It’s time to fetch the parting glass because another iconic Aussie venue is shutting its doors.
The Curtin Hotel in Carlton announced on Tuesday evening that the owners of the building have decided to sell. The pub’s management team reckon it’ll be turned into apartments.
Boo! Hiss!
The pub is a bastion of Aussie music and political history. On its website, it describes itself as the “watering hole of Bob Hawke, students, unionists and of course music lovers and bands”.
Oh, to sink a filthy pint with Bob Hawke. What a concept. Obviously, the good people of Melbourne have taken the news with sad hearts.
The Curtin is up for sale and I am genuinely ropeable about it.
— Cam Tyeson (@camtyeson) February 15, 2022
Bob Hawke would be turning in his grave at the news of the John Curtin Hotel, his old watering hole, shutting down.
A terrible loss for Melbourne. https://t.co/DscrJe8XZ1
— Callum Godde (@calgodde) February 15, 2022
https://twitter.com/johnweber94/status/1493471612544626688?s=20&t=0Lr5aPQwOoMXaD4_Dqri1g
I have just been alerted to the fact the Curtin is closing.
Many, many a jug shared there.
— ange thompson (@AngeMaryClaire) February 15, 2022
The Curtin is the next in a line of iconic Aussie venues to close. Earlier this month, the Lansdowne Hotel in Sydney announced it would be shutting its doors.
In a Facebook post announcing the closure of The Curtin, the management team said that they’d be going out with a bang.
“It’s with an agonisingly sad heart that The John Curtin hotel’s time on this earth will come to an end,” they wrote.
“We (my home and work family) have a lease until the end of Nov this year. Beyond that, we have no idea what the developers will have planned for us.
“We will have a lot more to say on the matter down the line, but I assure you, we will go out with a BANG!”
This is grim. The Curtin’s an iconic Melbourne venue (and my favourite pub). https://t.co/ceoVkEoJvq
— grug stan (@grugstan) February 15, 2022
The John Curtin Hotel is being put up for sale. The current owners think it’ll likely become apartments. This is a pub with incredible union and political history, but it’s also one of the best live music venues in Melbourne. Truly shitty news pic.twitter.com/Ds4lgVWtZC
— Jeremy Story Carter (@jstorycarter) February 15, 2022
Maybe the government should simply house everyone for free, so venues and historic buildings wouldn’t keep being sold off to build apartments?
Journo and activist Andy Fleming called for the Victorian Trades Hall Council to pitch in and buy the pub because of its important trade unionist history.
.@VicUnions should pass the hat around & buy it. pic.twitter.com/30Iud5Zfhu
— Andy Fleming (@slackbastard) February 15, 2022
The Curtin will be open till November so head on down, grab a jub and soak in the vibes for a final time. Farewell to another irreplaceable Aussie great.
