter from the kitchen below which serviced both dining rooms. During 1942, due to staff shortages caused by World War II, the upstairs dining room was closed. *Note the painted wooden square ceiling in the bar which also can be seen in the downstairs dining room
Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Page 7 of 16 Over the next 73 years various uses were made of the room:- storeroom, meeting room, breakfast room. None were successful. In 2015, to meet an increasing demand for verandah suites and to provide a suite for two adults and three children, the upstairs dining room was converted into a family suite with access to the front verandah via three sets of French doors. All the timber work in the 1925 section of the Heritage Hotel was originally stained in black japonica: picture rails, skirting boards, window frames and doors. The black japonica is so dark it hides the timber grains. Over the following 90 plus years, this black japonica stain blistered. Therefore as the 1925 hotel rooms were converted to suites, all the timbers were acid bathed to remove the black japonica. Then a clear stain was applied to the timbers to allow the timber grains to be seen. However, to retain one example of the 1925 original black japonica timber work, the black japonica staining on all timbers in the new family suite has been retained. The 1925 black japonica doors, picture rails and skirting boards have been retained. The newly installed tea making bench and bathroom mirror frame have also been stained in black japonica. Access to the verandah from the heritage family suite is through the French doors. The verandah is north facing and a relaxing place to sit in the sun and read a book or watch the world go by. Black Japonica Entry Door to the Heritage Family Suite French doors opening onto the verandah Heritage Family Suite
Page 8 of 16 Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Samples of motifs on the 1925 wardrobe doors 1925 Style Wrought Iron Beds in our Verandah rooms Original 1925 Wardobe The beds for the new family suite are wrought iron in the 1925 style and have been sourced by Loretta and John Rowe. Please note the original 1925 white plaster ceiling with black japonica timber squares which is how the downstairs bar and dining ceilings would have been in 1925. The bathroom white tiles are the same 3 inch by 6 inch size used in the 1925 bathrooms and have been sourced by Tony Thornhill. The new family suite, as with all suites in the 1925 section of the hotel have the original Queensland Maple wardrobes and dressing tables and these are still in prime condition. The wardrobes have a number of distinctive motifs on their doors, several of which are shown below.
Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Page 9 of 16 Original 1925 Dressing Table with three drawers and tilting mirror Example of timber moulding on the 1925 doors Original 1925 Wash Stand with basin, bowl, and chamber pot The dressing tables, made from Queensland Maple, had three drawers and a small mirror that could be tilted. The wash stands were the 1925 “ensuites”. They were made from Queensland Maple and had marble tops. A wash basin and jug were on top of the stand and a chamber pot was in the cabinet. A jug and chamber pot are displayed in the show case in the hotel’s bistro. Then proceed out of the Heritage Family Suite through the French doors onto the verandah to review the five verandah suites which, in 2006, were created from the ten 1925 verandah rooms. As pairs of hotel rooms were combined into suites, the spare door to the hall was used as the door to the bathroom in each suite. Note the elaborate moulding on the doors. The hotel rooms that were combined to create the hotel verandah suites were all 13 feet six inches long, and varied in width from 11 feet six to 14 feet six.
Page 10 of 16 Heritage Hotel Dorrigo The original 1925 stained timber ceilings made from local hoop pine have been retained in these suites. Proceed along the corridor past the back staircase to the 1936 extension to the hotel. This extension is known by the Feros family as the “New Wing”. This extension was built coming out of the depression and thus built more economically than the 1925 building except for the hot and cold water wash basins in each room. There is no verandah. This extension added 16 single rooms to the accommodation capacity where the rooms measured 13 feet six long and 9 feet six wide. Thus the suites in this section of the hotel are smaller than those in the 1925 section of the hotel. The original 1925 stained Hoop Pine timber ceilings The 1936 “New Wing” Steel framed bed in the 1936 “New Wing” with detail of tension adjustment
Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Page 11 of 16 Spa suite bathroom on ground floor 1925 Lock on bathroom door The doors to the rooms do not have the detailed moulding of the 1925 doors. The rooms in this section of the hotel were equipped with steel framed beds that had tensioning bolts so that sagging of the wire base could be taken up. In fact, the beds could be adjusted and so could the last 200 years! Spa suite 30 is at the end of the corridor where there were three hotel rooms. By combining these three rooms with the corridor to the rooms, a suite 6 metres by 5.5 metres was created with a king bed, table & chairs, its own spa bathroom and view across the Dorrigo valley. A similar spa suite was constructed on the ground floor by combining three hotel rooms (see photo below). Please note the door to the bath room which is the door from the 1925 bathroom, a small but again an example of economising in 1936. Note also the 1925 lock on this door that indicates whether the door is locked or open. Then proceed to the hotel’s Fernery Bistro.
