History of Como Hotel, and this project.

 

The historic Como Hotel traded beside Scylla Bay for over 100 years before it was destroyed by fire in1996. It began its life as a club for German railway workers, and became a Hotel in approximately1887. Previously holiday makers and regular drinkers rowed up Scylla Bay to the Hotel, now affectionately referred to as the “Como Hilton” . Henry Lawson is reported to have been one such customer. During World War 1 its German publican was sent to an internment camp.  With easier access granted by the Railway, Como was subdivided into residential land. That, and rising car ownership saw the end of Como as a weekend holiday destination by the 1920’s. Scylla Bay was reclaimed as part of a public works program during the depression. The old rail link became a walk/cycleway in 1987 leading to resurgence in leisure activities in the area, 100 years on.

 

The Hotel was heritage listed, and a much-loved local icon. At the time of its demise it was the drinking hole for many locals and sports people who used Scylla Bay Oval and the surrounding waterways, and was also very popular as a restaurant. Locals hotly disputed development applications for medium density housing anywhere near the hotel. Much of the population of Como was evacuated to Scylla Bay during the bushfires of 1994 and turned out again to stand on the oval in the early hours of the morning in November 1996 to watch helplessly, and to mourn.

 

I slept through this public grieving, awaking to find flakes of burnt cream and green paint in my backyard. I could not believe it. ‘Our’ Hotel had survived the fires of 1994 only to burn now due to an electrical fault. Searching through the debris for something tangible, the layers of Scylla Bay were on my mind. The Hotel became a midden, a place of oyster shells and old bones. I decided to paint the ruins.

 

 

So far most of the ‘paintings’ are poems based on my artist’s notes. Two artworks “Something That Feels Like A Fossil” and “Sand and Stone” won the Nancy Wilkinson Award for Contemporary/Modern Paintings, St George Art Society, in 1999 and 2000. “History Does Not Happen in Decades” was displayed in the Southern Exposure Centenary of Federation Exhibition at Hazelhurst Regional Galleries in 2001, along with accompanying memorabilia, and the paint flakes that inspired this work.

 

Pat Pillai