Brisbane heritage pub The Port Office Hotel reopens after fire damage

The Port Office Hotel in Brisbane has reopened its doors after repairing the damage caused in January by a fire.

The pub has been at the corner of Edward and Margaret Streets for 155 years. 

According to the owners, Nick and Meagan Gregorski, the fire started in the kitchen of the dining room and almost consumed the entire building.

The historic hotel currently comprises the Port Office Dining Room for lunch and dinner, the Front Bary, and the Colonial Bar located upstairs. 

Originally called the Shamrock Hotel, the hotel opened its doors in 1864. 

The hotel underwent its first of many renovations in 1876 when it was reconstructed as a two-storey masonry building with verandas, designed by James Cowlishaw and built by contractor Charles Midson.

In 1888, the remodelled hotel contained 15 bedrooms, a drawing room, two bathrooms and four public rooms, and was patronised by workers from nearby shipping, industrial and riverside businesses and political operatives.

It experienced its first major flood in 1893, causing extensive damage which called for more works.

The year 1909 saw a change of licensee to John Chillan Cutbush who renamed it the Port Office Hotel. 

In 1955, the hotel was refurbished again this time under the direction of architect Francis Leo Cullen, including the removal of all the verandas, lacework, canopies and chimneystacks and renovation of the interior fittings. 

In 1974, the great Brisbane Flood hit the city, with the Port Office amongst the many casualties.

The hotel survived to undergo further renovations in the 1980s.

In 1992, the Port Office Hotel was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.

During the 2011 Brisbane floods, the Port Office Hotel escaped yet another inundation.

Gregorskis bought and refurbished the historic hotel in 2017, turning it into an award-winning gastropub.