The Mansfield Hotel, Townsville, has re-opened after for an epic transformation including a new beer garden, container kitchen, entertainment space and band room.
We are the perfect venue for a midweek retreat, an afternoon beer or fuelling up for whatever the weekend has in store. Boasting a diverse entertainment schedule of live original music from emerging local bands through to a regular roster of some of Australia’s most popular acts, the Mansfield experience indulges live music fans from all around Townsville and beyond.
Our Tavern has been a central part of Townsville for more than a century. It was established in 1899 by Alfred Taylor and was originally known as the Federal Hotel between 1899-1901.
The hotel was at the cutting edge of comfort when it opened. A report in The North Queensland Register on 4 December 1899 took us inside the hotel and conveyed some of the excitement at its opening.
The new Federal hotel was, the paper said, “in all respects equal to the best class of buildings put up for hotel purposes”.
The report credited the architects for “having developed a house which is as suitable as it can be made for the climate and which will grace the main street of the city for years to come”.
It continued: “The building is of brick, and its massive proportions go well with the handsome premises of the Townsville Brewery on the opposite corner.”
The report noted that “each room is fitted with French lighting, glazed with a handsome pattern of frosted glass and giving access to the balconies.”
The parlour is “sumptuously furnished and which, with a large hanging lamp, will be brilliantly illuminated at night.”
We are given more insights into the hotel: “On the basement floor are the bar, private bar, parlours, dining room, kitchen and servant’s quarters. The bar furnishings are in the now fashionable silky oak panels.
“The hotel is illuminated throughout with incandescent gas burners and at night shining with a brilliancy hitherto unknown in the West End.
“The new proprietor Mr Roger Hancorne should give the new house some of his own personal popularity.”
The hotel has had many names. In November 1901 the name was changed to the Langham. In 1906 the original licensee Alfred Taylor aimed his hotel at families offering reasonably priced accommodation, and changed the hotel’s name to Taylors.
More than a century later the Mansfield is still a much-loved gathering place and has re-opened after for an epic transformation including a new beer garden, container kitchen, entertainment space and band room.
We are located in a superb area. From the Great Barrier Reef and its tropical islands to the lush rainforests and World Heritage listed national parks, our coastal town has merged into a modern metropolis, a place to explore and immerse in nature.
Long known as a military base, the Townsville region today remains home to one of the country’s largest army barracks, as the official home of Australia’s 3rd and 11th Brigades. And it’s thanks to this influx of army personnel and their families that the city has prospered. Townsville today is Australia’s largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast.
Whether you’re looking for adventure or a more leisurely pace there is something for you in Townsville.
The Mansfield Hotel is the perfect place for a midweek retreat, an afternoon beer or fuelling up for whatever the weekend has in store. Boasting a diverse entertainment schedule of live original music from emerging local bands through to a regular roster of some of Australia’s most popular acts, the Mansfield experience indulges live music fans from all around Townsville and beyond.
Drop in soon and say hello.