“Thomas Tanswell was the son of a convict, but rose to become a successful businessman and Beechworth Justice of the Peace.”

Tanswell purchased the Commercial Hotel in April 1870, and renamed it Tanswell’s Commercial Hotel. In 1873 he rebuilt the former humble timber pub as the grand, double- storey brick hotel you see now. The Tanswell family sold the Hotel in 1967 after almost a century in their ownership, but the name remained.

After its rebuilding in 1873, Tanswell’s was the grandest hotel in town. The Governor of Victoria stayed here during his visit to the region in 1906, and local legend has it that Ned Kelly, a more notorious visitor, also patronised Tanswell’s. True or not, Tanswell’s liquid gold has certainly satisfied all sorts over its 150 years - gold miners, bushrangers, governors, Beechworth locals and visitors alike.

Crawford and Co., a large firm who resisted the Cobb and Co. coaching monopoly, occupied premises at the rear of the hotel. They specialised in coach building and stabling, and ran mail and passengers around the north-east of Victoria. In those days, a trip from Melbourne to Beechworth took over 24 hours by coach.