The Waterside Hotel: From Six O’Clock Swill to Rooftop Cocktails
After a $30 million transformation, one of Melbourne’s roughest dockside pubs has become one of the city’s most striking hospitality venues. The Waterside Hotel, on the corner of Flinders and King Streets, reopened in late 2025 after being gutted and rebuilt behind its meticulously preserved heritage-listed 1925 façade.
Waterside Hotel Melbourne
The rough and ready years
A hotel has occupied this corner since 1853. It began life as the Mercantile, became the London, then the Carnarvon, before the current Art Deco Waterside replaced the earlier hotel in 1925.
The Waterside was one of Melbourne’s notorious early-opening pubs, pulling beers from six in the morning for dock workers coming off the night shift. By early evening, the bar was heaving again as day workers packed in for the infamous six o’clock swill—guzzling as much beer as possible before the barman cried “last drinks”.
Introduced in 1916, this six o’clock closing law was promoted by temperance groups aiming to get men home to their families at a reasonable hour.
But in what state? The law resulted in binge drinking, alcoholism, crime and domestic violence.
The “Dive” era (1970s–1990s)
During the second half of the 20th century, the Waterside earned a reputation as one of Melbourne’s most unruly and squalid establishments. It was so rough that one regular recalled a notorious killer dropping in for a beer, still wearing bloody overalls.
“I used to go to the Waterside looking for trouble,” recalls ex-punter Michael Kelly. “It never let me down.”
On the Vintage Victoria Facebook page, Graham Peters recalls the 1970s Waterside as “wild”, adding that even into the late 1990s bar stools were bolted down and wire cages covered the tills.
Many Melburnians watched the antics from a safe distance. One recalled an old fella coming out in overalls carrying a kit bag. “He walked to the corner and projectile vomited into the gutter. We sounded the horn and gave him a cheer. He then gave us a big bow, tipped his hat and walked on.”
Union Hub and Command Centre
Beyond the bar-room brawls and colourful characters, the Waterside also played an important role in Australia’s industrial history. Bob Hawke famously swore off beer when he became Prime Minister in 1983. Before that, he was the hard-drinking president of the ACTU, meeting union delegates and waterside workers in pubs like the Waterside while negotiating labour disputes.
Some years on, the hotel found itself at the centre of events during the bitter 1998 Australian waterfront dispute, when 1,400 wharfies were sacked, and balaclava-clad security guards used attack dogs to remove workers from the docks. The Waterside became an unofficial command centre and media hub for Maritime Union of Australia supporters. For decades, it wasn’t just where dock workers drank—it was where history was made.
My take on pubs
While the Waterside’s history belongs to Melbourne, my relationship with pubs was shaped by growing up in the Eastern suburbs in the 60s and 70s.
I remember women being corralled in separate “ladies’ lounges” and served through a hatch. Some hotels still refused to serve women in public bars until the Equal Opportunity Act 1977 made that discrimination illegal.
But for many women of my generation, feeling uncomfortable in bars is a hangover from the past. Even when we could go in, “nice girls” didn’t enter the male preserve of bars.
Now in my 70s, I enjoy exploring new bars despite some lingering hesitation on the initial walk in. When I discovered that the Sand Hill Road Group—known for the Espy, Garden State, and Richmond Club Hotel—had revitalized the Waterside, I was eager to experience it.
A new era for the Waterside
My opportunity arose last Mother’s Day. The cooking class my son had booked us into was cancelled at the last minute, so I asked him to treat me to a meal at PAST / PORT, Waterside’s restaurant instead.
The public bar experience
Walking through the public bar before going upstairs, we felt the classic Melbourne pub energy with a long bar, huge sports screens, traditional pub fare, share plates, and a mix of stools and lower seating.
The drink list ranged from a quick pint to elaborate cocktails. I couldn’t help wondering what the old wharfies would have said of garnished drinks. Probably something like, “A drink shouldn’t bloody need gardening!”
Dining at PAST / PORT
As impressive as the public bar was, the restaurant upstairs was the real reason we’d come. I’d visited PAST / PORT once before when the Waterside first reopened, and a Malaysian-born friend wanted to check out the menu for a future meal.
