Contrary to what I wrote on the Women in Pubs page, further research has revealed that the first woman to be granted a general publican's license, whether in her own right or otherwise, was Amelia Allen.
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From late 1839 until 1841 Ms Allen presumably leased and licensed Allen's Family Hotel, almost certainly on Town Acre 251 near the northern corner of West Terrace and Franklin Street, formerly Joseph Barnett's The Adelaide and Port Lincoln Hotel and before that William Shephard's The Adelaide Tavern. The Bench of Magistrates formally transferred the licence for the Adelaide and Port Lincoln Hotel from Barnett to Allen on 9 December 1839 [SA Gazette, 18 December 1839, p.2]. She officially renamed the hotel and relicensed it for the following twelve months on 18 March 1840 [SA Gazette, 19 March 1840, p.3]. By July 1840, the name of the hotel reverted to the "Port Lincoln Hotel", although Allen retained the license; however she seems to have left the hotel by March 1841 after which the licensing became sporadic and appears to have lapsed completely in about 1850.
Amelia Allen's publican's license in her own right therefore predates by about 24 years Eliza Linn's license for the Lady Daly Hotel at Hindmarsh granted on 6 April 1864 [SA Gazette, 7 April 1864, p.276]. It also predates by at least 4 months Sarah Chapman's license of The Joiners' Arms in Morphett Street, effectively inherited after the death of her husband in November 1839, but not formalised until March 1841 and then transferred to Thomas Ford in late June 1841. |
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The location of the Port Lincoln Hotel ("74") in 1842, according to Kingston's Map of Adelaide, South Australia, shewing the nature and extent of every building in the city..., 1842. This is almost certainly the location of Allen's Family Hotel. [SLSA C 1165] Click on image to enlarge. |
[Posted 16 November 2024]