History+of+The+Light+Brigade
First Record | The Name | Early Days | North Bondi SLSC | Current Building | Land Title Search
First Record
According to the Sands Directory, the location seems to have first been occupied in 1887 as being on South Head Road (now Oxford Street), the hotelier is noted as being Marie Mayo and the hotel named the "South Pacific Hotel".
The hotel continued to trade under the name "South Pacific Hotel" until 1900 which is when the "Light Brigade Hotel" was first listed, with Eva Stebbings as the proprietor. It is listed under Oxford Street Paddington as of 1905 and up until the Sands ceased publication for the years 1932/3. Proprietors during that period included: John Higgins (1903-4); William J Bowman (1905); Harold L Street (1910); Ellen Keyes (1915); Joseph Murphy (1920), Norman Birnie (1925); Johanna Fitzpatrick (1930-32/33).
The Name
It is unclear as to how the hotel came to be known as the "Light Brigade". Presumably, given its proximity to the Victorian Barracks, someone in Tooth & Co (owners of the hotel at the time) were influenced by the Lord Tennyson poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade". It may have also been prompted by the news of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's sons appointment as Governor General, although it would seem somewhat premature, as he wasn't appointed until 1902-3.
Early Days
The Light Brigade Hotel gives evidence of the subdivision plans, the development of the locality and the development and changes to the hotel industry. The site is situated on the most southwestern corner of the Cooper Estate, a land grant of 1130 acres made to Daniel Cooper and Solomon Levey on 22 March 1830. Later they purchased the estate from Captain Piper who was an early Sydney entrepreneur and official. Jersey Road was originally called Point Piper Road and was the vehicular access to the Piper Estate. The name was changed after Paddington's and Woollahra's subdivision.
Oxford Street Paddington was formerly called South Head Road. It was one of the first major road projects in the history of New South Wales. It was the first route to the lookout and signal station situated at South Head. It was built using aboriginal tracks across the sandstone ridges that lead to South Head. The road was a popular promenade early in the colony's history and this led to the establishment of the first businesses on the street. Hotels were established to service people who passed by. The area became a shopping precinct because it was a major thoroughfare connecting Bondi, Bronte and Vaucluse by tramlines and other vehicular transport. The subdivision of large estates which had been established in the area since the 1830 led to the immediate area becoming a high density residential area. Most of this development occurred between 1870 and 1900.
The reputation of the area which had begun as a middleclass precinct was impacted by the economic depression of the 1890s and through changes in fashion. The houses in the area were mostly rented and when fashions in architecture started to favour freestanding houses in garden suburbs, linked by sophisticated public transport systems, Paddington and West Woollahra stopped attracting middleclass renters. The area became working class and had not fully recovered by the time of The Great Depression of the 1930s. Houses were not properly maintained because of the low rents they generated and this was compounded by the Fair Rents Act which froze rental rates.
The status of the area changed when middleclass people rediscovered the charm and convenience of the area and bought terrace houses, splitting up the rental estates in the 1960s. Now the immediate precincts surrounding the subject site are highly sought after for the upper middleclass.
North Bondi SLSC
In May 1906, a group of men met at the Light Brigade and formed the Bondi Surf and SocialClub. Their meeting was brought about by the witnessing of a rescue off Bondi Baths, and the thought of training good swimmers in the basics of surf rescue were instrumental in this gathering. Operations commenced in the season of 1906/07 from a tent on the hill near Ben Buckler. The Club changed its name to North Bondi SLSC after about 5 years to be taken more seriously in the fledgling life saving movement.
Current Building
The current hotel was constructed circa 1940. It is thought that a fire destroyed the original wooden structure.
The hotel is an Art Deco or Inter-War Functionalist style hotel. The façade of the hotel is the main surviving fabric of the building since its original construction. The Light Brigade has two entrances from Oxford Street and three from Jersey Road. Originally the ground floor was split into two bars, the main bar for men and a ‘Ladies bar' which had entrances from Oxford Street and Jersey Road.
The bar design was typical of refurbished bars designed for Tooth and Co. when they sought to monopolise the beer market in competition with the Resch's brewery and create a brand style for their hotels.
The bar was redesigned after the introduction of 6.00pm closing (commonly referred to as the "Six o'clock swill") for that pattern of drinking required larger bar space. The hotel was built in a time when the breweries of Sydney were in intense competition for the beer drinking market. Tooth & Co. and Resch's especially, were trying to create monopolies. Hotels were operated on a lease from a major brewery and were only allowed to sell the beer made by that brewery.
Land Title Search
- The site is part of a 1130 acre grant to Daniel Cooper and Solomon Levey on 22 March 1830. Daniel Cooper later gained full control of the estate. It was inherited by his son after his death.
- Title Holder Ellen May Hughes wife of William O'Gorman Hughes of Paddington, dentist and Charlotte McEuilly 14 January 1908
- Lease Holder Tooth and Company 15 May 1913
- Title Holder Mary Stevenson wife of John James Stevenson of Darlinghurst, Gentleman 12 November 1919
- Lease Holder Tooth and Co. Ltd 30 December 1909
- Title Holder Tooth and Company Ltd 8 September 1924
- Lease Holder Norman Birnie 30 September 1924
- Lease Holder William James Fitzpatrick 2 August 1934
- Lease Holder William Lime McKay 15 October 1940
- Lease Holder Thomas Jones Ellis 28 September 1945
- Lease Holder Thomas Jones Ellis 20 September 1948
- Lease Holder Annie Williams 16 May 1952
- Lease Holder Neil Clarence Smith 24 Sept 1954
- Lease Holder Neil Clarence Smith 11 Sept 1959
- Lease Holder Neil Clarence Smith 24 Oct 1962
- Lease Holder Neil Clarence Smith 29 Jan 1966
- Lease Holder Neil Clarence Smith 10 Sept 1968
- Lease Holder Neil Clarence Smith 7 Oct 1971
- Lease Holder Neil Clarence Smith 19 Sept 1974
- Lease Holder Neil Clarence Smith 27 Jan 1976
- Lease Holder Raymond Leonard Aston 6 Sept 1978
- Lease Holder Owen Hawkins Paton 12 Oct 1987