Yes, the Cooma Hotel.
Research by Kyabram historian Eileen Sullivan reveals that in 1886 a Mr Patrick O’Brien applied for the removal of his licence from the Cooma Hotel to his Kyabram premises because the two-roomed Cooma Hotel was just too small.
At this time the Kyabram Hotel was being erected on its current site and contained seven rooms, a large kitchen and stables at the rear of the premises.
At the same time a Mr Hugh Ryan was also applying for Mr George Henley’s Gate House Hotel, Henley, (3km south east of Kyabram) licence from that hotel to be transferred to a building in Kyabram to be known as the Commercial Hotel (now Hurley’s Hotel).
At this time Kyabram had just the one pub – the Albion Hotel.
There was opposition by the local Gospel Temperance Society to the licences being granted, with a petition protesting against any increase of hotels in the fledgling Kyabram township.
Mr O’Brien countered this by arranging his own petition and in September 1886 both licences were granted and Kyabram became a three pub town.
The first Kyabram Hotel was a weatherboard building and on April 24, 1899, was totally destroyed by fire, with the stables the only building left standing.
One of the guests at the hotel at the time who fled onto Allan St when the fire alarm was given was Baron Von Swaine, the German of Lancaster mansion fame.
But the hotel quickly rose again from the ashes under the guidance of the-then publican, a Mr Cressard, renowned district architect Mr Arthur Castles, and local builder George Bishop.
The result was an impressive two-storied showpiece with the verandahs boasting very decorative and stunning cast iron lace work.
The Kyabram Hotel remained this way until the early 1950s when the verandah was removed to fall in line with the architecture of nearby buildings.
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