By the late 1850’s, John James had constructed a stone built brewery on the south east corner of Elizabeth and Warwick streets. He named his enterprise the Tasmanian Brewery and his family began to brew beer there and did so for nearly the next 25 years. The James’ family’s “Six Guinea Ale” was most favorably spoken of by many beer judges and was very popular in many of the hotels in Hobart.
In 1883, James’ brewery was one of three of the smaller Hobart breweries that were purchased by the Cascade Brewery business and then closed down. This was an anti competitive practice that was not regulated at that particular time.
By 1895, George Adams, the promoter of the Tattersalls sweepstakes, had come to live in Tasmania after legislation prohibiting his betting activities had been passed in the mainland states. Adams decided to become involved in the brewery industry and he purchased the old Tasmanian Brewery building. By 1903 he had replaced the original stone building with a newer brick structure. However, Adams unfortunately died in 1904 and his new brewery was never extensively used for producing beer.
The premises were subsequently acquired by Coogan & Co who utilized the building as a furniture factory and the Elizabeth Street frontage was remodeled as the showroom area. The building currently has a number of small businesses operating out of sections of expansive building, with a furniture store still taking pride of place in the Elizabeth Street frontage and several floors being utilized by an antiques business, the Antiques Warehouse.
Main Text & Information Sources –
“The Story of Central Hobart – Street By Street” – Donald Howatson
