Formerly 76 Clarendon Street, corner Grant Street, South Melbourne; now a
part of the Westgate Freeway
MEL: 2F C11
Emerald Hotel
(Liardet water-colour), c.1850
One of four hotels
built on allotments purchased in the first land sales in Emerald Hill in 1852;
the Emerald was founded by Charles Blan, and was the first licensed hotel in
Emerald Hill. Frequented by a higher class of Diggers, it was notable for its
deep verandah and American bowling alley, which was used as a dance hall, where
men danced with pipes and women with champagne tumblers in their hands. The
Emerald was amongst thirteen hotels closed at the end of 1908 by the Licences
Reduction Board, which began hearings in South Melbourne
at the beginning of that year.
