75. Alma Hotel -1891

The stone and brick Alma Hotel was opened in 1891 and originally had 10 rooms, a single bar and a cellar. Its wide verandahs are typical of hotels of the era 

 Its first licensee was John Anderson who, it seems, turned the Alma from a ‘beer tent’ serving miners to an established hotel. Anderson continued to run the hotel, through economic hardship, dust storms and fires, until his retirement in the early 1900s. 

‘Alma’ was the original name for South Broken Hill, named for a battle in the Crimean War of 1854.  

The Alma underwent renovations and changes over the years, like all the historic hotels in Broken Hill. It was a sad day for many living in South Broken Hill when it shut its doors in 2019.