PAST/PORT’s Executive Chef, Sarah Chan, hails from Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, and creates Nyonya cuisine blending her Chinese and Malay heritage with family recipes, hence the selection. My friend was delighted when she saw nostalgic dishes from her childhood.
But it was the décor that mesmerised me. To my mind it felt like Old Shanghai, featuring oriental ceiling fans with hand-painted shades and ruffled, embroidered curtains. The Asian-inspired palette combined the colour of green tea with rattan and ochre.
The food
This time, though, the food rather than the décor took centre stage. I found our meal astonishing. Sarah Chan says she remembers her mother’s cooking as “a hug in a bowl.” And that’s exactly what her dishes felt like to me on Mother’s Day.
We enjoyed a set menu, although the dishes are also available à la carte. Highlights included:
- Nasi Kerabu – blue rice coloured with butterfly pea flower extract.
- Prawn dumplings – with spicy coconut and lime leaves.
- Inche Kabin – fragrant double-fried chicken infused with spices and coconut milk.
- Nyonya Pie Tee – delicate pastry cases topped with ocean trout, green nam jim and salmon caviar.
- Sticky date pudding – served with coconut cream caramel enriched with a surprising splash of fish sauce.
The staff went out of their way to ensure the occasion was memorable. Unbidden, the front-of-house host brought me a complimentary pandan fizz cocktail.
“When we saw you wearing green, we realised we had the perfect cocktail to match your outfit,” she said.
The rooftop terrace and private spaces
Before leaving, we took the lift to PAST / PORT’s rooftop cocktail bar and terrace. The Yarra glints below, trains thread over bridges, and skyscrapers lean in towards you like progress embracing the past.
Above this rooftop terrace are three levels of private event spaces with a Hanging Gardens of Babylon-style frontage. They include a fifth-floor lounge with personalised butler service. If these walls could talk, it would probably sound like a gruff wharfie who’d tell the butler exactly where to shove his silver tray—and it wouldn’t be the pantry.
Reflecting on the Waterside’s Legacy
You don’t need to know the Waterside’s colourful history to enjoy a meal at PAST/ PORT or a cocktail while soaking up city views. But knowing that generations of wharfies, union leaders, and colourful characters once staggered through these doors adds another layer to the experience.
To me, the essence of this resurrected hotel is that it has stayed true to the soul of a Melbourne pub while reinventing itself for a new generation. The bar stools may no longer be screwed down, but the walls can certainly tell a few choice stories.
Accessibility
Step-free entry via King Street, with an automated door for easy independent access.
The ground floor public bar has mostly high tables and stools, with a small lower-seating corner near the front that fills quickly. The beer garden doesn’t have standard-height tables, so it’s not the easiest spot if you need a proper chair and table.
PAST/PORT dining on level 2 is accessed by lift and has standard-height tables throughout, making it a more comfortable option for a sit-down meal.
The rooftop terrace on level 3 has a mix of seating, indoor space and a wrap-around terrace, and is generally the most flexible level for accessible seating.
Accessible toilets are located on the rooftop (level 3) and in the basement, not on the ground floor, so it’s worth planning your visit around this.
Accessible parking is available on Flinders Lane, behind the venue.
Practical advice: if wheelchair access or step-free seating is a priority, head straight up to level 2 or 3 rather than settling into the ground-floor bar.
Getting there
Public transport: Flinders Street Station is directly across the road, making this one of the easiest venues in the city to reach by train. The free City Circle tram runs along Flinders Street nearby.
Driving: Southern Cross Station is roughly a 10 to 12 minute walk if you’re coming by regional train or coach. Metered street parking is limited in this part of the CBD, so a nearby car park is generally more reliable.
Drop-off zone: The corner of Flinders and King Streets allows for a straightforward kerbside drop-off, with the hotel’s main entrance right on King Street.
Waterside Hotel
508 Flinders St, Melbourne 3000
03 9629 1350
info@watersidehotel.com.au
We covered our own expenses at Waterside Hotel.
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