The Post Office Hotel in Main Street Stawell, was opened on March 31 1875, with the first licensee being Mr. W. H. Richards. When it opened, it had a wooden facade, but in 1878 the new licensee, a Mr. C. Mulcahy commissioned major alterations including brick walls and a veranda. These alterations were completed by February 1879. The hotel was comprised of a 4 bedroom residence, 13 bedrooms for guests, a large lounge, bar, kitchen and a cool-room. On September 6th 1922 a fierce fire destroyed the bakery of Mr. Gustav Mahnke, next door to the hotel, whilst Mr Mahnke was in Holland. The hotel escaped without any damage and only £50.00 of stock was damaged. Mr Mahnke was a Councillor of the Borough of Stawell and was the Mayor 1904-1907 and 1912-1913. Over the years there were many publicans of the hotel, but perhaps two of the most notable were Mr. Harry Kuhl and Mr. Roy West. OTHER NEWS: Both these gentlemen were very accomplished Aussie Rules Footballers. Harry Kuhl was a former V.F.L. Footballer who played 12 games for St. Kilda in 1926, in the VFL. He also played for Port Adelaide in the Adelaide Football League. He was the hotel keeper between 1946 and 1967. Roy West played in the 1963 Premiership side for Geelong in the VFL, playing 108 games in total for Geelong. He was the hotel-keeper between April 1967 and December 1970. When he surrendered the license of the hotel and closed the door for the final time, to return to Geelong, it had operated as a licensed premises for 95 years. The building remained vacant until 1977 when it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs Frank Diment. It was renovated and turned into a walk through shopping Arcade. An arched doorway was introduced as the entry to the Arcade which contains nine separate shops and several offices and became known as the Post Office Arcade. While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Stawell Times-News. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the region, sign up here.
