The Regatta traces its story to 1874, when an early single-storey timber hotel stood on the site and Coronation Drive was still known as River Road.
A little over a decade later, publican William Winterford had a much grander vision. In 1886, he commissioned prominent Brisbane architect Richard Gailey to design the three-storey hotel that still stands today. Builder George Gazzard brought the design to life for £4,800, complete with broad verandahs, ornate cast-iron detailing and sweeping views across the Brisbane River.
When the new hotel opened, it quickly made an impression. An 1887 newspaper review declared that there was “no hotel in Queensland that has a finer situation”.
More than a century later, the river view is still one of The Regatta’s calling cards.
The Regatta’s name comes from the rowing events held along this stretch of the Brisbane River, and the hotel was part of the action almost from the beginning.
In 1876, The Queenslander reported on a Brisbane Rowing Club regatta in which the finishing point was marked by a flag on a punt off the Regatta Hotel. Spectators watched from the riverbank, sailing boats and steamers as crews raced along the Milton Reach.
It is an early glimpse of something that would become a recurring theme in The Regatta’s history: Brisbane gathering by the river, with the hotel in the middle of it all.
The riverside position that made The Regatta so appealing has also tested it.
In March 1915, fire tore through the rear of the hotel in the early hours of the morning. With smoke blocking the staircase, members of the licensee’s family escaped from the front balcony. The building survived.
Floods have also repeatedly surrounded the hotel, producing some of its most remarkable historical images. Through changing owners, natural disasters and a rapidly growing city, The Regatta remained standing.
In 1917, The Regatta faced a threat of a very different kind.
A local option poll in Toowong resulted in a decision that would have seen the hotel’s licence cease. Owner Sarah Ann Daniell challenged the decision, and the dispute ultimately reached the High Court of Australia.
There was a constitutional problem: the local poll had been held on the same day as a Commonwealth election, despite federal legislation preventing a state vote being held that day.
In April 1920, the High Court held that the poll could not provide a lawful basis for cancelling the licence.
The Regatta stayed open, adding a High Court case to an already colourful history.
On 31 March 1965, The Regatta became the scene of its most famous chapter.
At the time, women in Queensland were excluded from drinking in public bars. Activists Merle Thornton and Rosalie Bogner decided to challenge the restriction by entering The Regatta’s public bar and chaining themselves to its footrail.
Police attended. News cameras followed. The protest attracted national attention and became an important moment in Australia’s women’s rights movement. Queensland’s relevant liquor restriction was repealed in 1970.
Today, Merle’s Bar honours Thornton and the protest that took place here, connecting one of the hotel’s most significant stories directly with the venue visitors experience today.
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The Regatta’s history is written into the building itself. Its verandahs still look across the Brisbane River. Rooms carry the names of figures including Winterford, Gailey, Gazzard and Thornton. And generations after the first patrons arrived, people continue to meet here for a drink, a meal, a celebration or simply the view. For more than 150 years, Brisbane has changed around The Regatta.
