Series 02: Alan Gibson Stewart papers, 1987-1989 - Page 721
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"We protest at the projected demolition of the Customs House hotel, Macquarie Place, Sydney. We believe that the hotel should be retained as a vital part of this historic area."
We kept the petition circulating through the Christmas holiday period and into January. I could not present it until Parliament resumed, and we were still getting new signatures for it. Kevin Grimm payed for a large banner to be made, proclaiming "SAVE THIS PLACE" in red letters half a metre high. It was hung across the awning of the pub.
Some of the action committee organised a demonstration on Australia Day, at the ceremony in Macquarie Place commemorating the moment in history when Governor Phillip raised the British flag for the first time. This year, Bob Hawke was attending along with other dignatries. Hawke had been an epxert on pubs in his time, but there was no indication of his feelings about the Customs House Hotel. His escorts kept the petition away from him. (His Special Minister of State, Mick Young, had called in for a casual beer some days before, and had been happy to sign the petition on the bar.)
We were having some ompact on the Joint Coal Board. They gave Grimm a temporary reprieve -- he could stay on until the end of May, then nhe would have to hand over the licence to the purchaser of the site. The