PUBMobilia - 1

Amid the take-over of NSW breweries in the 80s, by people like Alan Bond, a lot of bar mirrors commissioned by the Kent Brewery were taken down from hotels and lost to the public. These were all individually painted on cellulose and transferred onto glass with each mirror generally depicting surrounding industry or lifestyle - something that seems to be lost on the reprinted posters that are currently showing up on hotels around Sydney today.

I photographed these 'artworks' at that time because they were disappearing (either seen as anachronisms or simply due to wear and tear) only to be replaced with unimaginative, generic posters. It was especially maddening to enter a town and see the dusty rectangles where mirrors had recently been removed and only imagine what romanticised, local theme had been lost. Even a damaged 'bar-mirror' says more than a Fosters Lager poster . . .

The Linga Longa Inn - Situated between Scone and the Barrington Tops, the Linga Longa was catering to a primarily, rural area.





The Nambucca Hotel in Macksville - These mirrors were in perfect order but were subsequently broken when thieves tried to steal them in the 90's.





The Star Hotel, Macksville - Facing the Nambucca River and eastward the sun took it's toll on these bar mirrors, completely disintegrating the banana harvesting mirror which was only recognisable thanks to a faint image left on the glass. In contrast, the Nambucca Hotel mirrors were protected by the pub's verandah but not from theft.



Union Hotel - King Street Newtown. As part of the mirror reflecting local interest and culture, the footy illustration shows arch rivals South Sydney 'Rabbitohs' playing the local Newtown 'Blue Bags'.