Pier Hotel: BHP to demolish ‘world’s toughest pub’ to make way for ‘family friendly’ park

Port Hedland’s notorious Pier Hotel — famous for its reputation as the world’s toughest pub — will be knocked over to make way for a family friendly park. BHP bought the once-wild watering hole which according to an urban legend once held the record for the most number of stabbings in one night — after the former long-term owner pulled up stumps last year. “The ‘toughest pub in the world’ will retire into a landscaped green space” the mining giant announced this week. Reactions from the community have been mixed — some residents expressed disappointment, while others have embraced the change. “Seriously, that is the old heart of Hedland, it should be conserved in some way. Erasing things like this erases the history of the rough-as-guts, tough-to-bone people who built the town and the iron ore industry,” one comment read. Another said: “The bars and beer garden were a nightmare to work. Fights, glassings, pool cues broken and used as weapons, Wiltshire razor blades thrown at staff hoping to cut someone’s face. We, the employees would finish work then pop over to the Esplanade Hotel for solace. “Wanna go down memory lane, you should have all the people that got banned from the Pier have their photos on the footpath,” said another. One Facebook user posted: “A water park for the little ones would be great.” A BHP spokeswoman said the company was “pleased to honour the legacy of the Pier Hotel while transforming it into a family-friendly green space for everyone in the community to enjoy.” Demolition will start this month, with the park due to open next year. A pre-purchase due diligence and condition report found that all 10 buildings on the site were beyond a viable state of repair due to structural and hazardous material contamination issues. Additionally, they do not comply with current building regulations, making preservation impractical. As a result of the condition report findings and given that none of the original 1890s Pier Hotel buildings remain at the site, BHP sought approval to demolish the existing buildings and structures to enable it to be repurposed for future use. Built in the 1890s as one of the first two hotels in Port Hedland, the Pier Hotel began life as a modest pub in a remote outpost, but it grew in tandem with the town’s fortunes. As waves of workers arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, lured by the booming iron ore trade, the pub became a rowdy second home — a pressure valve for those who worked long hours at the mines and port. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Pier Hotel had cemented its reputation as a lawless legend where cockroach races, spaghetti-eating contests and bar room brawls became the stuff of local lore. Over the decades, the pub saw numerous facelifts, trying to keep up with a rapidly modernising town, but closed it’s doors in July, 2024.

Pier Hotel: BHP to demolish ‘world’s toughest pub’ to make way for ‘family friendly’ park

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