ABOUT US
A PIECE OF PORT PIRIE History
In November 1877, The Risdon Hotel opened in Moppett Road, Port Pirie West. Back then, it was known as the Pilot Boat Hotel and it was ideally situated to serve the rapidly growing residential areas of the town. The Pilot Boat Hotel served as a pub, club, meeting place, entertainment hall and polling booth for the western suburbs. Records indicate that W. O. Evans was the first licensee. An observatory capable of holding 100 people was built on the roof of the hotel; the perfect spot to watch the sails of the windjammers coming up the gulf.
The hotel has been rebuilt and remodeled a number of times. In 1915, it became known as the West Suburban Hotel and in 1938, the existing building was completed with the distinctive art deco style. The hotel is one of the most distinctive examples of art deco architecture in the region.
At the same time, our beloved pub was given its current name: The Risdon Hotel. Since then, it has continued to play a role in Port Pirie’s colourful history, which is well documented in Nancy Robinson’s book, Reluctant Harbour:
“When the proliferation of the more centrally–situated hotels appeared to be snatching some of the Pilot Boat’s former trade, the licensee began running free cabs to and from the waterfront each night. The so-called cabs were seldom little better than open carts, but they sufficed to entice the sailors to the pub with the most romantic name – and possibly the most romantic (if expensive) women. Strangers to the town wondered at the meaning of the driver’s raucous, wharf-side call: This way to the Boat. Hurry along! Passengers for the Boat, all aboard please. And then to see a horse–drawn vehicle pull out and head inland, caused many an innocent to wonder if he’d been imbibing too freely. Very late at night the Pilot Boat’s ostler would return the sailors to the wharf. Folklore has it that most of the passengers would be “as stiff as boards” and that the ostler and a companion would lay them out on the wharves like so many corpses. Certainly, it’s more officially recorded that the City Fathers became concerned at the drunken men left in the streets from the Pilot Boat.”
These days, The Risdon Hotel continues to joyfully serve its Port Pirie community. We serve up pub classics and elevated mains every day of the week, have a dedicated bottleshop next door and a gaming room on site. If you’re in the mood for a pub feed or a drink at the bar, come and see us! Enquire about our Members Club to receive sizeable loyalty discounts, and check out our What’s On page, Instagram and Facebook to see what’s happening, from weekly specials to one-off events.
