The John Curtin hotel in Melbourne could be saved from redevelopment after the state heritage agency recommended it be included on the Victorian heritage register due to its cultural and historical significance.
The Victorian Trades Hall Council and the National Trust of Australia on Monday confirmed Heritage Victoria has assessed their nomination of the Curtin, as it is affectionately known, and recommended it be placed on the register.
Their joint nomination cited the hotel’s association with the labour movement, its continuing role as a live music venue and links to Labor’s longest-serving prime minister, Bob Hawke.
A final decision will be made by the Heritage Council of Victoria, an independent body. If the Curtin is placed on the register, its owner will legally be required to protect and maintain the property in line with its heritage values.
Trades Hall Council secretary, Luke Hilakari, applauded Heritage Victoria for making the recommendation, describing the Curtin as “irreplaceable”.
“This is an important collective win and a vital step to prevent precious historical buildings from being flattened by developers who want to spin a dollar at the community’s expense,” he said, thanking workers who threw their support behind the campaign to save the hotel.
“Victorian workers have a proud and long history of protecting cultural sites like these.”
Felicity Watson, Executive Manager of Advocacy at the National Trust, said the Curtin is “more than just bricks and mortar”.
“[It] is a place where alliances have formed, and decisions have been made that have shaped Victoria’s history,” she said.
“It is vital to protect the Curtin, not only for its historical importance but for its ongoing role as a meeting place for the labour movement, and one of Melbourne’s most important live music venues.
“In making their assessment, Heritage Victoria not only looked at the building itself, but analysed social media and hundreds of petition comments to understand the cultural significance of the John Curtin hotel to the community.”
The Curtin stands opposite Trades Hall in Lygon Street, Carlton. It opened in the 1860s as the Lygon hotel but was renamed the John Curtin hotel, after Australia’s 14th prime minister, in the 1950s.
After Bob Hawke’s death in 2019, the hotel hosted an unofficial wake that was attended by hundreds, including then-opposition leader Bill Shorten, the state’s premier Daniel Andrews, and former Victorian premier Steve Bracks.
More recently, it has cemented its legacy as one of Melbourne’s best live-music venues, acting as an important stepping-stone for emerging local and international talent.
Earlier this year, the building was bought by an overseas-based investor and developer. Managers of the hotel said the venue would close when its lease expires in November, to likely make way for apartments.
Prior to its sale, the City of Melbourne granted the Curtin interim “significant” heritage listing, meaning the heritage value of the hotel be considered in any proposed redevelopment of the site.
In addition to the application for heritage protection by Trades Hall and the National Trust, the Building Industry Group of unions, which represents electricians, plumbers, construction and metalworkers, announced a green ban to prevent its demolition in April.
The term was coined in the early 1970s by Jack Mundey of the Builders Labourers Federation, which fought successful campaigns to protect parkland, low-income housing and buildings with historical significance in Melbourne – including the Queen Victoria Market, Regent Theatre and Flinders Street Station.
The unions last imposed a green ban six years ago at the site of the Corkman Irish Pub, which was demolished by its owners without a building or planning permit. They were fined nearly $1m and jailed after failing to turn the site into a public park.
City of Melbourne deputy lord mayor, Nicholas Reece, said the recommendation for heritage protection was a “fantastic decision”.
“Too many of Melbourne’s heritage pubs have been lost over the decades – and we can’t let the John Curtin become another victim,” he said.
“This is a landmark decision which provides hope for Victoria’s many other at-risk heritage pubs.”
