Newcastle’s iconic Star Hotel building has earned a place on the NSW State Heritage Register, recognising the building’s history and its contribution to culture over more than a century.
While many Novocastrians – and many other Australians – associate the Star Hotel with the riot that followed its closure in 1979, local historian and Lost Newcastle founder Carol Duncan said the venue’s significance runs deeper.
“The cultural significance of the Star Hotel is perhaps most strongly represented these days by the hotel becoming something of a safe space for people in the 1960s when homosexuality was still criminalised,” she said.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said he personally made a submission supporting the heritage listing, recognising the venue’s role as both a live music institution and safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community.
“This listing recognises the Star as a space where communities found connection, courage and visibility, and where a defining moment in Newcastle’s history unfolded,” he said.
“Protecting the Star Hotel honours the lived experiences of the people who gathered there and ensures this powerful story remains part of the city’s future.”
Ms Duncan said the site tells the story of Newcastle’s growth and migration history.
“The Star Hotel’s story is really the story of the city itself,” she said.
“The Cameron family built the Star Hotel in 1855 with the coming of the railway line.
“The Honeysuckle Point railway station was just across the road behind where the TAFE is now.”
Originally established as Cameron’s Inn, the hotel was founded by displaced Scottish Highland refugees.
“The Camerons were Scottish Highland refugees, displaced by the Highland Clearances, who arrived in NSW still speaking Gaelic,” Ms Duncan said.
“Within a generation they were among Newcastle’s notable business families, connected to the Jockey Club and running several hotels.”
The heritage-listed site includes a collection of buildings developed over decades, including accommodation areas and stables.
Ms Duncan said Lena Campbell, granddaughter of the hotel’s founder, played a major role in shaping the Star Hotel.
“Lena Campbell took over the Star Hotel in 1921, gradually extending the hotel along Devonshire Street between King and Hunter Streets,” she said.
“The Honeysuckle workshops brought in a new wave of workers, the stables accommodated racehorses and working horses, and the extended family compound all folded into one block over decades.”
Later the Star became a venue for live music, hosting many Australian touring bands.
The Star Hotel made headlines on 19 September 1979, when thousands gathered to celebrate the Star’s last night of trading after its brewery owners decided to close the venue.
Unfortunately, the celebration degenerated into a riot as band Heroes played, with dozens of people arrested, police injured and cars set on fire.
The venue was immortalised in a song by Australian band Cold Chisel and even decades later, it looms large in Newcastle folklore.
“Everyone in Newcastle reckons they know someone who was at the Star Hotel on the night of 19 September 1979,” Ms Duncan said.
“So far that means some 200,000 people claim to have been there!”
Now trading as Bernies Bar, the former Star Hotel site’s new heritage status ensures the stories, communities and culture tied to the venue will not be forgotten.
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