The Norseman Hotels –

The New Norseman Hotel 

The new Norseman Hotel, which has just been completed by Mr Jesse K. Moore, was designed by Cavanagh & Cavauagh, architects, Perth, and has been built to the specifications approved by the Licencing Board, was opened on June 17. The building consists of some 35 bedrooms, a large dining room, two lounges, a commercial room, two entrance halls, a parlour, two saloons and one large main bar, which is 40 feet long, linen room, two pantries (one upstairs, for the convenience of morning teas, etc), sitting room, writing room, kitchen, scullery, and the usual outhouses and garages.

To describe the recent addition to Norseman, one could say that it was built on the most elaborate lines and the proprietors, Messrs J. Smith and J Walker, surely have accomplished something of which to be proud. Some of the most modern and up-to-date conveniences have been installed, and no expense has been spared in order to make the working of the hotel as light as possible and also to cater for the comfort of the guests. Amongst the many modern installations is a 25,000-30,000 gallon underground fresh-water storage tank, which is substituted directly overhead by another- 2000-gallon tank. The water, when required, is pumped to the overhead tank in order to allow the fresh water to gravitate to any part of the. building, and so cut out the seriousness of the water proposition which has been experienced in the past.

The Original Freemasons Hotel, Norseman built in 1895 – Photo Nancy McKenzie.

The refrigeration and cooling system for liquors, etc, includes one large main storage chamber and three large bottle cabinets, which are capable of holding and cooling over 100 dozen bottles each, thus ensuring the public of always able to secure a cool drink.

The installation of the refrigerator, electrical plants, hoist and lighting of the hotel, was in the capable hands of Mr. E. J. Geer, of Kalgoorlie. The building has been newly furnished throughout and the furniture was made in Western Australia. The dining room, which will accommodate about 50 people, is furnished in Tasmanian oak and is done out in gold with crisp black added with a touch of maroon, and curtains to match. The lino was imported from Scotland, as it could not be obtained in Australia, and the room is lit by direct crystal glass lamps. The lounge downstairs is done similarly to the dining room. The feature of the lounge is the special crystal leadlights which have been installed. Except for the leadlights, the commercial room is similar to the lounge. The bars are done out in polished jarrah panels with fancy glass partitions, and the main hall is furnished like the lounge in Tasmanian oak with leather to match. The main stairway consists of a polished jarrah balustrade and the stairs are equipped with mottled rubber treads, and both the hall and the stairway are lit by direct lights. On reaching the top of the stairs one enters the lounge, which is equipped with a brown and fawn suite with curtains to match, and the wide passage is a feature that needs a special mention.

The bedrooms are furnished with Tasmanian oak and have beige curtains touched with pink and lemon to match. The writing room is done out in brown and fawn with carpets and a lounge suite to match. The large balcony is an asset to the building and will be a comfort to guests in the summer, it is furnished with lounges and decks We close by congratulating Messrs. Smith and Walker on their fine achievement in helping to put such a wonderful addition to our town and wishing the licensee every success in the future with what might be termed as a hotel second to none outside the metropolitan area.

Mr Vivian Hill Nevile – the present licensee of the Norseman Hotel, has been in the locality for about nine months and came here to take charge of the old Freemasons Hotel from Mr J. Smith. He has had considerable experience in the liquor trade and is late of His Majesty’s Hotel, Fremantle, and prior to that was Mine Host at the Commercial Hotel, Busselton, and with him comes Mrs Nevile, who is unrivalled as a hostess and who personally attends to the comforts and wants of her guests. Prior to entering the hotel business, Mr Nevile was general secretary to the A.N.A. for 12 years, and it was with much regret that this worthy association were reluctant to part with such an able aian.

In the early years of his life, Mr Nevile joined the Commonwealth Civil Service, and it was with this service he had the first taste of the goldfields. coming to Kalgoorlie as an officer in the post office, he resided at that centre for 12 years and thus has gained an experience which has stood good to him on his return to the southern fields. He had always taken a very keen interest in sports and public life and is never lacking where charity needs support. At the present time, Mr Nevile holds the position of president of the Norseman Racing Club and is a keen member of the Board of Control of the Football Association. As Mine Host, one has to go a long way before our worth can be beaten, and at the hotel, the liquors and service are as good as the building in which they are housed.

Mr James L Smith –  who was born in Port Adelaide, came to this State at the age of six months, and when the time came was apprenticed to the marine engineering trade, and his first job was with the pearling industry at Broome. During this period he had many exciting adventures, being attached to the submarine section. He joined the Navy during the war. and after holding various positions after the Armistice, he became chief engineer to the Melbourne Steamship Co. Occasion then arose for another change in life, and Mr Smith came to the goldfields with the Vacuum Oil Co and was their Kalgoorlie manager for nine years. He and his brother-in-law. Mr. J. Walker, then thought it an excellent idea to buy the Freemasons’ Hotel at Norseman and so they sallied forth and made a deal with Mr. J. Scholey, and so became the proprietors of the hotel at Norseman. As Norseman had a future and every month could see signs of improvements in the district, they decided to move with the times and so the negotiations for the new hotel were put into operation.

