Forrest Tavern

Statement of Significance

Forrest Tavern is a landmark on the Donnybrook/Boyup Brook Road and is a significant social outlet in the Mumballup area.

Physical Description

Forrest Tavern is a single storey rendered brick building with a corrugated iron roof and a deep front verandah in the Victorian Regency style (although constructed in the Federation era). The roof is hipped at its west end and gabled at its east end and has a central louvred Dutch gable.

The original long rectangular building had a passage way down the centre. On the eastern side was the main bar, the bar parlour, a bedroom ,the large dining room and the kitchen - the western side was the lounge bar, one small bedroom and two large bedrooms and an open space. There were front and back verandahs. All rooms except the main bar and kitchen had corner fireplaces. The building was made with locally hand-made bricks and pit sawn timber. At the rear of the main building was a six stall wooden stable (with accommodation for two buggies) and a wooden 'garage'.

Over the years the front four rooms have been combined to make a large lounge bar area; the two large bedrooms on the west side have been divided to make three smaller bedrooms and a kitchen (the old kitchen area, at the back of the building, is now a storeroom), bathroom, shower and private toilet have been installed in the open space opposite the old kitchen. A washhouse on the north east corner of the building has been superseded by a laundry at the western end of the back verandah. A public ladies toilet has been built on the western side of the lounge bar area; a (detached) public gents toilet is located on the western side of the building.

When the internal alterations were done, all the original pressed metal ceilings were retained and it is very easy to discern the original layout and volumes. The corner fireplaces are still extant, with the two in the lounge area still being used. Likewise, when the main bar area was added, the external appearance was retained, apart from the bull-nosed verandah roof which is now a skillion.

History

In 1898, a meeting of local settlers at Preston Agricultural Hall (Yabberup Hall) agreed a staging place was needed for travelers in the Preston Valley between Donnybrook and Boyup Brook. In July 1906, Thomas Bushe Jones sub-divided some land near the junction of the Preston/Collie and Donnybrook/Blackwood roads at Mumballup, and William ‘Baby’ Ogden purchased 2 acres (8 h.a.). In February 1907, he applied for a Provisional Publican’s Licence for a hotel to be built at a cost of £800 ($1,600), which local settlers said was much needed. Local brick-maker Samuel Chandler, who had built houses for Alfred and Edward Chapman, built the hotel. It comprised a lounge bar and a public bar, a parlour, large dining room, four bedrooms, kitchen, pantry and bathroom, with verandahs at the front and rear and outbuildings including stables in the rear yard. On its completion, in September 1907, Ogden was granted a Publican’s General Licence, but in December, he applied for a Wayside House Licence in lieu and leased Forrest Wayside House, as it was initially known, to Benjamin Oliver. It fulfilled a much needed want for travelers and local settlers in the district and was popular with people from Collie, where trading was restricted on Sundays. Ogden’s sister Anne and her husband William ‘Bill’ Alcorn were the licensees (1919-23), then their son, Charles (1923-29) and with his wife, Jessie Matilda (née Gardiner; 1929-32). In 1933, Arnold Wilfred Bartle and Ann Norah Bartle bought the hotel and under their ownership there was a succession of licensees. At some date the end of the rear verandah was enclosed for a laundry and later a wash-house was built adjoining the verandah. The two large bedrooms were partitioned to provide four smaller rooms at some date before the 1970s, when licensee Hugh Foster made major alterations and additions around the period that Forrest Hotel became Forrest Tavern, although it continued to be referred to simply as ‘the pub’. These works included an addition to the east comprising a new saloon bar (with a servery opening to the beer garden), a cool room and a store, and at the west ladies’ toilets opening from the lounge bar. In the late 1970s, under Bradley Gardiner, walls were wholly or partly removed to create a large more open lounge area; the adjoining bedroom on the west was converted to a kitchen and the original kitchen to a store-room. In 1987, John and Lesley Butler purchased the hotel. Further alterations under them included removing most of the passage walls to enlarge the lounge. Through into the early 2000s, Forrest Tavern has continued as a tavern, providing a social venue serving meals and liquor for local people and visitors.

Integrity/Authenticity

Original Materials: Most
Modifications: Additions

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.