Although not the first hotel built in Port Melbourne (the Marine hotel on Beach Street was the first by a month), it is certainly one of the most important in terms of the history of the area’s pubs due to its owner, Wilbraham Frederick Evelyn Liardet. Liardet built his hotel in 1840 as the Brighton Pier Hotel providing accommodation and refreshment to Melbourne’s early colony - those who stepped off the ships docked in the bay arriving from far away lands, just as he did, to begin a new life. Despite his standing as a leader in the community, Liardet was not exempt from the grave economic depression that hit Melbourne in 1841. Liardet and his sons, Frank and Hector, battled dwindling resources, nearing bankruptcy, to keep their hotel afloat. Once the threat of closure was avoided, Liardet left the Pier Hotel to his sons and pursued his love of art, evidence of which we can see in his sketches of the hotel and beach.
by pastportproject on Sept. 7, 2015Source: The State Library Victoria, painting by Liardet.
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