If you thought the main purpose of having pubs in Australia was just for drinking alcohol, think again.
Research conducted by the Roy Morgan research company shows that the number of Australians who go to a bar for a meal is more than those who go to drink alcohol.
In this episode of the Australia Explained podcast we also hear the experiences of some migrants visiting the pub for the first time. We learn about the history of association with sports and the establishment of large clubs over time, plus how pubs contributed to supporting some women to support themselves and their family members, especially widows and former convicts.
You can listen to the third episode of Australia Explained here:
‘Pub’ is an abbreviation of the ‘public house’ and there are around 6000 pubs in Australia. They’re a big part of the Australian lifestyle, influenced by the culture in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Almost every Australian neighbourhood has a local pub, and along with tap beer and a fridge of alcohol, there’s often a family-friendly food menu. If you go for lunch, you’ll often find a quiet atmosphere with a mix of the elderly, college students, and families.
Some of these places also provide accommodation, which is why a pub will often have ‘hotel’ at the end of its name.
Many pub buildings were designed in Australia from the second half of the nineteenth century, some of them now being heritage-listed buildings.
In the nineteenth century, Australian pubs provided an important source of income for many women in Australia who were widowed or single. This was a time without any social safety net for single mothers, so women had to search for options to provide food for their families, especially in rural and remote areas.
Here pubs played an important role in providing jobs, not only for widows and abandoned wives, but also for many former convicts.
You can listen to all episodes of Australia Explained in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.
