The Local

Carl Frederick Julius Seismann, German immigrant, prominent businessman and licensee of the Royal Mail Hotel (now called The Local) led an anti-temperance group made up of local publicans. The Royal Mail Hotel, established by Seismann in 1872, was one of the places that held the group’s meetings. The group strategised on ways to fight the imposing threat of hotel closures and the restrictions placed on drinking during the 1880s by temperance advocates. This didn’t stop the Royal Mail being slated as one of 23 Port Melbourne hotels named for closure in 1888. The decision was overturned two years later and has been successfully operating as a pub ever since.

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