Windback Wednesday

William Anderson established the Mountain Hut Inn on the Great Eastern Road, Glen Osmond in 1845. The next publican was the infamous Robert Spearman, who in 1848 was sent to Van Diemen’s Land for highway robbery.

The story of the robbery was shared years later in The Express and Telegraph:
“A farmer called at the hotel, and having been served by Spearman continued his journey up the hill by the longer way round the Devil’s Elbow. Spearman followed his man, and taking the short cut, intercepted him and robbed him on the top road. He got back to the hotel as quickly as possible, and the farmer came back and reported the robbery to the very man who had robbed him.” (5 August 1899, page 4).

The Mountain Hut Inn traded as a pub until 1909. The site then operated as a Temperance Hotel until the 1950s. The building was used as a dog and cat boarding business for 50 years and was sold earlier this year with plans to develop it into a childcare centre.