Cloud over The Curtin lifts as pub’s new owner looks to lease it

But Russell and the pub’s live music fans may get a reprieve. It’s understood agents at CBRE are negotiating with Russell, although neither party would confirm details.

“For the entire time we have run the venue, we have only been given a year by year lease,” Russell said.

“It’s hard to invest if you think you will be turfed out all the time. To get a long-term lease would be a reward for all the hard work, but also really great boost for the music community,” he said.

Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari said the union movement and Carlton residents will be “thrilled” to hear of the pub’s change of fortune. “It’s amazing news,” he said.

“There should not be any future changes to the outside or the inside of the building. We want to secure the hotel for the residents of Carlton, for musos across Victoria as a live venue, and for unionists to enjoy this historic place,” Hilakari said.

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The Curtin, as it is commonly known, was established on a site opposite where it’s located today in 1859, the same year as Trades Hall opened. It was redeveloped in 1915 on its current site and called the Lygon Hotel before its name changed to the John Curtin Hotel in 1969, around the same time Bob Hawke was elected president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

The pub has a long and gritty history as a live music venue, hosting fortnightly Aboriginal band nights in the 1990s and in the 1970s live shows like Cash Savage, Orb and Blake Scott.

Heritage Victoria is still assessing the pub, but supporters say its history as a watering hole for the union movement and luminaries such as former prime minister Bob Hawke, and its place in Melbourne’s pantheon of well-known live music venues, add to its stature.