Drinking History Tours

Drinking History Tours Explore Melbourne with four great tours. Uncover history, secrets, and superb times.

30/08/2026

🚂🍺 THE V/LINE PUB CRAWL — EPISODE 2: CASTLEMAINE

We’re attempting to have a drink at every station on Victoria’s V/Line network, and stop number two takes us to Castlemaine.

A town where the gold rush brought tens of thousands of people almost overnight, angry miners came remarkably close to beating Eureka to the rebellion business, and railway contractors tried importing German stonemasons to undercut local workers — only for the locals to take them to the pub and convince them not to do it.

Which, frankly, is exactly the sort of industrial relations history we’re here for.

Then there’s the Railway Hotel, an 1896 fire and the strange fact that Queensland’s beloved ###X can trace the “Castlemaine” in its name back here.

History learned. Beer consumed. Train narrowly* caught.

Castlemaine: ✅

2 down. 103 to go.

29/08/2026

We’re pivoting to TrainTok because apparently “going to the pub” isn’t a business expense, but “creating regional Victorian railway content” has a much nicer ring to it. 🚂🍺

The challenge: 105 V/Line stations. 105 pubs. One drink at every stop.

Day One: Bendigo Line. Malmsbury.

Please follow so we can show our accountant there’s a legitimate business purpose to this.

104 to go. Let us know your favourite country pubs.

13/08/2026

Melbourne once rioted over a royal dinner. 👑🍻

When Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh — Queen Victoria’s son — visited Melbourne in the 1860s, the city went all out to welcome him. Among the celebrations was an enormous public banquet.

There was just one problem: far more Melburnians wanted in than the organisers were prepared for.

What was supposed to be a grand demonstration of colonial loyalty descended into pushing, fighting and chaos as crowds tried to get their share of the festivities.

It’s one of those wonderfully strange moments in Melbourne history — a royal prince, a giant banquet and a city apparently willing to fight for its place at the table.

Melbourne has always taken a good party seriously.

05/08/2026

Melbourne is hiding a tiny Formula 1 tribute that most people walk straight past. 🏎️🇲🇨

Tucked beside Monaco House—the Consulate of Monaco—is a miniature F1-size laneway dedicated to Sir Jack Brabham, one of only three Australians to conquer the legendary Monaco Grand Prix.

Brabham’s victory in 1959 helped cement his place as one of Australia’s greatest motorsport legends. Since then, only Mark Webber (2010 and 2012) and Daniel Ricciardo (2018) have joined him as Australian winners on the streets of Monte Carlo.

It’s a fitting little slice of Monaco in the middle of Melbourne, celebrating one of the toughest and most iconic races in Formula 1 history.

Have you ever noticed this hidden tribute?

02/08/2026

It started with an egg.

In 1917, Prime Minister Billy Hughes was speaking in Warwick, Queensland, when an angry protester threw an egg that smashed on his hat. Hughes demanded the man’s arrest—but discovered the Queensland Police wouldn’t necessarily take orders from the Commonwealth.

The incident exposed a gap in federal law enforcement and helped drive the creation of the Commonwealth Police Force, one of the organisations that would eventually evolve into today’s Australian Federal Police.

One egg. A constitutional headache. And a lasting change to Australia’s policing.

24/07/2026

The SCG has seen plenty of drama over the years, but few matches can match the chaos of the 1879 cricket riot.

England, captained by Lord Harris, took on New South Wales in a match that quickly descended into controversy. The crowd was furious over a series of umpiring decisions, made even more contentious because one umpire was from Victoria rather than New South Wales. Tempers boiled over, spectators stormed the ground, and play was abandoned as players scrambled for safety. It’s remembered as one of the wildest moments in Australian cricket history.

But there’s another remarkable twist to the story. The second umpire that day was a Sydney barrister named Edmund Barton. More than two decades later, he would become Australia’s very first Prime Minister after Federation in 1901.

So before he was helping unite a nation, Barton was trying to keep order in one of the most infamous cricket matches ever played. From sporting controversy to political history, this incredible episode shows just how closely Australia’s early cricket and national story were intertwined.

21/07/2026

For a few magical evenings each year, Melbourne puts on one of its best free shows. 🌇

Known as Melbhenge, the setting sun aligns almost perfectly with the Hoddle Grid, turning streets like Collins and Bourke into glowing urban canyons. It only lasts a few minutes, but it’s become one of the city’s favourite photography moments—and it’s all thanks to the way Melbourne was laid out nearly 190 years ago.

If you’ve never seen it, add it to your Melbourne bucket list.

16/07/2026

Thousands of people walk down Meyers Place every week without realising one of Melbourne’s most dramatic sieges unfolded above what would later become Melbourne’s first laneway bar.

In 1978, an armed man burst into the Italian Waiters’ Club after fleeing police, taking diners hostage and triggering a tense siege that gripped the city. Among his demands was the release of a young Mark “Chopper” Read from prison. Police surrounded the laneway as negotiations dragged on before the extraordinary ordeal finally came to a surprising end, as police deployed a special weapon against the gunman.

Today, Meyers Place is known for its hidden bars and restaurants, but few people realise they’re walking through the scene of one of Melbourne’s most remarkable and largely forgotten hostage dramas. It’s another reminder that some of Melbourne’s biggest stories are hidden in its smallest laneways.

11/07/2026

*edit: Julian Assange was a few years older than we said in this clip!

Fitzroy Pool almost closed forever—and the locals weren’t having it.

For more than 40 days, the community occupied the pool until the plans were abandoned. The campaign featured a young Julian Assange, unforgettable speeches from John Clarke, and became one of Melbourne’s greatest examples of people power.

We also dive into the history of the pool itself, including the hilariously incorrect translations on its warning signs that have puzzled visitors for years.

One public pool. One determined community. A reminder that ordinary people really can change history.

09/07/2026

Fitzroy might have disappeared from the AFL ladder, but it never disappeared from Melbourne.

For generations, the Roy Boys were the heart of the inner north before financial reality and AFL politics saw the club merge with Brisbane in one of the most controversial moments in Australian sporting history.

But if you know where to look, Fitzroy is still everywhere. One of the best places to find it is the Napier Hotel, where the walls tell the story of a club that plenty of supporters still refuse to let die.

This is the story of Fitzroy, the Brisbane merger, and the pub that’s helping keep the old Lions roaring. 🦁🍻

Do you think Fitzroy should still be in the AFL?

Address

Princes Bridge
Melbourne, VIC

Opening Hours

Thursday 6pm - 9pm
Friday 9am - 10pm
Saturday 6pm - 9pm
Sunday 4:30am - 7:30am
3:30pm - 7:30pm

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+61402242982

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