bartenders

flic.kr/p/2kc3h5G

The text on the back of the Mitchell Library copy of this photo - is considered to be in error. "The bar of Theatre Royal Melbourne about 1865". The State Library record here is in conflict on the issue - giving the location as both the Theatre Royal - and Crystal Bar. It can't be both ! Theatre Heritage Australia via Dr Mimi Colligan has researched the photo - and concludes that it is the Crystal Bar at Cremorne Gardens - and State Library has amended their record to "Crystal Bar at Cremorne Gardens, Richmond, Victoria, ca. 1860". The whole story here: www.theatreheritage.org.au/on-stage-magazine/general-arti...

Thanks Lins - have updated here.

this is the description of the bar in the 1858 Argus - We are almost sorry to be compelled to speak of the bar in terms of higher praise than those we have used regarding any other part of the gardens, but certes it is one of the handsomest places of the kind which we have ever witnessed. An air of coolness and increased spaciousness has been given it by the erection of a wall of plate-glass in the rear of the counter. At the top of the mirrors and at the back of pendant crystals are the jets of light which illuminate the place. Statues and flower vases and pictures are deposited wherever there is a chance of their heightening the general effect. Altogether, as an exhibition of taste devoted to a special purpose, we imagine the bar may challenge competition with anything of the kind in either hemisphere. In our own country this style of drinking temple is rarely attempted. It is in America where they are found in the greatest perfection, and we must therefore leave it to our trans-Atlantic brethren to decide upon the comparative merits of this Bacchanalian resort. CREMORNE GARDENS. (1858, November 16). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 5. Retrieved December 9, 2020, from nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7304641 and another much later description Coppin's Cremorne (1933, April 8). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 6. Retrieved December 9, 2020, from nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4728609

Fantastic picture

Shaken, not stirred.

See the Barkeep watching them like a hawk, "You boys gonna behave yourselves now", no claim jumpers present then. Wonder if any of the Three Lucky Swedes from Nome have dropped in, that could be Eric Lindblom holding the whiskey glass aloft - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nome_Gold_Rush The floor boards are interesting, they must be more than a foot wide and milled from what would now be exceptionally large logs. "Just a little south-east of Nome..." Well, 55 miles. youtu.be/JSt0NEESrUA

A lovely picture of working men; looking edgy, suspicious of each other, as you would expect of gold-rush era miners. The dude in back even more so perhaps, as one of only two clean-shaven men in the room.

Merryjack Yes, and wearing a three piece suit and necktie.