Windsor's Watering Holes

Macquarie Arms Hotel 1815

In the early days of the colony, the popular meeting place was the Inn. Because of the lack of literacy, it was usual to give a vivid title which could be easily illustrated. Windsor can boast of having over 50 such watering holes between 1798 and 1850. Licensed businesses were -

Bush, Wheatsheaf, Coach & Horses (1798); Plough, Royal Oak (1811); Lord Nelson (1813); Macquarie Arms (1817); Lord Nelson (1818); Green Dragon (1820); Hope & Anchor (1821); Green Lamp (1827); Windsor Hotel (1828); Red Lion, White Swan, Dover Wagon,

Barley Mow (1830); Rising Sun (1831); St Patrick, Kings Arms, King William IV (1832); Currency Lass, Cross Keys (1833); White Hart, Australian (1834); Bricklayers Arms, Brickmakers Arms (1835); Currency Lad, Kings Head (1836); Daniel O’Connell Inn,

Erin go bragh, Horse & Jockey (1837); Industry, Help me through the World (1838);

White Bear, Cricketers Arms (1839); Butchers Arms, Hole in the Wall, Jim Crow (1840); William IV, Steam Packet (1842); Rose-Shamrock & Thistle (1843); Bell Inn, Commercial Hotel, Peninsular Hotel, Dog and Stile, Star (1845); Windsor Hotel, Jockey,

Bird in Hand (1846); Macquarie Inn, Barraba Hall Hotel, Sir John Barleycorn (1847);

Fitzroy Hotel (1849).

To illustrate the humour of one of the signs, Help me through the World (1838) comprised a globe of the World with head and shoulders sticking out one side and a pair of legs on the opposite side.

Trevor Patrick is a local historian of the north-west of Sydney, Australia. His latest book, In Search of the Pennant Hills, recounts some of these stories (and others) in more detail.