Suppliment to the Kalgoorlie Miner 22 april 1989:-
Hannans Brewery being Demolished
The closure of the Hannans Brewery in Brookman Street, Kalgoorlie, had many resident crying in their beer. The future of the local brewery was put in doubt in the late 1970‘s when beer drinkers developed a taste for the Swan Breweries, Emu Export Lager, but Paddy Hannans namesake Hannans Lager has returned to the Goldfields.
The golden brew was introduced in 1937 by the Kalgoorlie Brewing Company and stopped production in 1982 on the closure of Hannans Brewery. The Swan Brewery Company Ltd in Perth returned Hannans Lager to the Goldfields with a relaunch of the product at last years Mining Expo (1988).
At the time Hannans Lager was first brewed in Kalgoorlie, the worlds price of gold was fixed to the American dollar gold standard. Under this system, the price of the precious metal was fixed at US$35 an ounce and dollars could be exchanged for gold at this rate. The gold standard was abolished in Feb 1976, and since then the price has been fixed daily by supply and demand.
The return of Hannans Lager has been well received by Goldfields drinkers who appreciate the heritage and quality of this famous drop. In the early 1900’s when the population of the area was about 30,000, four breweries were operating in Kalgoorlie and one in Boulder. Kalgoorlie – The Hannans Brewery – opened in August 1895. After experiencing some early troubles, the company rebuilt and expanded its premises and paid its debts by the end of 1899.
The population of Kalgoorlie and Boulder had grown with the brewery, and its 12 wooden casks of beer weekly in 1895, grew to 460 per week in just four years. An improved brewery was built on the northern side of the hill were 6KG’s radio station has its transmitter today. In all, about 30 men including a blacksmith and wheelwright, worked on the premises.
By this time the water was no longer being used from the Government bore, but from the Hannans Proprietry Company. All of the water used in the district before 1903, and the opening of the Goldfields Water Scheme, needed condensing.
Steam from Hannans Brewery dripped through a maze of pipes to an elevated tank. Then the clear water passed through more pipes into a second tank. A Worthington pump then drew water into another tank positioned in such a way that the water could gravitate to all points required at the brewery. A constant wood supply was also needed to keep this brewery, and others operating. Hannan’s Brewery had no refrigeration as its owners thought that the cool nights ‘made this device unnecessary’.
Instead, the finished product was stored in a well-ventilated cellar until the casks were rolled out and taken by horse drawn wagons to the various outlets, including hotels that were built or bought by the brewery. Among the many hotels owned by (or mortgaged to) the brewery at one time or another were the Horseshoe Inn, Cornwall, Ivanhoe, Australia Bar, Terminus and the York, Torbay Arms, Duke of Cornwall, All Nations, Surry, Locomotive, Racecourse and the Maritana.
Hannans Brewery Sign on the IGA in Collins Street, Lamington
In 1912 the Hannans Brewery Co Ltd decided to sell. Others took over and kept the business going until Oct 1915 when fire destroyed the premises. The brewery was closed in 1918 after three difficult years. But the name of Hannans beer did not die. Earlier, in Sept 1896, the Kalgoorlie Brewing and Ice Company had opened and took first prize for its bottled ale and stout at the local Gala show in 1905.
In 1919, the company bought the Union Brewery in Brookman Street and after upgrading the buildings and equipment, made that its headquarters.
In late 1936, a start was made on a new brewery and in 1945, the Kalgoorlie Brewery became part of the Swan Group. The brewery closed in 1982, and the regular smell that greeted resident early in the morning faded into the past. The site is still partly vacant though a mining company had offices at the rear.
Gold and liquid gold : obsolete breweries of the Western Australian goldfields by Geoff Spiller.
Moya Sharp
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My Dad Jack Carrott had Hannah’s larger on tap at our hotel the York I enjoyed the odd little beer in summer when we left Kal in 1960 I didn’t drink beer since then it just didn’t taste wright
In the early 1970s I appeared in film advertisement for Hannans Lager. The ad was featured at the drive – ins at the time, it was filmed at the Tower hotel.
Hi Moya.
I’m currently working on the first draft of a novel set mostly in the goldfields from the mid 70’s to mid 2010’s.
I found your site while doing some research. I’m sure I’ll drop back now and then to validate some historical data.
Cheers. Thomas.
Hi Thomas Yes please do, happy to help. I have assisted a few other authors who have written fictional books set on the Goldfields but who wanted to make sure that the details of the time were authentic.
Hello moya, I’m a journalist from Mexico, I’m writing about this topic for my beer blog, I’m visiting Kalgoorlie to document and found some interviews with persons can help o have some info. It could be grate have a conversation with you…