Mr Jim L Smith

Mr Smith was then subject to a lot of illness, and it was found that he could not carry on as licensee of the hotel and so had to give up the licence to Mr Nevile in 1950, much as he would have liked to have carried on amongst his new found friends and life, he was reluctantly compelled to give it up and go and live in Perth. He is a keen sportsman and during his regime in Norseman was president of the Football Association.

Mr V H Neville

Mr James Walker – hails from Scotland and came to this State some 38 years ago and was taken by his parents to Coolgardie, where he was educated and apprenticed to the building trade. Since serving his apprenticeship he has spent a great part of his life farming and after that period he went into business in Fremantle. Both he and Mr Smith have been friends for over 20 years, having married two sisters and thus they decided to come to Norseman. One could not say that Mr Walker is suited for a hotel keeper, as in nature he is rather reserved and of a quiet disposition although he is a keen sport and is always willing to foster sport whenever possible. He has never taken any active part in public life but always preferred to take an onlooker’s point of view.

Being a carpenter, and having been apprenticed to the building trade, he has been an asset to the construction of the new hotel and has been with Mr. J. K. Moore right from the start. Mr. J. K. Moore, contractor, of Nortliam, was the successful tenderer and has been in Norseman for the past seven or eight months supervising the building of- the new hotel. Born in Dunedin, N.Z., Mr. Moore came to this State some 34 years ago and since then he has travelled the length and breadth of W.A. in the course of his work. He spent two years of his life coming from N.Z. in England, gaining experience in the building trade, and during that period not only did he profit from his experience, which he has found to help him considerably since his return, but also gained considerable experience of the Motherland, of which he can speak none too highly.

Mrs Fanny Smith – The West Australian 8 Feb 1985

Nancy McKenzie who is the daughter of James and Fanny Smith has kindly shared her mother’s memories of her time as a hotelier in Norseman. At the age of 91yrs (in 1985) she was living in a flat at the rear of her daughter’s house. When Fanny’s father went bankrupt in the crash of 1897 he closed his business in Footscray, Melbourne and brought his young family to Western Australia. Fanny was 3 and her sister 2. They moved to a small house in Fremantle. For 23 years her father worked at the Fremantle and Midland Loco yards. He never missed a day in 23 years, he loved Fremantle. Fanny went to Plympton Primary School and then on to business college. She then worked at the telephone exchange and the customs office before leaving to marry. She had been in the same class at school as her husband-to-be, but she didn’t see him for four years during the Great War. They married in 1921 and Jim Smith got a job with Vacuum Oil and became the manager at Kalgoorlie. His area covered Wiluna to Esperance.

In 1933 Jim’s friend, Jack Nicholson, owner of the Mararoa gold mine, advised him to buy the old Freemasons Hotel which was built in the year Fanny was born. In those days the drive to Norseman from Kalgoorlie took 8 hours, dodging tree stumps and boulders along the way. Jim bought the old hotel for £900, it was the only hotel in town with a population of about 1000. When gold prices shot up the population grew to 5000. When it became inevitable that a second hotel would be built in the town Jim Smith and his brother-in-law Jim Walker bought a block and a half in the main street for £150 and built the ‘New Freemasons Hotel’ which had 35 bedrooms. Fanny took over the running of the ‘House’ and often helped behind the bar on pay nights. She said

‘I was hopeless at pulling beer, too slow’

She would never forget the beer drinkers’ strike in 1946. Beer drinkers of the town thought the Norseman and the Freemasons were charging too much so they boycotted both hotels. They would bring in their beer from Salmon Gums and Widgemooltha for three months. They lost £700. They were advised by a government prices man to lower the price of pots buy a penny and leave schooners as they were. The Workers Union boss came round for a meeting and agreed to the proposition. He gathered the thirsty miner outside the hotels he said “walk to the left if you agree to the price and to the right if you object”.

200 walked to the left and 20 to the right

Mrs Smith always kept a ‘loan book’ for customers who ran short before payday. One day a regular asked for a bottle of brandy on credit, she gave it to him and he went out and drank the lot in one go as his girlfriend had been falsehearted. He then took out a gun and shot her and himself. He died, but the girl who was well-known in the town, survived. Later she said to my husband “I would show you my scar, but we would have to go to a bedroom”. Cheeky thing !!!

During the race riots in 1934 in Kalgoorlie, there were two Italians drinking at the Freemason’s public bar. A group of miners who had heard about the anti-Italian feeling at Kalgoorlie decided to beat them up. One fled out of the bar whilst the other dashed out the back way and into Mrs Smith’s bedroom. She was in her 70’s at this time but allowed him to stay till the men dispersed.

In 1958 Jim Smith and Jim Walker who had spent £23,000 on the new Freemasons Hotel sold it for £24,000. The town was again in decline. Jim died in 1969 at age 75, Fanny’s doctor told her she was ‘good for another 10 years’. At 91 she still feels well and still can do shorthand and often did typing for her son Ross.

The ‘New’ Freemasons Hotel, Roberts Street, Norseman – 2015 – Photo SLWA