Our story
The Belmont Hotel has a long history in Bendigo, a history we hope continues for another 125 years.
A CELEBRATED HISTORY
Bendigo has a rich history of hotels with hundreds of pubs during its gold-rush and post-gold-rush eras. The Belmont Hotel was part of this vibrant hospitality scene alongside others like the Shamrock and the Goldmines Hotel.
Origins and Early Years
Local accounts mention the land for the Belmont Hotel was originally bought for £11 by Thomas Buzza (an early Bendigo identity), and early owners before the Jackson era included George Bell, James Boyd, John Holmes, and Robert Burrowes.
The Jackson Family Era
The Belmont Hotel was owned by the Jackson family since the 1880s. Licensee was Mrs Anne Jackson, wife of Edward Jackson, Edward was unfortunately blinded in an underground explosion at the Lady Barkly mine in 1875. History shows their first liquor license was registered in December 1882 in the Sandhurst Licensing Court as reported in the Bendigo Advertiser. While a female publican might sound rare for the times it was not completely unusual.
Mrs Anne Jackson was considered a respectable female publican who held the license of the then known Belmont Hotel for over 30 years from 1893. In 1908 Anne Jackson transferred the license to her daughters Miss Anne Emma Jackson and Mary Martha Steele. Anne Emma ran the establishment unaccompanied until 1955.
Local Stories and Colourful Moments
The building survived a minor earthquake which was strong enough to shake glasses off shelves and cracked a doorway, which was later filled in but the crack remained visible for years.
The hotel survived major shifts in Bendigo’s licensing landscape, including government efforts to reduce the number of hotels in the early 20th century. The Belmont Hotel survived most likely because it was considered “in good repair and fairly well furnished.”
Legacy and Recent Years
The Belmont Hotel’s most recent history reveals the latest owners doing an extensive renovation on the interior and exterior areas of the building, adding new outdoor socialising areas, external bars and wood heating. The pub was reopened for business in May 2025 to great fanfare.
