Historical information

The Wodonga Hotel was constructed in 1940 at a cost of £10,000. It is now called Elgins Hotel.
It was established after the transfer of the licence from the Halfway Hotel. This was the result of a lengthy hearing before the Licensing Board over two days in December 1939, There was some opposition from established guest house keepers and hotelkeepers. G. A. Adams, owner of the Carriers’ Arms Hotel was refused a hearing as he was not a resident, so Rachael Spence his manageress objected on the ground that it would do her hotel a lot of harm.
Mr Luke Murphy represented the applicants, Irene Weatherall and Lena Pickering. He stated that the new structure would be of brick, cement and iron and contain 22 rooms. The site was near the municipal sale yard and near the railway station, and, he pointed out the trucking industry, which he believed to be larger than any other in Victoria, outside of Melbourne.
The hearing was told of the bad state of the Half Way Hotel, having been there for almost 100 years. Luke Murphy was quoted as saying “If Hovell were here he could give evidence on that.” The lack of accommodation and quality accommodation at Wodonga hotels was frequently heard of. Costa’s Wine Café had very excellent accommodation for but only five or six people.
The lessee of the-tea rooms at the municipal saleyards, also gave evidence. Mrs Lowden said that on sale day she served up to 130 dinners in addition to 10 or 20 breakfasts, and almost continuous light lunches. She did not think a hotel would provide a needed facility for patrons of the saleyards.
In April 1940 the application was granted on the condition that premises were erected within 42 weeks.
The hotel was used for soldier accommodation during World War II and experienced a boom period when Wodonga saleyards were located across the road.
Irene House behind the pub also was constructed in the 1970s when Albury-Wodonga had been identified as a National Growth Centre by the Whitlam Labor government.
After running the hotel for 5 generations, the Weatherall Family sold the business in 2021.

Significance

These images represent an early business in Wodonga .

Physical description

2 photos of the Wodonga Hotel and 1 newspaper advertisement