Settler's Arms Hotel

The Settler’s Arms is an hotel situated at 1-5 Wharf Street in the small village of St Albans, New South Wales on the Macdonald River. The hotel was constructed of locally quarried dressed sandstone by John Sullivan and first licensed in 1836. Sullivan died in October 1849 and the property passed to his son John jnr. In 1855, the hotel was sold to Richard Jurd and remained in the Jurd family for almost 80 years.

Front view of the Settler’s Arms, St Albans, NSW. Cathy McHardy June 2021.

The inn was the centre of social life in the Macdonald Valley as well as being a welcome stopover for travellers on the road to and from the Hunter Valley. The Macdonald River was navigable to the village of St Albans and riverboats plied the river carrying goods, services and passengers to and from the St Albans Wharf. By the 1930s, passing traffic had declined. Following the death of James Jurd his wife carried on the business for several years prior to applying to cancel the licence.

Side view of the Settler’s Arms, St Albans. Cathy McHardy June 2021.

The hotel was saved from closure by the last minute purchase by a locals, Ted Bernsdorff and family. Unfortunately business continued to decline and in 1939 the hotel licence was transferred to the newly constructed Aerodrome Hotel at Clarendon, near Richmond, NSW. The property reopened as an hotel in the 1970s and since the late 1980s has been owned and operated by the one family.

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