LIVE-MUSIC ICON TO SHUT
GEELONG’S iconic National Hotel will close its doors next month, following complaints from police about the safety of the historic building.
Engineers will move in on November 10 to assess the structure of the live-music venue and decide whether it can remain open.
Nearly 1000 people flocked to ‘The Nash’ Facebook page to express support for the 150-year-old pub – one of the city’s best- known live rock venues.
Sources told the Geelong Advertiser police alerted City Hall to safety concerns.
It followed investigations by Geelong detectives and liquor licensing officers into a series of violent incidents at the pub in the last year.
Geelong Police Inspector Gary Thompson said police had been liaising with council officers.
Live music manager Al O’Neil confirmed the pub had cancelled its live acts, due to structural concerns.
It was not known whether the bar would continue to operate after November.
‘‘We had to bite the bullet and confirm a last date for shows as we didn’t want to inconvenience bands more than we have to,’’ Mr O’Neil said.
The pub’s licensee is today expected to provide more details on the future of the venue.
City of Greater Geelong chief executive Stephen Griffin said works were completed yesterday to temporarily fix the structural problems.
Council building inspectors had initially attended after attention was drawn to issues related to some sections of the flooring, Mr Griffin said.
Council staff plan to help the proprietor work towards re-opening the venue.
Patrick Donovan from Music Victoria, the state’s peak independent music body, said the closure was a blow to the industry.
‘‘It’s a reminder how precarious regional venues are. The Nash is one of the best venues in the region,’’ Mr Donovan said.
Renowned Geelong artist Robert Drummond said poets, writers, musicians and comedians began meeting at The Nash in the early 90s, and the venue had been the home of the 052 and Skeleton clubs.
It had nurtured local talent, he said.
But recent changes to the safety of Geelong’s nightlife had turned off some pubgoers.
‘‘You could always go down there and all day there was a safe, friendly environment,’’ he said. ‘‘ There would be something happening from eight in the morning until the early hours.
‘‘It was a fantastic place, which really got people from the arts mixing.’’
The pub had been a stomping ground for the region’s budding musicians and in the 1990s was a hang-out of poets, including Shelton Lea.
Recent line- ups have included Kate Miller- Heidke, Frenzal Rhomb and British India as well as many international alternative rockers.