The Curse of the Crown and Anchor Hotel
Never before had there been a hotel in the South Australian
colony so well known as a place of sin and debauchery as the Crown and Anchor
Hotel in Adelaide’s east end.
Right from its humble beginnings in 1853, through to its
present incarnation, it has attracted Adelaide’s downtrodden, the unusual and
the misfits, but most would not have it any other way!
The hotel has always been a popular venue but has had a
tumultuous past, with the majority of its publicans between 1853 and 1953 being
charged by police for illegal after-hours sales of alcohol, or illegal
gambling.
The hotel also has a long history of death, with many fatal
accidents happening in the street outside the hotel, or to its residents, as
they were out visiting other locations in Adelaide. This earned the hotel a reputation for being cursed during the 1890s.
The Crown and Anchor was built in 1853 and later rebuilt in
1880. The hotel has a long and sordid history of being an illegal gambling den,
but in recent times it is best known as a live music venue, with the colloquial
moniker “The Cranka”.
The following are just a few of the notable crimes and deaths associated
with the hotel;
In 1871, the hotel's
landlady was arrested for stealing another woman’s silk dress!
In 1887, an inquest was heard inside the hotel concerning the death of James Dooley, who had been run over by a horse cart on the street outside. Dooley suffered a broken leg, broken hip, smashed jaw and smashed skull, it was assumed the cart, laden with 4 tons of wood rolled over his body and crushed him. There was an indication Dooley may have been murdered, but without sufficient evidence, his death was declared an accident.
In 1887, an inquest was heard inside the hotel concerning the death of James Dooley, who had been run over by a horse cart on the street outside. Dooley suffered a broken leg, broken hip, smashed jaw and smashed skull, it was assumed the cart, laden with 4 tons of wood rolled over his body and crushed him. There was an indication Dooley may have been murdered, but without sufficient evidence, his death was declared an accident.
Mr McLaren died in the hotel on the 4th of October 1885
after a long illness.
In 1894, Barney Miller, a Victorian staying in Adelaide for
two months, drank himself to death in the Crown and Anchor. He was found dead in his bed, and later a Doctor declared he had died from heart failure from excessive drinking!
Death visited the hotel again in 1900 when Charles
Siggers passed away in a private hospital nearby, and his wake was held at the
hotel, with his funeral cortege leaving the pub for West Terrace Cemetery on the 8th of October 1900.
In 1903, a resident at the Hotel, Marion Mackay was struck by a fire truck on King William
Street, dying the next day from her extensive injuries.
In 1908, a painter named Robert Peters was found dead in a
shed on the premises by owner Mrs Calnan. Later that same year, Mrs Calnan’s
husband, John, passed away upstairs in the hotel at the age of 38, they had
only been married for two years.
In 1927, another publican passed away in the hotel. George
Owens died at the age of 53 from a heart attack, leaving behind his wife and
three children to run the business.
Researched and written by Allen Tiller.
© 2018 Allen Tiller
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Selected Bibliography:
1894 'SUDDEN DEATH IN AN
HOTEL.', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 10 July, p. 7. , viewed 02 Jan 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article25730227
1934 'TOOK BARREL FROM
HOTEL YARD', News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), 17 October, p. 3. , viewed 02 Jan 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128411035
1941 'FINES IMPOSED ON EIGHT
MEN', News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), 21 April, p. 3. , viewed 02 Jan 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131965630
1946 'FINES FOR HOTEL
OFFENCES', News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), 1 July, p. 3. , viewed 02 Jan 2018, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130850532
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