HOTEL ANGAS


The building now quietly serving as a law office on Angas Street once housed a bustling pub with over a century of history. Built in 1860 by Thomas Jellett, the original hotel was known as the Sussex Hotel, constructed on the site of Jellett’s former butcher shop.

Licensing for the hotel was initially denied due to the area already being well-served by other pubs, but it was ultimately approved, and the hotel opened by the end of the year. In 1862, John Collins purchased the property and renamed it the Sussex Arms a name that lasted only a year before it became the Old Colonist Hotel.

The hotel underwent renovations in 1877, expanding beyond its original modest footprint which had been built around the old butcher shop. Though smaller than many surrounding hotels, the Old Colonist carved out its own niche in the local scene.

Following World War I, the hotel became a traditional gathering place for returned servicemen on ANZAC Day, a role it proudly continued to play until its closure.

Not all of its history was respectable in 1950, a bookmaker named James Reilly was convicted for running illegal betting operations from the premises.

The final name change came in 1951, when it became the Hotel Angas. In its later years, it gained a reputation as a live music venue, hosting many local bands and serving as a hub for Adelaide’s music scene until its closure in 1986.

Though no longer serving pints or playing gigs, the building still stands, now repurposed as a law office. While it may never return to licensed trade, it's heartening to see the historic structure preserved and actively used a quiet but tangible link to Adelaide’s layered past.




Hotel Picture
1966
State Library [B 16149]
  

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HOTEL ANGAS

Hotel Code : 5.001.H370

Date Opened : 1860
Date Closed : 1986

Address :
78 Angas Street, Adelaide



History

SUSSEX HOTEL 1860 1862
SUSSEX ARMS HOTEL 1862 1864
OLD COLONIST INN 1864 1883
OLD COLONIST HOTEL 1883 1951
HOTEL ANGAS 1951 1986

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c1884
State Library [B 9767]


The hotel building in 2025










5.001.H370.0010
5.001.H370.0020

5.001.H370.0030
5.001.H370.0040




Publican Name Start Date Finish Date Hotel

Thomas JELLETT 1860 1860 Sussex Arms Hotel
John COLLINS 1862 1862 Sussex Arms Hotel
Thomas JELLETT 1862 1863 Sussex Arms Hotel
Henry CARR 1863 1863 Sussex Arms Hotel
Mary Ann COYNE 1863 1865 Old Colonist Inn
Mrs Mary Ann MARSHALL 1865 1865 Old Colonist Inn
Robert MARSHALL 1865 1866 Old Colonist Inn
Frederick KNOWLES 1866 1873 Old Colonist Inn
Stephen BR0WN 1873 1879 Old Colonist Inn
James MILLMAN 1879 1882 Old Colonist Hotel
Emily MILLMAN 1882 1883 Old Colonist Hotel
Henry ROBINSON 1883 1884 Old Colonist Hotel
James SHARPE 1884 1885 Old Colonist Hotel
George Wingrove SPONG 1885 1885 Old Colonist Hotel
William Henry SELLAR 1885 1886 Old Colonist Hotel
William Blewett ORCHARD 1886 1886 Old Colonist Hotel
Sarah Elizabeth KIRBY 1886 1887 Old Colonist Hotel
A T W GOTTSCHALK 1887 1887 Old Colonist Hotel
Jane POVALL 1887 1888 Old Colonist Hotel
Thomas OLIVER 1888 1888 Old Colonist Hotel
Jane WHITE 1888 1889 Old Colonist Hotel
Thomas BORN 1890 1894 Old Colonist Hotel
Mary A BAGGE 1894 1894 Old Colonist Hotel
Thomas O’BRIEN 1894 1895 Old Colonist Hotel
William F CLARKE 1895 1895 Old Colonist Hotel
Hugh A GARLAND 1895 1895 Old Colonist Hotel
Alfred KEAM 1895 1896 Old Colonist Hotel
George MATHER 1896 1896 Old Colonist Hotel
Charles E WHYTE 1896 1896 Old Colonist Hotel
Charles E WHYTE 1896 1896 Old Colonist Hotel
& Patrick QUIGLEY 1896 1896 Old Colonist Hotel
George FENNELL 1896 1897 Old Colonist Hotel
George MAGGS 1897 1900 Old Colonist Hotel
Thomas LEAHY 1900 1901 Old Colonist Hotel
Michael P DOWDY 1901 1912 Old Colonist Hotel
John T JOLLEY 1912 1913 Old Colonist Hotel
Thomas WILLETT 1913 1920 Old Colonist Hotel
Mrs Hannah McGUIRE 1920 1930 Old Colonist Hotel
Mrs Eva Muriel Louise WHITROW 1930 1940 Old Colonist Hotel
Mary Ann MILDREN 1940 1941 Old Colonist Hotel
& Victor Cornelius MILDREN 1940 1941 Old Colonist Hotel
George NORMAN 1940 1941 Old Colonist Hotel
Frank Leslie MOYLE 1941 1949 Old Colonist Hotel
Peter Alan ARDILL 1949 1952 Angas Hotel
& John Philip ARDILL 1949 1952 Angas Hotel
Peter Alan ARDILL 1952 1970 Angas Hotel

 



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