Greyhound racing
was a popular sport in St Kilda in the mid-nineteenth
century and this hotel, opened in 1853, found an eager promoter of holiday race
meetings in its first licensee John Broad.The second hotel in St Kilda to boast a
painting of two greyhounds coursing a hare (the first was the Hare and the
Hounds in Barkly Street), this hotel geographically marks the beginning of
Brighton Road from St Kilda Road as it once separated
it from High Street (now known as St Kilda Road).
Caroline Fraser held the license from 1865 until
1867 when she applied to transfer the license of the Greyhound to premises that
she had purchased immediately opposite. The arrival of the new hotel, InvernessCastle, was heralded in
the Argus (20/2/1867).The
auction of the Greyhound Hotel took place on 28
August 1867. A license was refused for the premises on
3 May 1867.John Hyndman, perhaps a relative of hotelier
Joseph Hyndman who later held the lease, was fined for assault on 22 December 1868, the second time in only a
matter of days. The hotel was auctioned again on 18 October 1871, with furniture fittings and billiard table
included.
In 1886, ex-St Kilda councillor and publican
James Mason is said to have persuaded the St Kilda
Council to build its new town hall opposite the Greyhound with a £1000.0s.0d
donation towards a new organ for the building.Those familiar with the site of the St Kilda
Town Hall can attest to the apparent success of his inducement!
Owner JW Ryan renovated the building in 1938 with cement rendered
brickwork and tiles that are still evident today.This reconstruction was most likely in
response to the development of classy upmarket hotels like the Prince of Wales
and the George, as well as the erection of new apartment blocks in Blessington
Street.Many
hotels across Australia were renovated
in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
The seamy post-war reputation of St Kilda
clung particularly to the Greyhound Hotel, given its proximity to the most
prominent zone for sex workers.In the
1980s, the ‘two chefs’ who prominently advertised on the façade of the building
that theirs was the greatest pub fare in Melbourne redeemed its
reputation! While its kitchen has since closed, its popularity as a venue for
live music has not waned, and it has become legendary for featuring drag shows
three nights a week.Since the recent
renovation of the Prince of Wales, the Greyhound has attempted to gather the live
music and gay crowds.