Page 12 of 16 Heritage Hotel Dorrigo There are also two round tables from the 1925 dining room. Their tops are made from local hoop pine but their legs from Tasmanian Oak. The other round table with the pegged through tenon joints on its legs is from the 1925 upstairs writing room. The writing room was where commercial travellers in the 1920s came to do their paperwork after visiting clients in the district. It was near the top of the main staircase. Fernery Bistro - open 7 Days for lunch and dinner Family Bistro OPEN 7 DAYS Fresh Local Produce Menus that Change with the season 11:30am to 2:00pm 5:30pm to 8:00pm The Fernery Bistro is now the main area for dining. It is spacious, well-lit, and with an outdoor ambience. The Fernery Bistro was built in the 1980s between the three wings of the hotel over the area that had contained a sunken fernery garden for the hotel. The original verandah posts remain and can be seen inside the bistro. The rectangular tables in the Fernery Bistro are the original 1925 dining room tables. Their tops are made from local hoop pine and their legs from Queensland Maple.
Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Page 13 of 16 Sign on the Writing Room Door Original 1925 Rectangular Dining Room Table Hoop Pine top, Queensland Maple legs Round Table from the 1925 Dining Room Hoop Pine top,Tasmanian Oak legs Visit our Website www.heritagehoteldorrigo.com.au Round Table from the 1925 Writing Room Tasmanian Oak table top and legs Detail of the pegged through tenon joints in the Writing Room tables
Page 14 of 16 Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Heritage Hotel Dorrigo bar from 1925 to 1980s. Note the leadlight panels along the top of the bar. Drinking at Hotel Dorrigo from 1925 to 1980s When the Hotel Dorrigo was built, the custom was that only men were allowed in the public bar. The diagram below shows the large area enclosed by the bar for the bar staff. Outside the bar there was standing room for the men drinking in the bar. Separate from the bar area was a Ladies Lounge where women could sit and drink. The lounge also had a fireplace for warmth.
Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Page 15 of 16 Here is the first mine host of Hotel Dorrigo Michael Feros enjoying a drink with his customers. Drinks were served through the top half of the split door between the lounge and the bar. The top half of this split door had a half height servery window. A lady could raise the bottom half of the servery window, be served a drink, and then lower the bottom half of the window. All this could take place without the lady’s face being seen by the barman or anyone else. There was a second Ladies Lounge across the hall from the hotel reception office. This had a similar servery window through which bar staff could serve ladies in this seond lounge. But the second Ladies. Lounge did not have a fireplace. The original bar of the Heritage Hotel Dorrigo had a dispenser for serving Coffee Royale. This is the tall, shiny object next to the barman in the photo. The coffee was made on milk and a shot of rum was added to the coffee as it was served. Separation between male and female drinkers was a characteristic of Australian pubs, in contrast to pubs in England. Segregation continued into the 1970s. In 1965 two women, Merle Thornton and Rosalie Bogner, chained themselves to a public bar in Brisbane. At first the policeman asked them for the keys. They said they didn’t have them, and didn’t know where they were. The policeman then asked for a hammer and smashed the padlock, and asked the women to leave. They said that they wouldn’t leave, and didn’t want to leave, that they weren’t breaking any law, had read the act, had consulted a solicitor, and that it was quite within the law for them to remain in the bar as long as nobody served them with a drink. Eventually the policeman left, saying, ‘Stay as long as you like, have a good time, and don’t drink too much’. Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Corner Hickory & Cudgery Streets, Dorrigo NSW 2453 Good facilities are available meeting room projection screen meals accommodation Contact Mangement to make arrangements Phone: (02) 6657 2016 Email: enquiries@heritagehoteldorrigo.com.au Private Functions Wedding Receptions Conferences
Page 16 of 16 Heritage Hotel Dorrigo Heritage Hotel Motel Dorrigo Cnr Hickory &Cudgery Streets, DorrigoNSW 2453 Phone (02) 6657 2016 Email enquiries@heritagehoteldorrigo.com.au Fax (02) 6657 2059 Web www.heritagehoteldorrigo.com.au Heritage Hotel Dorrigo has won the Australian Good Food Guide Regional North Coast NSW from 2019-2024 Verandah Suites WiFi available
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