29/05/2026
"The George Hotel is St Kilda."
It opened before the suburb was even a thing. It has been slingin' beers in one form or another for the better part of two centuries.
It just goes to show, some things change, and some things don't.
In 1873, a man named Frederick Wimpole bought it. He ran it, his family ran it after him, and between them they held the place for nearly eighty years.
Mr Wimpole went on to become Mayor of St Kilda and, perhaps more relevant, a director what was to become Carlton & United Breweries.
A man who owned a pub and then helped run one of the country's most significant brewing outfits. There are worse ways to leave your mark.
When Liam Ganley took over the building, he dove into the history of The George and found Freddie. The name was the obvious choice.
The fit-out followed - reclaimed timber, salvaged materials, the bar built from old doors and posts, a wall tiled entirely in beer cans. The kind of place that looks like it's always been there because, in a sense, it has.
The fourteen rotating beer taps change. The corner hasn't. And we reckon Mr Wimpole would approve of it all.
📍 125 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
Proud to have been involved in the interior design transformation of Freddie Wimpoles at The George Hotel, St Kilda.
Original caption by and
, reposted with permission.
