The Union Hotel, when E A (Esau Abbiss) Peel brought it from Pine Hill in 1886, was called the Royal Hotel. The name changed when Joe and Margaret Edg took over ownership in the late 1880s.
Royal Hotel
In 1885, Esau Abbiss Peel applied for a licence to operate the Royal Hotel as a public house at the Alice Crossing (a railway siding about 50 km east of Barcaldine).
In December 1886, E A Peel applied for a licence for the Royal Hotel to operate in Barcaldine. He had moved the hotel from Jericho and set up on the corner of Oak and Maple streets. He also had stables and a wheelwright business on the site.
1887 – Mr. E A Peel was the Licensee of the Royal Hotel. (In 1892 Mr. Peel purchased Emerson’s Hotel and renamed it the Royal Hotel – the current hotel on the site is the Artesian Hotel).
11 Nov 1887 – the License renewal was granted to Mr. E A Peel.
Union Hotel
By 1889, Mr. Joe Edg and Margaret Edg are the Licensees of the hotel and changed the name to the Union Hotel.
During the Edg’s tenure, union tickets were issued at the hotel to shearers, hence the name Union Hotel.
During this time the roof interior was lined with calico and at times leaves would weigh down the calico, requiring it to be emptied.
In April 1890, Mrs. Margaret Edg applied to transfer the license to Mr. Hubert O’Kane of Springsure. The application was refused and the hotel closed.
By February 1891, though, Mrs. Edg had given over the Union Hotel to Mr. Hubert O’Kane, and he held the licence by April 1891
By July 1891, the hotel license had been granted to Mr. John Tomi, and Mrs. Margaret Irwin purchased the hotel. In Oct 1891, the license was transferred from Mr. John Tomi to Mrs. Margaret Irwin.
14 January 1896 – the License was transferred from Mr. Thomas O’Neill to Mr. Frederick William Hudson
January 1897 – the License was again transferred, this time from Frederick William Hudson to Mr. Michael Nelson
In April 1897, Mr. Michael Nelson sold his interest in the hotel to Mrs. Mary McInerney (nee Affoo).
R A Page had the Union Oyster and Supper Rooms, and was still there in 1905.
1898 – Mrs. Mary McInerney was the licensee.
The stables at the back of the hotel were still functioning in 1900.
In February 1898, Mary transferred the licence to Mr. E Manning of Longreach.
After William Elliott, the next generation of owners were the Kuders. They purchased the hotel in 1906. That same year, it appears Chris Kuder became ill but had recovered by the end of the year.
Christoph and Mary Ann ran the hotel until his death in 1912, when Mary Ann continued the business until she died in 1922.
The Kuder family were proprietors and licensees until 1949 when they sold to Mr Ramsden.
John Kuder held the licence from 1923.
The Brisbane Courier, 9 June 1924
‘… John Kuder, licensee of the Union Hotel, was charged with having his house open for the sale of liquors on Sunday afternoon, May 4. The police evidence showed that a small bar door yielded to a push, and the condition of the bar disclosed evidence that liquors had been served. Accused, with two witnesses, sought to prove that accused was at a football match from 2:30 to 4 o’clock, and he said that he had the keys of the bar in his possession all the afternoon, and had left the bar doors fastened. The magistrate was satisfied that the appearance of the bar indicated the sale of liquors, and fined defendant £5 and costs’.
In 1939, an application was made to add a ‘front portion’ to the hotel. The work was carried out by Meacham & Leyland. A new hotel serving bar was also built.
In 1945, extensive remodelling was undertaken and accommodation added. The kitchen was the only area retained from the original building.
In 1949, after being in the hotel since 1900 as licensees and then the owners, the Kuder family (James, John and Annie Catherine) sold it to Mr Ramsden.
The hotel was owned by Henry Thomas Hayes in 1953. The old boarding rooms were pulled down and a more modern building erected.
In 1954, Henry Thomas Hayes was the hotel keeper and Winifred Elizabeth Harris was manageress.
Mr. Ben Pelizzari took over as Proprietor and Licensee
In 1958, the Union was the first hotel in the Central West fitted with a cold room.
Mrs. Mary Frances Sohier is manageress.
1963 – Darall William Seir is licensee with Beryl Genevieve Seib.
From 1964-1970, Patrick George Ogden (licensee) and Olive Clare Ogden leased the hotel from Mr. Ben Pelizzari. When they bought the Globe Hotel in 1970, Sergio (Serge) Stefando Pelizzari (son of Ben Pelizzari) and Neroli Mae (nee Churchill) returned to run the Union.
They are the current licensees, and undertook renovations to convert the boarding rooms into motel accommodation. The ‘Witches’ Kitchen’ still operates.
In 2017, renovations were once again undertaken in the bar.
