The Kelso Hotel
37 Sydney Road,
Kelso NSW 2795
Phone 6331 6675
Fax 6331 6812
The Old Kelso Hotel photo courtesy of Bathurst District Historical Society
Central West, NSW, Australia
HISTORY:
'The Kelso'
The Kelso Hotel, originally called the Horse and Coaches Inn, was built in 1860 and is the oldest operating Hotel in Bathurst. It was built using local bricks supplied by the brick works located near the Macquarie River at Kelso and had a shingle roof, which remains in place under the current corrugated iron roof.
The discovery of gold in the area in 1851 sparked off the first gold rush in Australia & made Bathurst the thriving centre of the western region. By 1862, The Kelso was one of fifty hotels serving a population of about 5,000 people.
The owners renamed the hotel in 1869 to the Terminus and again in 1874 to the Melbourne Hotel. It was not until 1937 that the Hotel became known as it is today, the Kelso Hotel.
The Kelso was renovated by the O’Hara family in 2005 and the Stables Bistro built in what were the original stables of the Hotel which, in its day, housed up to thirteen horses.
The Kelso is the only Hotel still trading in Kelso. It has been and continues to be a favourite watering hole for travellers and locals alike.
Proud Sponsors of Panthers and Villages United Football, Kelso Hockey, ORC Cricket,
Pandas Soccer, Out Of Touch Netball and many Touch Football teams.
The Kelso was an Australian Hotels Association finalist
for Casual Dining Venue Of The Year in 2006, 2007 & 2008
