Previous Find of the Month - 9/2025

Find of the Month

September 2025

Gamblers, Madmen and Fit and Proper Persons:

Billiard Saloon Licences 1929–1942

A green book with gold text AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Fig. 1. Cover, Register of Billiard Saloon Licences

The workers' camps and hostels of early Canberra could be lonely places to spend a long winter's night. It's no wonder, then, that the capital soon had its share of billiard saloons, where men (and it was only men) could spend their evenings. Billiard saloons could attract some shady characters, so in a government town like Canberra they were bound to be closely regulated.

The Federal Capital Commission Register of Billiard Saloon Licences provides a window into this world, and it is the basis for this month's ArchivesACT Find of the Month, first published in August 2014.

While most ACT Government records focus mainly on the day-to-day administration of the Territory, we sometimes come upon gems that provide glimpses into the lives of everyday Canberrans. This register lists the names and addresses of billiard saloon licensees as well as the location of the saloons that operated in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between 1929 and 1942. The number of billiard tables is also listed for some saloons. With its gold lettering and leather spine, the register has a look and feel that evokes the past in a way a spreadsheet can't. Fig 2

Fig. 2. Sam Hood, Billiard Saloon, three tables, probably Lindrum's in Pitt Street, c. 1930s

The register doesn’t include photographs of the saloons, so we’ve included this image of a saloon in Pitt Street Sydney, held by the State Library of New South Wales, as an example of what early saloons in the FCT and Queanbeyan may have looked like.

A great boon in the long nights

The first license issued in the register was to Robert Gordon Jones on 6th June 1929 for a saloon in the White City Camp. Located near the current ANU School of Music, White City Camp was built as a workman's tent camp in 1925 and stayed in operation until 1931.

When the white canvas tents, the source of the camp's name, were replaced by small timber cabins in 1927, a recreation hall was also constructed. The Canberra Times reported on the 11th of June 1927 that "The new billiard room is taking shape fast, and ought to prove a great boon in the long nights."[i]

Fig 3

Fig. 3. Pages 1 & 2 of the Register of Billiard Salon Licences

However, we know that these licences were not the first issued. An earlier newspaper report suggests that Robert Jones may have been the first applicant for a billiard table licence in the FCT when he applied through the Queanbeyan Police in November 1926. The application was “adjourned indefinitely" as a Billiard Tables Ordinance for the FCT was still being prepared by the Federal Capital Commission (FCC) at that time.[ii] A month later, the FCC placed an advertisement in the Canberra Times for billiard saloon licensees at several workmen's camps.[iii]

The register also includes an Application for Licence and a Licence to Conduct a Billiard Saloon for Harold Joseph Preston, a storekeeper in Jervis Bay who kept a billiard table in the Canteen Store from 1937. His 1943 renewal application and licence relate to the final entry in the register.

Fig 4

Fig. 4. Billiard Saloon licence for Harold Joseph Preston, 1943

A battle of champions

In May 1929 the Canberra Times reported on two billiards matches "between Walter Lindrum, the world's record holder and contender for the world's championship and Clark McConaghy, champion of New Zealand."[iv & v] These matches were played in "Mr Jones' Saloon at Kingston" which might indicate Robert Jones also owned the saloon licensed to James William Prowse on 9th November 1929 (Licence no. 5 in this register).

The Canberra Times also ran many advertisements for '”The King of Games Billiard Saloon, Kingston” throughout 1929. The register does not list the business names given to the various saloons - was "Jones' Saloon" a nickname for "The King of Games Billiard Saloon"?

A madman with a revolver

There was a dark side to billiard saloons, which were considered potential locations for illegal gambling activities, a suspicion confirmed by the numerous reports in newspapers of the time.[vi to ix] Gambling activities were not restricted to billiards games but also included dice games like "in and out" and punting on the horses. One raid on a Queanbeyan billiards saloon by undercover police in 1927 resulted in a patron running to the local police station to report that “a madman, with a revolver, was ‘holding up’ the occupants of the billiard saloon".[ix]

A fit and proper person to hold a licence

From November 1926, billiard saloons in the FCT were regulated under the Ordinance Relating to the Licensing of Billiard Saloons. The Ordinance attempted to ensure only the "right sort of persons" were successful in obtaining a licence, and required a Certificate of Member of Police Force confirming the applicant:

  • (1) is of the full age of 21 years,
  • (2) is a person of good character, and
  • (3) is a fit and proper person to hold a licence under the Billiard Saloon Ordinance 1926.

Reflecting the attitudes of the time, the Ordinance also stated "A licence shall not be held by any female other than a widow" and saloons were also age restricted with a thirty pound fine for "Any licensee who knowingly permits any person under the age of eighteen years to play on any billiard table..."[x]

The register gives us a glimpse into the history of the saloon owners and of social life in the 1920s-40s in Canberra and Jervis Bay. Using this register in combination with other resources such as Trove helps in providing a more complete picture of our past. Whether you're tracing family history, exploring Canberra’s social past, or investigating the development of local institutions, ArchivesACT holds a wealth of records. The Register of Billiard Saloon Licences is just one example of how administrative documents can reveal unexpected stories about life in the Territory.

Images

Fig 1. Cover of Billiard Saloon Register

Fig. 2. Sam Hood. Billiard Saloon, three tables, probably Lindrum's in Pitt Street | Collection - State Library of NSW c. 1930s. Call number: Home and Away – 7796. Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.

Fig. 3. Pages 1 & 2 of the Register of Billiard Salon Licences

Fig. 4. Billiard Saloon licence for Harold Joseph Preston, 1943

Downloads

References

  1. WHITE CITY. (1927, June 11). Canberra Community News, p. 11: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66060994
  2. "100 UP"—NOT YET!. (1926, November 4). The Canberra Times, p. 10: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1208378
  3. Display Advertising. (1926, December 16). The Canberra Times, p. 9: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1209587
  4. BILLIARDS. (1929, May 27). The Canberra Times, p. 1: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1004956
  5. BILLIARDS. (1929, May 28). The Canberra Times, p. 2: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1005055
  6. "IN—AND OUT". (1927, December 6). The Canberra Times, p. 7: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1220327
  7. GAMING RAID. (1928, July 18). The Canberra Times, p. 5: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1235916
  8. POLICE RAID. (1932, April 28). The Canberra Times, p. 4: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2276216
  9. CANBERRA BETTING CASES. (1934, June 27). The Canberra Times, p. 3: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2359799
  10. An Ordinance Relating to the Licensing of Billiard Saloons - No.21 of 1926.

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