This is the Kingsford Hotel, built in April 1851 as the Globe Inn.
Of particular merit is the delicate wrought iron work along the front -- one of the best examples of this work in the State.
The original licensee, George Causby, came to South Australia in 1847 on the same ship as the Hon. James Martin. Another passenger, Henry Dundas Murray, persuaded them to come to Gawler and settle on his land at Turretfield.
After a few years Mr. Causby took on the licence of the Old Bushman Hotel. Soon after the railway was constructed, in 1857, he built the Criterion Hotel. He subsequently took the licence of the Globe Inn and built a row of shops opposite in Murray street -- one of them he let to the Gawler Institute committee. It was in the Globe Inn that the famous Humbug Society had its birth.
The society was founded on the spur of the moment by Messrs. Jefferson Stow and George Isaacs in 1859, "when business was not brisk and too many persons had spare time on their hands."
Isaacs and Stow formed a rival association to those of the Freemasons and Oddfellows, who also met at the hotel, and are reported to have kept lodgers awake until the early hours by singing.
Main object of the society was the "open advocacy of humbug, in contra-distinction to its secret practice in most other societies."
Membership grew rapidly and soon the strength and influence of the society was such that it was able to sponsor successfully one of its leading members, E. L. Grundy, in a campaign to represent the Barossa electorate in State Parliament.
Grundy headed the poll, defeating Walter Duffield, and the sitting member Thomas Giles. The society founded The Bunyip newspaper -- Gawler's first paper -- and the initial issue was published in September 1863.
Mr. Doug Lyons, took over the hotel as "The Globe" on his return from World War 2 service in 1946.
In 1958 the owners, the S.A. brewing Company, renamed it the Kingsford Hotel -- after the historic Kingsford property near Gawler. Mr. Lyons said there was a choice of names -- Kingsford or McKinlay -- both of historic significance to Gawler. He preferred Kingsford and so did the S.A. Brewing Co. Mr. Lyons was the longest licence holder in the town's history, and the hotel was run by a family company. The directors were Doug and his wife Dorothy, and their daughter and son-in-law Adele and Larry.
In recent years extensive inside changes have been made to the old hotel. All the bars (even the main bar) have been carpeted, the whole building air-conditioned and new lounge bars and dining room facilities installed.
The hotel is a thriving business and offers first-class meals in ideal surroundings. Outside, the hotel retains its appeal as a historic landmark in Gawler, with the balcony and ironwork carefully maintained in the old style.
The drive-in bottle department and walk-in bottle shop were Gawler's first. With the coming of pokies, gaming facilities have also been introduced to the front bar. The current licensee is Penny Emes.