By Anna Donne, Sunshine and District Historical Society
The Derrimut Hotel, an imposing large brown Spanish-style building known to locals as ‘the Derri’, has an historical connection to royalty.
Located on the corner of Sun Crescent and Durham Road in Sunshine, The Derri is a traditional old-school pub with counter meals, pokies, and a few blokes out the front having a smoke. It might then come as a surprise to hear that Prince Philip, or Naval Officer Philip Mountbatten as he was previously known, spent some time at the Derrimut Hotel.
In June 1945, the then single Philip Mountbatten sailed into Melbourne as second-in-command of the Royal Navy destroyer Whelp, telling a reporter for The Argus that he intended to have ‘a jolly good time’. Asked whether he planned to marry, he declared ‘God forbid!’. Clearly his resolution faded, as two years later he married Princess Elizabeth.
At the time, the Sunshine Advocate reported that Philip’s friend, fellow Royal Navy officer, Michael Avison Parker, who later became the prince’s long-serving personal secretary, introduced Philip to Mary and Roma Fowler, whose parents ran the Derrimut Hotel. In 1945 the Derrimut Hotel was a handsome building in what was little more than a village in the outskirts of metropolitan Melbourne. The Sunshine Advocate reported that Philip stayed as a guest at the Fowler family’s hotel, with local Sunshine residents noting their surprise at seeing Philip buying newspapers at the Sunshine Railway Station. Sadly, little was recorded of the details of Philip’s ‘jolly good time’!
If industrialist and Sunshine pioneer, HV McKay had had his way however, Prince Philip’s sojourn into Sunshine may never have happened.
From 1924 to 1927, residents had pushed for the establishment of an hotel in Sunshine, as the nearest venue was the Braybrook Hotel, opened by the Derham’s, a pioneering family of the district, and located almost two kilometres away. A significant distance at a time when very few had cars. In the winter of 1927, a petition was circulated, asking that a license to establish a hotel serving alcohol in the Sunshine area be granted. The reasons for the request for a license included the need for a venue to ‘cater for those requiring a bed and a meal’ and ‘the necessity of alleviating the strain on dry throats’.
The petition process was not without drama, however. On 22nd November 1927, Mr. Vivian Tanner, licensing magistrate and Mr. Nunn, registrar, reviewed the names recorded on the petition. The Sunshine Advocate reported that an objector ‘fortified with reliable information’ challenged the inclusion of many of the names, 64 of which were subsequently struck out. The deputy electoral registrar for Sunshine district, Constable Dibbs, later added a further 97 names and the petition proceeded. Presumably these additional names were deemed legitimate by the licensing magistrate.
Although several councillors were supportive of the request, there was strong opposition from others including temperance union members, the local Presbyterian Church and HV McKay, all of whom felt the hotel would be detrimental to the community. In February 1928, two years after the passing of HV McKay and following a lengthy legal battle, the Victorian Minister responsible for gaming and liquor, announced the issue would be decided through a local election. Following the announcement of this election, there was what the Sunshine Advocate described as “three weeks of strenuous campaigning by both the ‘wets’ and the ‘drys’”.
Supporters reinforced the need for accommodation for local workers, while opponents felt the plea for accommodation and meals was all ‘moonshine’ and that the main purpose was to make the hotel a ‘drinking shop’. Ultimately the ‘wets’ won, by a margin of 64 votes. The license was granted and the ‘strain on dry throats’ was eased.
The Sunshine Advocate reported that the owners, Mr Daniel Francis Canny and Mr Frederick Long, ‘… insisted on having a building worthy of the town’, spending £23,000 on the build, equivalent to around $845,000 in today’s money. Such a substantial and costly structure was a significant indicator of the growth and importance of Sunshine by the late 1920s.The building was considered architecturally significant at the time and remains one of the few Spanish style hotels in the Melbourne area.
In May 1929 the Derrimut Hotel opened, with the Licensee Mrs TM Fowler, holding a grand luncheon to commemorate the event, and unknowingly paving the way for a visit from royalty.
