Adelaide's Crown And Anchor Celebrates Significant Milestone With Massive Party

The Crown and Anchor, Adelaide’s historic counter-cultural institution, celebrated its 171st birthday this past weekend.

Withstanding nearly two centuries of serving cheap schooners and championing underdog music is quite a feat - and especially worthy of celebrating, given that the beloved, heritage-listed pub was recently facing the threat of demolition and conversion into multi-level student accommodations by Singaporean developers.

The public outcry in response to this attempt at demolition was thunderous - petitions were launched, hashtags were flung into the digital ether, and protests boasted thousands in attendance, garnering significant media attention.

Luckily - largely due to the universal uproar - a new deal was brokered with the developers: the pub would remain a live music venue, with no residential block built atop it.

The student accommodations will instead be developed on the adjoining plot (where Roxie’s and Chateau Apollo are currently located) and will be 10 stories taller than originally proposed (29 instead of 19).

The pub will have to be shut for a period of time during the construction process, during which the Crown and Anchor’s live music room will have soundproofing precautions introduced.

Premier Peter Malinauskas announced in mid-August that the government would propose “special-purpose legislation to secure the long-term future of the Crown and Anchor Hotel as a live music venue and provide ongoing protection for key live music pubs in the City of Adelaide against noise complaints from future residents”.

So the Crown and Anchor - affectionately termed “The Cranker” by locals - has been (mostly) saved.

The Cranker Bday Extravaganza took place on Saturday, September 7th, coinciding with the institution’s official induction into the Music SA Hall of Fame. The event began in the afternoon, at around 2 pm, and raged well into the night.

A stacked line-up of thirteen local bands performed at the celebration, an electic mix of genres, including Molly Rocket, Ricky Albeck & The Belair Line Band, Oscar The Wild, Stabbitha & The Knifey Wifeys, Kitchen Witch, The Vains, Chapel Hill, Rocky’s Pride And Joy, Bridget Fahey & The Bone Rattlers, King Jeff & The How Are Yous, Dark Daze, Thunder Speaks, and DJ Nazz.

It was a mammoth turnout. The streets were absolutely teeming. Union Street, adjacent to the pub, had been cordoned off, boasting, as the pub’s official Instagram account put it, “extended capacity to fit all our beloved punters”.

The event itself was free, making it easily accessible to the general public regardless of demographic or background, allowing many to able to revel in the free-spirited nature of the venue and see numerous local legends play live and thus preserve the local culture, without spending a dollar. The alcohol available at the venue was, of course, reasonably-priced.

Security guards loomed, overseeing the good-natured debauchery. While it’s always nice to have a reliable place to down a pint on a Saturday night, the Crown and Anchor turning one year older is crucial for the underdog music scene of Adelaide - and very much worthy of celebrating.