After being known as one of the party capitals of Australia, Newcastle has been whittled down to its bones with only one nightclub left standing.

Since the 1980s, several iconic venues have operated in the region, including Fanny’s, the Mercury and the Gateway Hotel.

But, over the past two years, what used to be a pumping scene has thinned out, leaving only a solitary locale to carry the load.

In June 2023, the famous Cambridge Hotel shut its doors forever.

It was soon followed by local nightclubs Finnegans Hotel and Argyle House.

Now, it appears, the only official night spot is the King Street Hotel located on Steel Street in Newcastle West.

While the Cambridge and Finnegan’s hotels – now renamed the George Darby Hotel – have since been bought by developers, both venues have plans to be converted into “family-friendly pubs”.

Noticing a distinct pattern, the Newcastle Weekly reached out to Australian Hotels Association (AHA) Newcastle Hunter president Mick Starkey for his take on the situation.

“The beginning of the end was in 2007,” he explained.

“That was when Newcastle lockouts were forced upon our city because there were people who deemed it to be unsafe and unruly.

“That fight lasted almost 13 or 14 years.

“There was a lot of negativity around that and, sadly, that led to the demise of the Newcastle nightlife.”

Mr Starkey operates two large venues in Newcastle, Customs House and The Stag & Hunter Hotel, both of which have felt the pinch of changing times.

“To run a late-night venue is expensive, there’s no question about that and there’s not a lot of help out there,” he said.

“You’re basically setting yourself up to be in the crosshairs of regulators and lawmakers, so it’s not for the faint-hearted.”

While several venues have their own snippets of traditional nightclub festivities, including Queens Wharf Hotel, The Exchange Hotel and Uptowns Bar, none are making the practice consistent.

The excitement for these special events shows there’s still a need for the classic electronic-music fuelled nights out among Newcastle punters.

But, then why do they keep on getting shut down?

Mr Starkey said while the interest was there to keep the Newcastle nightlife going, venue owners and entrepreneurs were consistently blocked by a horde of red tape.

“There would be no hope in hell of opening a new nightclub in Newcastle,” he said blatantly.

“I cannot ever see anyone having enough money to turn something into a nightclub, whether it be licensing, council planning, noise issues or transport.

“The multitude and layers of bureaucracy that would be involved to open a new one now would be insane.

“Newcastle used to be such a hive of activity and through regulation, planning laws and all the other bits and pieces that come into play, it killed the nightlife.

“And, now we’re spending lots and lots of money to bring it back when it could be very simple.”

The NSW Government has introduced a series of “vibrancy reforms” to hopefully boost the state’s nighttime economy, including creating designated entertainment precincts and making it harder for noise complaints to be made against venues.

Council also introduced its own solution with the Newcastle After Dark Strategy.

However, Mr Starkey said the move for revival was being blocked at a local government level.

“The NSW Government is doing some great things with the special entertainment precinct legislation and the NSW vibrancy reforms,” he said.

“There’s lots of great stuff that’s happening… and I feel like the nighttime economy will come back.

“It won’t be anything like it was, but it will be great and safe.

“We just need to get all governments on board, both local and state, to say this is what the city is going to look like.”

The Newcastle Weekly has reached out to King Street Hotel for comment on this issue, but is yet to hear a response.

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