Mired in debt, Darwin's historic Victoria Hotel closes its doors
It survived three major cyclones and a Japanese bombing raid, but being buried under a pile of debt has finally seen Darwin's iconic Victoria Hotel close its doors.
On Tuesday it was announced the hotel was shutting up shop due to financial hardship only three years after re-opening due to difficult trading conditions in 2011.
A statement from the hotel said that since re-opening it had struggled to get market share due to its geographic position and lack of a suitable downstairs smoking area.
The Vic, as it is known, first opened in 1890 to cater to people flocking to Darwin as part of the gold rush of the late 19th Century.
It survived cyclones in 1897, 1937 and Cyclone Tracy in 1974, as well as the Japanese bombing raid on Darwin in 1942.
Administrator with KordaMentha, Stephen Duncan, said The Vic owed about 50 creditors in excess of $750,000.
He said it was possible The Vic would one day re-open its doors and he was currently sitting down to assess whether it should be sold, restructured or recapitalised, a process that would take three or four weeks.
Australian Hotels Association (AHA) president Justin Coleman said government regulations had taken their toll on all Darwin's pubs.
"Measures like the Darwin Safe Accord, which brought in some pretty strict guidelines on advertising regulations and what we could promote [and] how we can promote alcohol sales, it probably in the end has taken its toll on The Vic," Mr Coleman said.
"There is a lot of pressure on publicans to actually serve less alcohol so unfortunately we have got to make up for that in other areas," he told ABC Local Radio 105.7.
"Unfortunately I feel that this probably won't be the last venue to close its doors," he said.
The Darwin Safe Accord was unveiled by the NT Government in conjunction with the AHA in February and it included bans on all shots and shooters after 1:00am and a four-drink limit during happy hours and after midnight.
The accord was brought in to try to counter violence in Darwin's CBD, particularly in busy Mitchell Street.
