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Henry Reeves
arrived on the convict ship
Hercules in 1825. He was assigned to
the Invermein district and was issued with a ticket of leave for that
district in 1833.
He was at one time the owner of
a livery stable in West Maitland and also began a coaching service in
the town. He was licensee for the
Albion Inn in 1842. In 1847 he
moved to larger premises - The Fitzroy Hotel. In 1847 the Stores
of
Isaac Beckett were situated opposite the hotel.
A ball and supper to
celebrate his moving to the Fitzroy were held 'on a first rate scale' on
a Wednesday evening in July of that year. Over one hundred guests
attended. The ball room was tastefully decorated with festoons of
boughs, flowers, and fruit. The supper table was spread in a style that
had seldom been equalled in the district . A good band was in
attendance and dancing was kept up with unabated spirit till nearly
seven o'clock on Thursday morning; the greatest harmony and good feeling
was said to have prevailed the whole night (9)
In 1849,
Mr. Quinn
the Australian Tight Rope Dancer kept Fitzroy Hotel patrons
amused when he performed in the yard of the Fitzroy
while awaiting the procurement of suitable
tackle to perform the feat of crossing the Hunter
River.
In November 1849, Henry Reeves
announced he was retiring from business and advertised to sell his
stock, carriages and furniture. Also at this time he advertised to sell
a parcel of land that was part of an original grant to Mary Hunt ( Molly Morgan)
situated near the Racecourse, West Maitland.
The License for the Fitzroy Hotel
was transferred from Henry Reeves to
Isaac Gorrick (52). In May 1851 Gorrick
joined with
Morris Magney from the Caledonia Hotel in Newcastle to run a
daily coach between Maitland and Newcastle.
(9)MM 24 July 1847
(52) 1849 5 December
(53) MM 28 June 1851
(32)SG1834 6 January
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