The Prince Alfred Hotel at 619 Church St, Richmond is a legend of its street and suburb, a popular Richmond gathering place for at least 150 years.
The hotel we know today was rebuilt for publican William Fallon, thought to have been in 1899, but there are references to his hotel back in 1871 including a coronial inquest into the death of a local, “at the Prince Alfred Hotel, Church Street, Richmond”.
The hotel, a two-storey brick building in the Baroque revival style, was designed by prominent Melbourne architect and local dignitary John Koch.
Koch was born in Hamburg and arrived in Australia in 1855. Table Talk newspaper on 12 March 1903 noted: “In 1873 Mr Koch was appointed architect to the City Council of Melbourne… In 1873 he commenced practice as an architect for himself and gained several prizes in many competitions for designs of public buildings…. He holds the position of appointed architect to the Melbourne Hospital and Women’s Hospital.”
Koch was elected three times as member of the Richmond City Council and in 1882 was unanimously elected Mayor of the City of Richmond.” He died in 1928, aged 83.
By 1894, it’s certain that William Fallon was running the pub. Fallon is referenced often about his hotel from that date. On 17 December 1894, The Age, carried a story about a charge against him of trading on a Sunday (he was fined 40 shillings).
William Fallon was a well-liked publican who was active in expanding the hotel’s offerings. “Mr W. Fallon, the genial proprietor of the Prince Alfred Hotel, Church Street, had in addition to the other attractions at his palatial hotel, erected a first-class skittle alley… [and] a grand skittle tournament [will] take place on Thursday 26th.”
Sadly, in 1900 he was a victim of a brutal attack. The Richmond Guardian reported on 14 July that two men in the hotel “made a brutal attack on Mr Fallon, licensee of the Prince Alfred Hotel, and took possession of the premises for 20 minutes. With great difficulty several citizens prevented them from wrecking the contents of the bar”. The men were “forcibly ejected”.
The hotel has had many licensees, and several were written about in newspapers of the day, when publicans were very well-known, almost local celebrities.
That celebrity was accelerated if they played for the Richmond Tigers, as licensee Bert Boromeo did, continuing the long story of footballers becoming publicans.
The Richmond Guardian on 31 January noted: “Richmond supporters will be pleased to learn that Bert Boromeo has taken over the licence of the Prince Alfred Hotel in Church Street (near the bridge).”
Boromeo was a popular custodian of the hotel and Richmond folk were sorry to learn two years later he was leaving. “Admirers of a good sport will be sorry to hear that our big follower Bert Boromea is about to sever his connection with our district. Having sold out his business [presumably the hotel] he is about to transfer to the country again, the field of his early triumphs in the football arena.
“’Borro’ as he is familiarly termed, has made himself very popular during his sojourn among his fellow teammates and the Richmond public in general.”
In more modern times, The Prince Alfred – or “PAs” as it’s affectionately known – has been a popular venue for several generations.
Drop in and soak in the history in an exciting contemporary setting.
