Ram's Head Hotel Evanston
| Place type: | Building |
|---|---|
| Address: | 15 Twentyfirst Street |
| Town or Locality: | Gawler South |
| Year constructed: | 1855 |
| Year demolished or re-purposed: | 1860 |
| Used for: | Hotel (now Private Residence) |
On 2nd March 1855 the Munno Para West District Council granted Mr Crace a new publican’s license to establish the “Ram’s Head” at Evanston (Adelaide Observer 17 Mar 1855). Charles Cartwright Crace carried out business for four years, before transferring the license to Thomas Wright in March 1859 and advertising for sale by auction his livestock (20 horses, 30 pigs & a cow) and household goods as he was relinquishing his business (South Australian Weekly Chronicle 19 Mar 1859, The South Australia Advertiser 21 Mar 1859). However, three months later Wright applied to the council for Crace to continue business in his place and in September 1859 the license was transferred back to Crace (South Australia Register 4 Jul 1859, South Australian Weekly Chronicle 17 Sept 1859, Adelaide Observer 17 Sep 1859). Crace continued to run the Ram’s Head for another year, before it was permanently closed in December 1860. The land, buildings and all the equipment, including the bar counter and fittings, 4-pull beer-engine, spirit casks, furniture, horses and wagons were advertised for sale (The South Australian Advertiser 11 Dec 1860, The South Australian Advertiser 14 Dec 1860). The property was described as a “substantial well-built house”, “having 13 rooms with 2 large dry cellars, and about 11 acres of good land fenced, with garden and well of excellent water” (South Australian Advertiser 11 & 15 Dec 1860). In his 1896 reminiscences about Gawler’s early days, the oldest resident at the time, Mr James Baldcock, Sen., recalled that the Ram’s Head was built for a local resident by a stonemason named Fleming who lived on the Gawler plains (Bunyip 10 Jul 1896).
In its early years the Ram’s Head was an important site within the developing region. It was the place the Munno Para West District Council Clerk attended to collect rates from local property owners; the place where prospective councillors held meetings to promote themselves to local electors and even where local residents could advertise their lost horses be returned to for a reward (31 May 1856 Adelaide Observer, 28 Jun 1856 Adelaide Observer, South Australian Register 27 Feb 1857).
The Ram’s Head was also a site for recreation. On 2nd April 1858 the South Australian Register contained the following advertisement:
RAM'S HEAD, EVANSTON— A PIGEON MATCH will take place at the Ram's Head, Evanston, on Thursday, the 8th of April next, when C. CRACE hopes to meet some of his friends, Plenty of birds. N.B.— Those coming mind to bring GOOD GUNS, QUICK EYES, and STRONG NERVES, as they will meet good men.
A subsequent pigeon match at the Ram’s Head did not go well. While the local sportsmen tried their skill, an elderly gentlemen in his anxiety “let fly rather too low” and hit his son rather than the pigeon, fortunately Dr Nott was in the neighbourhood and was able to extract some of the shot from the man’s arm, the rest being too deep in the muscle to be safely removed (South Australian Register 5 May 1859).
It is widely suggested that 15 Twenty First Street, Gawler South, is the site of a former hotel. This is likely to have been the Ram’s Head. In a 1989 article in the Bunyip, the resident of 15 Twenty First Street, Mr Jack Green, suggested that the front section of the building was demolished in the 1960s, but a large cellar and some old stone walls provided clues to the properties former use (see article - Bunyip 15 Feb 1989). The other hotel often suggested to have been at this site is the Engine and Driver, however newspaper articles from the time report that in 1863 Mr Catchlove changed the name of his hotel at Bassett Town from the “Engine and Driver” to the “Criterion Hotel” (South Australian Register 15 Sep 1863, The Adelaide Express 9 Mar 1864). It is also suggested that the former stables and barn of the Ram's Head Hotel were situated at 17 Twentyfirst street , now the site of a 1920's bungalow , which was home to the McCarthy family during the 1980's and 1990's. In the early 1990's the Wright family lived in 15A Twentyfirst street
We thank Nikki Wight for her valuable on going contribution to this article.
Ram’s Head Licensees (Licensed 1855 – 1860)
2 Mar 1855 – 14 Mar 1859 CRACE, Charles Cartwright
14 Mar 1859 – 12 Sept 1859 WRIGHT, Thomas
12 Sept 1859 – 1860 CRACE, Charles Cartwright
The following information has been gathered with permission from “Hotels and Publicans in South Australia” by J.L. (Bob) Hoad Adelaide 1986 ISBN 0 86745 002 9 and ISBN 0 9595446 2 3
RAM’S HEAD HOTEL
Existed in Evanston, Gawler 1855 – 1860
1855 Crase C.
1856 – 1857 Crase C.C.
1858 Crase C.
1859 Wright T.
1859 – 1860 Crase C.C.
Related Articles
- Hotels & Inns in Gawler since 1839
- Engine and Driver Hotel
- Criterion Tavern 18 Nineteenth Street
- Twenty First Street
References
Memories of Ram's Head Hotel Evanston
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