Managers of the Carlton pub,named after wartime Labor prime minister John Curtin,announced it would close when its lease expires in November after owners listed the building for sale.
“Beyond that,we have no idea what the developers will have planned for us,” the Curtin posted on Facebook in February.
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If the Curtin were protected on theVictorian Heritage Register, it could still be sold,altered or used for a different purpose,but its owners would be legally required to maintain the hotel’s heritage,making it less attractive to developers.
Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari toldThe Age the pub deserved protection for its connection to the union movement,dating back to the 1800s. The Trades Hall opened in 1859,the same year a hotel was established on the site across the road where the Curtin stands today.
“The Trades Hall basically grew up with the pub,” Mr Hilakari said. “We don’t want it to be knocked down and frankly,we won’t let it.”
The pub,in those days called the Lygon Hotel,was redeveloped in 1915 before its name changed to the John Curtin Hotel around 1969,when Mr Hawke was elected president of the ACTU.