From Silver Service to Golden Anniversary

May 2005 saw the 50^th Anniversary for The Manly Hotel. Many characters have left their imprint over the years as MICHELE TAYLOR found when researching it’s history.

In 1907 Wynnum had two hotels servicing its citizens while Manly did not seem to want one as Tuesday February 5 1907 saw a vote against a proposed hotel in the area.

In 1912 Mary Todd came to own the corner of Cambridge Pde and Stratton Tce and the adjacent blocks fronting Stratton Tce, onto which she built the Canberra Coffee Palace. This building served as a guest or boarding house and refreshments.

Mary Todd passed away in 1943 and the property changed hands five times. Many including Mary had a vision of a hotel for the corner of Cambridge Parade and Stratton Tce and various applications were lodged for a license but it was Stephano (Steve) Degiovanni’s 1954 £3000 pound tender that succeeded. Earlier that year the Commission had dismissed 22 objections. Degiovanni and Robert Scagliotti purchased the site occupied by the Canberra Coffee Palace, known by this time as the Maranoa Guest House.

The original Liquor License was transferred from the Royal Hotel Grandchester to Stephano Degiovanni as from 3/05/55.

Degiovanni already owned the block next to the guest house and on 14 July 1954, a few months after the successful tender, Degiovanni & Roberto Scagliotti bought the corner site. The Canberra Coffee Palace’s 2 storey wooden building was torn down and the materials used for the Manly Bowls club and greenskeepers house. Foundations were laid and construction began on The Manly Hotel in April 1954.

The Herald reported the plans on Feb 3 1954 with the headline ‘Manly Hotel in business by Easter 1955, Garden Frontage Likely’.

The £65,000 building was designed and built by Degiovanni then aged 62 who had been a building contractor for 34 years and had sold the Ship Inn in 1951. He used bricks and tiles from his Breakfast Creek factory extensively through the hotel.

Construction didn’t go without incident when, in an effort to meet his construction deadline, the contractor pushed ahead while the brickwork was too ‘green’. Wal Howard and five other workmen were working high on an apron above Stratton Terrace when the brickwork gave way. Wal was lucky to be standing near an open window and jumped inside. The other workmen plummeted down in a terrible clutter of bricks and concrete . Incredibly there were no serious injuries. The scaffolding crashed through powerlines that had been switched off for safety reasons just hours before the accident.

Wal Howard along with such names as George Andrews, Harry Bell, Eric Walmsley, Crowther brothers & Vince Sturdy worked on the Hotel during its construction. Wal stayed on as cellarman.

The night before the official opening free beer was served to the public. Local resident George Andrews has the honour of being the first carpenter to start the demolition of the old Canberra Coffee Palace and the last to down tools on the new Manly Hotel. He then jumped behind the bar and was serving beer. He remembers there being hundreds packed in the public bar with people 3 to 4 people deep at the bar. His career as a bartender was shortlived however returning to the maintenance of the hotel the next day.

The Manly Hotel was officially opened by the Attorney-General Mr Power on the evening of Wednesday 4^th May 1955 with over 100 guests. Originally the luxury hotel accommodated 35 guests and had six self contained suites. Local labour was used in the construction and district firms supplied considerable building supplies. The Wynnum, Manly & Lota population at this time was almost 30,000.

Mr Degiovanni’s son Mario and his wife Babe ran the hotel which offered silver service to the house guests.

Through the 50s such things as Ambulance Benefits and Fashion Parades were held in the lovely surroundings of the Ballroom. Every Saturday night there was a show and 10 shilling entry fee. Today this area of the hotel houses its administration.

From 1958 Laurie & Pearl Coleman ran the hotel passing it onto Edna & Bill Edwards in 1964.

On 17 March 1970 the License was transferred to the McDonald family who still holds it to this day. While Stewart and Dulcie have since passed away three of their children continue to run the hotel. Jenny Bradley, Doug and Sandy McDonald have proudly seen many changes over the years. While the exterior has had minor updating the interior has seen extensive renovations and additions.

It is believed Jack Fairweather had a general store on the site which the hotel’s liquor barn now rises from, while T.H. Seden’s old Grocery, Hardware, Produce building was on the site of the Hotel’s Cambridge parade car park which was built around 1981.

When asked about the anniversary Mr Sandy McDonald said ’50 years is quite a long time for a business to survive and maintain its relevance to its community.

We have survived many a challenge over the years and I am sure that with forward thinking and our family of workers we will be around for a long time to come’

Special thanks go to all those who gave their time and shared their wonderful stories assisting in this research.