The Taylor family arrived in Perth in September 1891 and John started business as a boarding-house keeper. Two years later he applied successfully for a publican’s licence and took up management of the Cannington Hotel. A newspaper advertisement proudly set out what the hotel had to offer. Bear in mind that Perth was a very different place at this time and Cannington was a rural area on the southern edge of the city, catering for a small farming community and travellers on the Perth to Albany road.
CANNINGTON HOTEL.
LOWER CANNING.
JOHN TAYLOR, PROPRIETOR,
Formerly of New Zealand and Sydney.
This Hotel is situated six miles from Perth on the Albany Road and half a mile from the Cannington Railway Station. It is a splendid drive – the scenery is something delightful. The Canning Hills in the distance in front and the Canning River at the back, withing 3 minutes walk. Fishing, boating, and bathing can be indulged in. There is an “ordinary” every Sunday at 2 p.m. at which all the delicacies of the season are to be found on the table. First-class Piano for use of visitors. The Canning climate is not to be beaten, neither are the various brands of wines, beers and spirits in stock. Our motto is “Civility combined with Cleanliness and Reasonable Charges.”
Come and see us. 3408
I am not sure what an ‘Ordinary’ is in hotel parlance of the time, perhaps it meant that it was a regular event, not a ‘Special’. The number at the bottom of the advertisement is interesting as it may have been the telephone number of the hotel, one of the earliest in the Perth area.
For the opening the Taylors put on a special event for the locals and invited the press along. This gushing review later appeared in the Daily News.1
The new lessee of the Cannington Hotel (Mr. John Taylor) is a host in himself. A few evenings since Mr. and Mrs. Taylor gave a ‘social’ in their large room, the ‘Hall of Varieties,’ to commemorate the opening and reconstruction of the hotel, the management of which Mr. Taylor has just entered upon under such excellent auspices. Nearly the whole of the Canning residents put in an appearance, and a most enjoyable evening was spent by all. The musical arrangements could not have been surpassed – the instrumental portion consisting of piano, piccolo, violin, and cornet. A gentleman, whose name I failed to obtain, gave a most delightful exhibition of talent on the banjo during one of the intervals. The refreshment department, under the superintendence of Mrs. Taylor and her daughters, was all that could be desired. All the delicacies of the season were in evidence in abundance, together with a toothsome and generous display of custards, jellies, &c, &c. — all of which, needless to say, disappeared from the table with marvellous rapidity. The decorations were chaste and ornate, the display of flowers alone being simply magnificent, and demonstrated in a most emphatic manner what the Canning gardens can produce. The small hours found the company dispersing reluctantly.
The Cannington Hotel venture was short-lived as the Taylors were in Albany the following year. Their sons Benjamin, Ernest and William went with them but their daughters stayed in Perth, where they married a year later.
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.