Golden Gate Café, Winton

Earliest newspaper reports attribute the Golden Gate Café on Elderslie Street in Winton to Greek café owners Messrs Andronicus and William Peters (Panagiotou) when in 1936 it was reported in the Central Queensland Herald newspaper, they were fully insured for the £100 damages caused by a fire in the café.

“On March 21 at 2:50am a fire alarm brought the population of Winton from their beds as thick clouds of smoke in Elderslie Street aroused the fear of another disastrous town fire. The fire occurred in the Golden Gate Cafe, on the same side of the main street as the last big fire, but fortunately it was noticed in time, and the fire brigade, with the assistance of a good flow of water, had no trouble in quenching the flames, which were running up a wall on to the ceiling. Damage to building, furniture, and stock, to the value of £100 was caused. The building and contents, owned by Messrs Andronicus and Peters, are insured with the United Insurance Co. for £1200. Mr Mick Andronicus, when endeavouring to recover his books, smashed a pane of glass in the front door, and received lacerated wounds to his fingers and right hand”.
The Central Queensland Herald (Rockhampton), 2 April 1936, p.52

Several years later in 1942 the Longreach Leader referred to former resident Mr V. Stratigos, who had conducted the Golden Gate Café in Winton several years earlier before moving to Gladstone to start up the Orion Café with his partner Mr. Corones.

An advertisement appearing in the Longreach Leader in December 1946 indicated Greeks were no longer proprietors of the Golden Gate Café, with Mrs A. Yates inviting visitors to enjoy the cool drinks and three course meals available at the Golden Gate Café.

Exhibition – Meet me at the Paragon

State Library’s latest exhibition, Meet me at the Paragon explores how the creation of American-style cafes enabled Greek migrants of the early to mid-1900s to carve out a new life in a foreign land. The exhibition runs from 27 September 2019 until 15 March 2020.