Site of the former convict-built Royal Oak Hotel in Parramatta no …
Horrendous error sees pub built by convicts from the First Fleet demolished for absolutely no reason
- 200-year-old pub demolished to make way for light rail route
- The Royal Oak in Parramatta was built in 1813
- A historic stable and some weeds is all that remains
- Do you know more? Contact [email protected]
A historic pub built by convicts was torn down to make way for a new light rail line – but the demolition has turned out to be completely unnecessary.
The Royal Oak Hotel, in historic Parramatta, in Sydney[2]‘s west, was built by emancipated convicts and the children of those who came to Australian on the First Fleet in 1788.
But that history wasn’t enough to save the building, on the corner of Church and Ross Street, after the NSW Transport Department declared in May 2020 the site needed to go to widen roads before a new $2.4 billion light rail line was built.
The Royal Oak, known colloquially in the area as ‘the cradle of our nation’, had been a regular drinking hole for generations before it was destroyed.
Only half of the original site remains, with the Cobb & Co Stables now being surrounded by weeds and a security fence.
The Royal Oak Hotel moved across the road from the original site, but without the colonial charm for the original.
The site of one of Australia’s oldest pubs, the Royal Oak Hotel (pictured), has been described as ‘no longer of use’ after it was demolished to make way for the Parramatta light rail
The history of the Royal Oak Hotel, Parramatta
Emancipated convict, John Matcalf, built an inn and horse stables at the site in 1813
In 1823, John Tunks, son of First Fleeter William Tunks, built and ran the Shamrock, Rose and Thistle on the same site
The hotel would outlive numerous competitors at the intersection of Church and Ross St
It would later be named the Royal Oak Hotel in 1853
The hotel was a regular drinking hole for generations of locals who colloquially knew it as ‘the cradle of the nation’
Advertisement
The Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Sameer Pandey, – who came into office after the demolition – told 2GB[3] on Monday morning that the demolition was ‘disappointing for the community who fought so hard to save it’.
‘It is frustrating … and at the time, we opposed the demolition.
Suzette Meade, from the North Parramatta Residents Action Group, said a pub ‘older than the city of Perth’ has been wiped off the map.
‘It’s an all too familiar pattern in Parramatta … it’s exhausting … we want Parramatta to be a jewel, but there will soon be nothing left,’ she told Ben Fordham.
‘Parramatta is full of these amazing heritage items, but we are just bulldozing them and replacing them with plaques.’
A Transport NSW spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that a decision was made in 2020 to demolish the pub ‘to provide necessary space for two Parramatta light rail tracks, traffic lanes for vehicles and pedestrian footpaths on either side of the light rail’.
‘Over half of the Royal Oak building was on the road space required to allow for the new transport hub providing light rail, traffic lanes and footpath access for people to get to the many great places in Parramatta.
‘The building therefore had to be removed.
‘The remainder of the acquired land was not needed to allow the road to be widened for light rail, pedestrian and traffic flow.
The spokesperson said that Transport NSW had explored other ways to minimise damage to the hotel, and worked the the venue licensee to relocate to their new premises across the road.
‘Transport NSW did explore other options during the project’s Environmental Impact Statement to avoid or minimise impacts to the Royal Oak Hotel.
Despite the venue being listed as a local heritage site as an example of a Victorian era building, the hotel did not meet the criteria to be considered of State Heritage significance.
The first stage of the Parramatta light rail route will connect Westmead, Parramatta North, Parramatta CBD, Rosehill and Carlingford, and is suspected to commence transits in 2024.
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment lists seven criteria for state heritage significance, with only two needing to be met to be considered for listing as a state heritage site and receive greater protection.
They include if the item is important to NSW’s cultural or natural history, have a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group, or have a strong association with the life or works of a person of group of persons.
Heritage NSW and the Department of Planning and Environment reviewed the interpretation of the hotel’s heritage status and accepted it not to be of state heritage significance.
The stables were not demolished as they were deemed to be of state heritage significance for ‘historic, aesthetic, and representative values’.
Just half of the plot of land remains, with horse stables built in 1813 (pictured) now being surrounded by weeds and a security fence after the hotel was demolished
Of the many public cries to keep the pub was the Tunks Descendants Association, a group of direct relatives to the First Fleeter and the the original builder of the hotel whose families have remained as important members of the local community.
Gaye Bartholomew, a member of the association, was ‘amazed’ at the announcement to demolish the hotel, writing that the NSW State Government had not given credence to numerous requests from the public.
‘The Heritage significance detailed by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage … states the importance of the building as a wonderful example of a Victorian hotel and relatively rare in its age,’ Ms Bartholomew wrote.
They also claimed a proposal to move the hotel back 10 metres was knocked back, despite supposedly costing half of what the government paid to purchase and demolish the hotel.
‘This proposal was rejected as an unfeasible option with minimal investigation prior to the purchase,’ Ms Bartholomew claims.
‘A number of counsellors were very involved in the campaign. It was, again, a decision that we did not have much control on.’
Former Lord Mayor of Parramatta and the current state MP for Parramatta, Donna Davis, took aim at the Liberal Party for not supporting the local community in a speech to Parliament on June 29.
‘Without a whimper of support from the former Liberal member for Parramatta, and despite the community, local government, heritage advocates and the Labor State Opposition at the time opposing the demolition of the Royal Oak, the bulldozers were brought in and the pub came down after dark on 19 May 2020,’ Ms Davis said.
‘The former Government did nothing to protect them, and the site of the former hotel was simply deemed ‘residual land’.
‘Currently, the site appears abandoned and covered with weeds, standing as a constant reminder of the previous Government’s callous disregard for Parramatta’s heritage and community.’
An inn was built in 1813 by emancipated convict, John Metcalf, before the son of a First Fleeter, John Tunks, built what would be later known as the Royal Oak Hotel in 1823 (pictured, the hotel in 1864)
Both the Minister and Lord Mayor have urged Transport NSW to cooperate with Parramatta council to relinquish the site of the hotel to become public land.
They wish to turn the plot of land into a public park to memorialise the hotel and maintain a connection to its roots in Australian history.
Transport Minister, Jo Haylen, told Daily Mail Australia: ‘While I understand the logic behind creating additional space for vehicles and light rail to drive side by side, the previous Government could have been more creative’.
‘While the pub is sadly now lost to us, it is nice to see that it has been reborn just across the road in a new building.
‘As for the remaining half-block, I know the Member for Parramatta Donna Davis and the City of Parramatta are very keen to see it turned into useful public space.
‘This is something we’ll be exploring now that we’ve inherited this project from the previous Government and I’ve asked Transport for NSW to have further discussions with Council to see what can be done.’
The spokesperson for Transport NSW confirmed the state government will ‘explore options in consultation with the City of Parramatta Council and the community for the future use of the residual land resulting from the removal of the Royal Oak Hotel’.