The Claremont Hotel is a much-loved icon of Perth, a meeting place for several generations of pub-goers.
The West Australian noted in 2013: “Claremont social gatherings have pivoted around the hotel since it opened and much of WA’s history has been debated across its famous bars.”
The first hotel on the site opened in 1886 and traded for only a few years before becoming a grocery store and later a bakery. In 1902 it was demolished for reasons unknown.
The re-built version of the hotel soon became a local landmark. On 25 April 1908 the Empire newspaper under a headline ‘A Moden Hostelry’ published a detailed and praiseworthy article about the hotel, providing fascinating insight into the times.
“Nothing could be more handy to the tourist or the visitor than the Claremont Hotel, situated as it is just opposite the railway station.
“Built some years ago… it was finished with a completeness and elegance which then seemed rather ahead of the times.”
It went on: “The exterior is that of a large, roomy, ornate hotel in a commanding position [and] the interior is more than comfortable. No expense was spared in its construction. That is at once evident in the front bar, a large handsome saloon, the ceiling finished with all the skill of the plasterer’s art.”
The article mentions the hotel’s regular clientele and one of the attractions.
“At the rear of the bar where yachting, rowing, football and other sporting clubs assemble, the telephone [is] laid on for their use.
“On the other side of the entrance hall is the billiard room and saloon bar. In the former is installed one of Alcock’s full-size tables. One thing of note about it is that the green cloth – and a splendid bit of cloth it is – came from the wreck of the R.M.S. Orizaba, which foundered off Garden Island.”
It’s an intriguing detail. The Orizaba, a Royal Mail Ship, was wrecked on 16th February 1905 off Rockingham, WA. On her approach to Fremantle bushfire smoke obscured the coast and the captain lost his bearings.
The ship went aground in 6.1 metres (20 ft) of water on Five Fathom Bank, west of Garden Island. All 160 people on board were evacuated safely.
For many years until the early 80s the wreck was used as a demolitions training site for the armed forces until a request from the museum, to seek an alternative training site as the Orizaba reached a protected heritage status.
How the piece of cloth found its way to the Claremont Hotel is not known.
The article noted a common practice at the time of hotels in temperate climates: accommodating people on the veranda during busy periods.
On the hotel’s “broad” balcony, 62 beds were made up for overflow, “for at that time of year sleeping in the clear sweet air is in itself a luxury”.
The balcony also had other uses: as a venue for entertainment. Sometimes “the piano is drawn out from the drawing room and small dance and card parties are held in the evenings. Such a veranda is at all [times] one of the most desirable acquisitions to a house, and happy in homelike comfort is the visitor who from the dry interior or as far up the Nor-west coast puts in a few weeks recuperation at the Hotel Claremont.”
But the hotel offered the visitor even more. “There are spacious yards and stabling, and even a complete plant where [licensee] Mr Orchard compounds his own cordials and syrups.”
In the early years, the hotel took the name of its licensees and in the 1920s was known as McManus’ Hotel and Fink’s Hotel. In more recent times it has traded as the Continental Hotel and Redrock Hotel.
Now back to its early name, the Claremont Hotel in 1985 underwent a major renovation and 37 years later – in 2023 – it underwent another major renovation, after which it was awarded Perth’s best venue for 2023 at the AHA (Australian Hotel Association).
The Claremont Hotel today remains a vibrant part of the community in Perth’s western suburbs and is proud of its long and fascinating history.
The newly restored landmark today boasts a public bar for watching the footy with a pint, a dining room for a refined food experience, a family friendly courtyard and the perfect rooftop terrace for long weekend sessions.
The two-level pub has been expanded – the floorspace more than doubled, with a capacity for 1,600 people, it has been restored so as to retain the fabric of the heritage building, and it has been modernised and reimagined.
Featuring a produce-led menu that showcases the best of WA with pub-style food designed to be enjoyed with your favourite beverage and good company.
The Claremont Hotel menu celebrates WA seafood, including Albany rock oysters and Fremantle octopus, as well as classic pub staples like the Chicken Parmi, Smash Cheeseburger and Bush Chook Roll.
Come in soon and say hello.