Pub with Dark Past Celebrates 170th Birthday

By Annette Shailer

Iconic Sydney venue the Cauliflower Hotel is to celebrate its 170th birthday on December 1, with the hotel’s licence dating back to 1838.

Owner and fifth generation publican, William Ryan, said the venue’s unusual name derives from the market gardens of Waterloo that used to surround the original site.

The ‘Collie’, as it is known, witnessed the transformation of Sydney’s market gardens into bustling inner-city suburbs, with the venue becoming a haunt for the 1970s underworld before getting a facelift in recent times.

“The only place you couldn’t get whacked was the Cauliflower because all the heavies drank there,” Ryan said.

The hotel’s location on the cusp of Waterloo, Alexandria and Redfern means it attracts people from all walks of life.

“South Sydney may have changed,” Ryan said. “But the Collie has been the stable influence in the area. It’s been here for 170 years and I hope it will stand for 170 more.”

The Cauliflower Hotel is located at 123 Botany Rd, Waterloo.