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Former premier Steve Bracks,then-opposition leader Bill Shorten and Premier Daniel Andrews share a beer in memory of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke at The Curtin.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Managers of the Carlton pub,named after wartime Labor prime minister John Curtin,announced it would close when its lease expires in November after owners listed the building for sale.

“Beyond that,we have no idea what the developers will have planned for us,” the Curtin posted on Facebook in February.

If the Curtin were protected on theVictorian Heritage Register, it could still be sold,altered or used for a different purpose,but its owners would be legally required to maintain the hotel’s heritage,making it less attractive to developers.

Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari toldThe Age the pub deserved protection for its connection to the union movement,dating back to the 1800s. The Trades Hall opened in 1859,the same year a hotel was established on the site across the road where the Curtin stands today.

“The Trades Hall basically grew up with the pub,” Mr Hilakari said. “We don’t want it to be knocked down and frankly,we won’t let it.”

The pub,in those days called the Lygon Hotel,was redeveloped in 1915 before its name changed to the John Curtin Hotel around 1969,when Mr Hawke was elected president of the ACTU.

The National Trust and Trades Hall said The Curtin,as it’s commonly known,had “highly significant” heritage links,given its relationship with Mr Hawke,Labor’s longest-serving prime minister. Hundreds of people attended his unofficial wake at the pub in 2019,including then-opposition leader Bill Shorten,Premier Daniel Andrews and former premier Steve Bracks.

The heritage application also said the site was significant for its ongoing role as a music venue and history hosting fortnightly Aboriginal band nights in the 1980s and 1990s.

Mr Hilakari said a union was considering buying the property and maintaining the pub. Current and former bar staff were also looking at raising funds and creating a community pub with shareholders,he said.

However,he said protection on the state’s heritage register,which he was hopeful of achieving,would ensure the heritage remained.

“Even if we couldn’t buy it … it wouldn’t really matter.”

Mr Hilakari said Victoria needed a shift in its planning policies to protect live music venues and cultural institutions,a view shared by one of the pub’s manager’s Ben Russell,speaking toThe Age last month.

National Trust of Australia Victorian advocacy manager Felicity Watson said the hotel had hosted conversations and events that have influenced the course of Victoria’s and Australia’s history.

“It is vital to protect the Curtin,not only for its historical importance,but for its ongoing role as a meeting place for the labour movement and one of Melbourne’s most important live music venues.”

Steven Avery,executive director of Heritage Victoria,said the nomination would be reviewed.

Heritage Victoria – part of the Department of Environment,Land,Water and Planning – would then make a recommendation to the Heritage Council,an independent body that will make the final decision. The recommendation needs to be advertised for 60 days and public hearings could take place.

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