| Address: | 18 Hesse Street |
|---|---|
| Suburb: | Queenscliff |
1870
Built in 1870 by Mr William Sheehan, the Victoria Hotel’s lustre was short lived due to increased competition from more celebrated venues established less than a decade later – the Esplanade Hotel in particular – and has undergone notable redevelopments in order to preserve its relevance.
An advertisement in the Queenscliff Sentinel December 1882 notes:
‘Sheehan’s Victoria Hotel … repainted and decorated, and an addition of twelve lofty rooms with balcony command the one of the finest views of the cliff.’
As the earliest image indicates, the northern elevation – hidden behind the applied street façade – had a wide verandah that presumably once had uninterrupted views over Swan Bay prior to adjacent developments impeding this. It is thought the hotel’s fortunes were little – if temporarily- improved post works with Sheehan transferring his license and acquiring the Esplanade Hotel in the mid to late 1880s.
1960 saw the façade remodelled in cream brick, yet by the mid 1970s, the venue was de-licensed and temporarily housed the public library collection while the Library itself underwent service works. The mid 90s saw the façade once more remodelled in a greater likeness of the original scheme yet it appears to be of much wider proportions.
Somewhat ironic, as of October 2015, the Victoria Hotel has reopened with the former licensee of the Esplanade Hotel having relocated.
(Queenscliffe Historical Museum, 2015).
‘Victoria Hotel’ with the original front, n.d. (Image courtesy of the Queenscliffe Historical Museum).
Sheehan’s ‘Victoria Hotel’ Advertisement. (Queesncliff Sentinel, 2 December 1882, image courtesy of Trove, National Library of Australia).
‘Hotel Victoria – Hesse Street, Queenscliff. J Alexander Prop’, ca. 1909. Postcard 8.8 x 13.8cm. (Image copyright of the State Library of Victoria).
‘Victoria Hotel’ with remodelled façade, 1974. (Image courtesy of the Queenscliffe Historical Museum).
‘Victoria Hotel’ undergoing restoration works, 1993. (Image courtesy of the Queenscliffe Historical Museum).
