Discovering publicans in Queensland

Do you have a publican in your Queensland family history? If so, one index you should look at is State Library’s Licenced Victuallers Index 1900-1914 now available to search through One Search. A licenced victualler was someone who was granted a licence to sell spirits and other types of alcohol. They may also have been known as a publican or innkeeper.

The Licenced Victuallers Index 1900-1914 is a listing of licence holders whose names were regularly printed in the Queensland Government Gazette as licenced victuallers from 29 January 1901 to 27 June 1914. Gazettes for these years are available onsite at State Library on microfiche, microfilm and electronically.

This index contains information that may be useful for family history or general Queensland history research, including details such as names, dates, districts and hotel names. In the Government Gazette you may also find licence transfers, some of which have been included in the index.

There are approximately 33,000 index records for the period 1 July 1900 to 30 June 1914.  1447 of the entries are for names of persons where licences were transferred to or from between 1 July 1900 and 31 December 1903. You can search this index through One Search SLQ Family History Indexes.

So, what’s so interesting about this index? You won’t just find the names of British men, you will also find women’s names as wives often took over the license from their husbands, non-British Europeans and Chinese, to name a few.

One such example is the licence for the Canton Hotel in Thornborough where the victualler’s licence appears to move between two Chinese men, Ah Tie Chang also recorded as Chang Ah Tie, and Ah Yam, between 1900 and 1913. You can also trace this movement through newspaper advertisements that can be searched on Trove digitised newspapers.

If you’re looking for more information on Queensland publicans, why not try these resources:

• A pattern of pubs : hotels of Townsville 1864-1914 by Dorothy Gibson-Wilde and Bruce C. GibsonWilde (G 647.94943601 1988), includes "Register of licensees 1864-1914".
• Brisbane hotels and publicans index, 1842-1900 compiled by Merle Norris (REFJ 994.31 013, and PAM 647.959431 1993). The three alphabetical sequences are the same as those for the Queensland index as listed below.
• Queensland hotels & publicans' index 1843-1900 [microfiche] researched by Merle Norris (MFC 647.940994 1996). There are three alphabetical sequences in this index: Part A. Index of hotels; Pt. B. Index of publicans' names; Pt. C. Index of towns listing hotels and publicans (Qld country only).
• Mine host of Maryborough and district, Queensland : licensed publicans 1860-1924 compiled by K. M. Adams and J.M. Downman; Maryborough District Family History Society Inc. (REFJ 647.95 min, and PAM 647.959432 1995)
• Some Warwick hotels and hoteliers by P. J. Brixey (P 647.94 bri)
• State Library of Queensland research guide - pubs and publicans