Historical information

The original Empire Hotel in Conness Street, Chiltern was built about 1860 by Mr Charles Ewen. Early licensees included Messrs Moss, Berrigan, Ryan, Whitmore, Matthews, and Greenwood.

In 1892 At the Licensing Court the Bench, through the objection of Inspector Irwin, refused to grant a license to the Empire Hotel unless premises were re-built. Local brewer and hotelier Benjamin J. Bartley undertook the re-build on the same site. The builder and architect was Mr P. Jacobson of Northcote, Victoria.


The hotel had an imposing street frontage of two storeys and included 17 rooms, including the bar. On the ground floor were four bedrooms and a large dining room; on the upper floor five bedrooms, two sitting rooms and a bathroom. The building was completed in fifteen weeks. Mr J. G. Wall, of Chiltern, painted and decorated the building. Mr Jonas Greenwood was the first licensee of the establishment. Other licensees included Henry Soule, Joseph Tobin, George Miller, James Campbell Smith, Ilma Fitzgerald, Bridget Hassett, E.A. Grant and T. Gilbert.
The Empire hotel closed on 31st December 1928 by order of the Licenses Reduction Board and the building was sold by auction 29th May 1929.

Our Collection includes several photographs signed BONSEMA WODONGA or sometimes simply TBW.

Thomas Peter John Bonsema was born in Wodonga in 1876 to Peter John Bonsema and Mary Ann nee Nash. His name first appears on the Electoral Roll for Wodonga in 1909 and on the Electoral Roll in 1912 he is listed as a photographer. His photographs capture many scenes and events around Wodonga and surrounding areas.

Thomas Bonsema married Minna Louisa Jones in 1912. By 1914 he had moved to Chiltern, Victoria where he established Bonsema’s Photographic Studio. From this time onward many of his works bore the signature “BONSEMA CHILTERN”. As well as continuing to photograph landscapes and important buildings, Mr Bonsema was often the official photographer at school and community celebrations. He also sold many framed photographs and postcards from his premises at 68 -70 Conness Street, Chiltern.
By 1943 Thomas John Bonsema had relocated to New South Wales and died in Beecroft, NSW on 14th July 1944.
Some of his photographs are held in the Victorian State Library and Mitchell Library Sydney Collections.

Significance

These images are significant because they are the work of a recognised photographer Thomas Bonsema who was born in Wodonga in 1876.

Physical description

Black and white images of the new Empire Hotel in Chiltern, Victoria