THE WAY WE WERE
HOTEL ORIGINS: A sale of crown lands was held in Toowoomba on April 11, 1882, being Lots 5 to 20 in the Parish of Isaac (at the junction of Oakey Creek with the railway line). Eleven of these lots (approx 100 acres) were purchased by Jacob Bauer and the remaining five (47 acres) by William Richard Robinson. Jacob promptly built a large house opposite the Oakey Creek Railway Station and on December 30, 1882, he applied to transfer his publican’s licence from his Lion Hotel (near the dray road from Toowoomba to Dalby) to his new public house under the sign of the Western Line Hotel. He built another house on the opposite corner for his family who had moved into it by May, 1884 when John Adam Bauer, Jnr., applied for a publican’s licence for the Western Line Hotel which he was renting from Jacob. By the end of that year, he had purchased the hotel and 18 acres of Jacobs’ land. Jacob, Catherine and their large family lived in Oakview House until early 1889 when they left town to move to Bundaberg. On January 13, 1893, James Scott Watson Robb applied for a licenced victualler’s licence in this house which he was renting from Jacob, for an Inn or Public House to be known as the Farmers Arms Hotel. Following Jacob’s death in July, 1893, Robb remained at the hotel until September, 1896 when Catherine took him to court to regain possession of the hotel and he went into liquidation. From October, Richard Desmond leased the Farmers Arms Hotel from Catherine until 1899 when he purchased it and six acres of surrounding land. In August ,1900, he transferred the licence to Andrew Strachan (formerly of Charleville), who later transferred it to Thomas Crawford (of Gympie) in July, 1902. This change of licensee coincided with the coronation of King Edward VII hence the name change to the Royal Hotel. By the end of that year the licence had reverted to Richard Desmond who finally sold his hotel, hall and saleyards to Daniel Schultz (licensee of several Toowoomba Hotels since 1884) in November, 1903. This photo of the Royal Hotel appeared in the Queenslander, February 13, 1904.