By MICK ROBERTS © SAID to be a modest man, publican James Alexander Martin managed to keep from an official government inquest how he saved the life of a drowning man when he gave evidence in 1914. Jim Martin was the first publican of Helensburgh’s re-built Centennial Hotel in 1915. The original old single storey…
By MICK ROBERTS © FOR over a century beef and beer were synonymous with the Floyd family name in Illawarra’s north. Four generations of Floyds were successful butchers and hoteliers leaving a legacy of a business empire that grew out of the 1860s. The dynasty began with John Floyd in 1867 and ended with great…
By MICK ROBERTS © ALTHOUGH Helensburgh Tradies Club began operating on shaky grounds, and has relocated to a new site, it has survived to become the Illawarra’s oldest operating registered club. Born from a dispute with the town’s two publicans over beer prices, the Helensburgh and Lilyvale Workmen’s Club was established by a group of…
Looking Back 