The New Sydney Hotel has been serving Hobart for generations, but lately the historic pub has found itself at the centre of two very different acts of community spirit.
One involves putting the pub’s kitchen to work for people doing it tough. The other involves a picture that disappeared from the walls 25 years ago.
Every second week, the New Sydney will cook curry and rice for about 25 people, with Food Not Bombs Hobart volunteers carrying the meals across the road to Criterion House for the group’s weekly Shared Table.
Owner Ashan Rodrigo said the partnership was a simple way for the pub to give something back to the community, particularly given his own experience growing up in a poor family in Sri Lanka.
The curry will change each fortnight, with the pub keen to keep things interesting while helping provide a hot meal for people who need it.
Food Not Bombs Hobart has been running for more than a decade, relying on volunteers, donations and local businesses to provide free meals and essentials.
The group recently recorded its biggest gathering in 10 years, highlighting the growing number of people feeling the pressure of rising living costs and housing.
The Hotel’s first curry was served last Saturday.
And while the New Sydney – one of Tasmania’s oldest continuously operating pubs – is putting food on the table, a mystery from its past has finally resurfaced.
A picture stolen in 2001 has been returned by the Derwent Valley man who took it, after a recent dinner at the pub prompted him to finally put an end to 25 years of guilt.
He had taken the artwork after a mate suggested it would look good in his home bar. It remained there until the man, who wished to remain anonymous, could no longer stand the guilt and returned it.
Rodrigo immediately planned to hang it back near the pub’s entrance, alongside the other two pictures in the set.
Rather than giving the returning thief a hard time, Rodrigo bought him a beer and called the matter settled.
For a pub that has been around for generations, it seems fitting that the latest chapter involves feeding the community, recovering a little piece of history and, naturally, having a beer along the way.
