Iconic docks pub on market

A LANDMARK Hobart hotel has been put on the market — and its new owner could bring big changes to a property commanding a prime position overlooking the waterfront.

The Telegraph Hotel, on the corner of Morrison and Brooke streets, has been trading successfully under the ownership of one family since 1993, and is a popular haunt with university students.

“It has been a great pub and many generations have enjoyed it, but it is time to move on and let someone else take it into the future,” part-owner Stephen Bourke said yesterday. “Where it goes depends on the vision and energy of its new owner.”

Stephen and his brother Brendan, who are directors of Cobra International, have owned the pub since 1992.

Cumulus Studio has already undertaken some preliminary planning and design work to identity the best development options for the Art Deco pub.

An artist’s impression in the tender documents shows the Telegraph Hotel as a five-floor building with high-end apartments above the existing layout, and underground parking beneath.

NAI Harcourts says the property has secure cash flow with a four-year lease to the Hotel Banc Group, which operates several Hobart pubs and restaurants. The lease expires in 2021.

“As the property is not listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register, development is possible subject to council approval,” the tender document says.

The original hotel was established in 1858 as the Electric Telegraph Hotel and was renamed the Telegraph in 1877.

Following a fire in circa-1939, the hotel was rebuilt and renamed around 1993 as the Brooke Street Bar and Cafe. It became the Telegraph again in the early 2000s.

It is the first time the pub has been offered for sale in 27 years and, in a tight market, interest is expected to be strong.

The property is offered for sale by tender by NAI Harcourts Hobart. The tender closes at 5pm on March 27.

“The Telegraph Hotel is the last unencumbered redevelopment site on one of the world’s great waterfront precincts,” Harcourts said.