The Hero of Waterloo is none other than the Duke of Wellington, best known for defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, bringing an end to the Napoleonic era of European history. He was a conservative military leader who frequently won battles in difficult circumstances and inspired discipline and loyalty in his troops. Wellington became prime minister of Great Britain in 1828.
Arthur Wellesley – The Duke of Wellington
From 1988-2013, Ivan Richard Nelson was the publican of The Hero of Waterloo Hotel, making him the longest licensee in the pub’s history.
Ivan gained his strong business ethic from working in his grandfather’s company, Nelson & Robinson, Australia’s leading shipping company.
Ivan’s warm, generous personality endeared him to the locals and visitors to the Hero. Ivan would delight in showing visitors the cellars and enthralling them with the Hero’s many stories.
Ivan’s passion for his colonial pub has helped ensure the Hero maintains its historic atmosphere.
Ivan Richard Nelson
The Hero Cellar and Tunnel
There is an enduring legend that a secret tunnel running from the cellar of the hotel to the harbour was used for rum smuggling and the involuntary recruitment of sailors. An unknowing young man might find himself drunk at the bar, dropped through a trapdoor into the cellar and dragged through the tunnel, only to awake to the morning shanghaied aboard a clipper.
Reminders of the Hero’s notorious past are everywhere. The downstairs cellars still have shackles on the walls and the entrance to the smuggler’s tunnel can still be seen.
This Historic Australian landmark is classified by the Heritage Council and The National Trust.
It is rumoured that in 1849, publican Thomas Kirkman pushed his wife, Anne, down the Hero’s stairs to her death.
In recent times, it has been said that the ghost of Anne Kirkman frequents the Hero. After upstairs functions rooms are reset for a new day, several chairs can be found facing the fireplace the next morning, even though nobody has been inside since the previous evening. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, classical music can be heard coming from the piano in the bar area. When the owners descend the stairs from the upstairs apartment where they live, the music eerily stops, the lid of the piano left open.
George Paton purchased land on the corner of Windmill and Lower Fort Street in The Rocks from John Clarke.
George Paton
Pingback: Ghost Tours Sydney; The Rocks Walking Tour ~ Globeblogging
Pingback: 29 Iconic Buildings in Sydney | Sightseeing
Pingback: Down at the pub - Photos JAC