Mr Toy didn’t stay there long. One of his successors was James Budd, who took over in 1885. His term came to a sudden end in 1888 when, after a short illness, he died. He has a rather magnificent monument on his grave. In front of it is a marble tablet, dedicated to Caroline Davies, who is also buried there. Who was Caroline Davies? She was first James Budd’s wife, and then his widow. After his death, she carried on in the hotel trade, supporting their four children. She married again, her second husband, Tom Smith, also being a publican. Tom Smith died in 1898 and is tucked nicely into the grave next to James Budd. Caroline’s husband number three was John Davies. When she died in 1915, she was put in with James. A relative of the Budds asked why Caroline didn’t get buried with John Davies. The answer is you aren’t allowed to bury people when they’re still alive.
James was the only one of Caroline’s husbands with whom she had children. Perhaps they had a say in where she went, perhaps it was a peaceful agreement. John Davies died in Sydney in 1920 while on a visit to his nephew. He is buried in Waverley Cemetery. It seems a shame Cobar doesn’t have the complete set as all three in a row would certainly have told a great story.
And now we get to the McNemays, and while other people do wander in and out of the story, we stay with them until close to the end.
Edward McNemay took the licence of the Club House after James Budd’s death, but he died the following year, much lamented as ‘Ned Mac’. His widow, Elizabeth, was left with two children to support, soon to be three. After Edward’s death, she gave birth to her son Norman, known as Roy. Roy’s birth was registered in Sydney in 1891. It’s possible the registration was made some time after the birth. Meanwhile, the licence was held by James Crow – hang onto that name. And wonder if Mr Crow felt a bit nervous. After all, the two previous licensees had died in successive years. Was the hotel on a hat trick?
James Crow survived the ordeal and Elizabeth took over the licence of the Club House in 1892 and remained there for the rest of her life, sometimes as the licensee and sometimes as the more or less silent owner. She battled through fires and burglaries and tried to maintain a decent house with a good reputation. A particularly fierce fire threatened the hotel in 1909. After the fire brigade saved the buildings, she donated £5 to them, reported in The Cobar Herald under the headline “Practical Gratitude”. She regularly contributed to good causes, such as the town hospital, raised money for the Town Band, and was a member of the Benevolent Society. The hotel was the meeting place for the Wrightville and Cobar Eight-Hour Day processions, the Cobar Football Association, the Ambulance Brigade, and occasionally even the venue for the Coroner’s Court. Many parties and fond farewells were held between its walls.
In spite of all this liveliness, the Club House was one of the many hotels that closed in the early 1920s, due partly to the collapse in the local population and partly due to the new Licence Reduction legislation. As owner, she received £800 in compensation and as licensee, £200. She thought this was nowhere near enough, and the Western Age agreed with her, saying that it seemed the better-kept the premises, the lower the amount and surely there must be some mistake.
When Elizabeth died in 1932, none of her children, who all lived in Sydney, were able to get to the funeral.
The family was represented by her brothers, Harry and Charles Crow. That’s the family that had the Court House, the Royal and the Criterion hotels, as well as interests in mines and other businesses, that had helped her out when Edward died. Elizabeth was a sister of Arthur Crow and sister-in-law of Ellen. In 1895, when Ellen Crow dropped all of the drink prices to 4p at her Court House Hotel, a publicans’ meeting to discuss what to do was held at Elizabeth McNemay’s hotel. One imagines this meeting and its consequences were not conducive to happy family relationships.
After Elizabeth McNemay’s death, the hotel building came into the ownership of Gertrude Hortle. Born in Narrabri and raised in Bourke, Mrs Hortle was an educated and intelligent women. She spoke three languages and had trained and worked as a professional nurse. She ran the old Club House as a boarding house, much needed after the New Occidental Mine opened in 1933. She is said to have been a very small lady, but kept perfect control at the dining table – helped by the stock whip at her side, which she was not afraid to use. Eventually, the old building became dilapidated and Cobar, with the upturn of mining in the 1960s, wished to tidy itself and look respectable. Like so many of the old places, the Club House was demolished with no visible traces of its existence remaining. But for those who know the stories, the Club House is unforgettable.
