How Launceston's 'no-nonsense Annie' etched her name into Tasmanian history

Every generation of her family since has included an Ann. Such was the awe she inspired in those close to her.

Always known to us as Annie, she migrated to Brisbane with her younger sister around 1875, their parents remaining in Ireland.

As a dressmaker, Annie had skills she could take anywhere.

Soon after arriving, Annie met a fellow northerner named Joseph Huston, from County Derry.

He'd been a cordial manufacturer on the Victorian goldfields, but now mined opal in Queensland.

Annie and Joe married the following year and moved to Warwick, south of Toowoomba, to take over the Queensland Hotel there.

Shortly after they moved again, this time to Dubbo and the Occidental Hotel.

READ MORE: Donations 'vital' as Vinnies faces growing community need

At the end of 1882 they arrived in Launceston, immediately finding a motivated seller for the licence of the Criterion Hotel in St John Street.

That's where their fourth child Mabel presented herself to the world.

When the Launceston Hotel unexpectedly came on the market in 1886, they grabbed it, paying £7500 for the building and partially completed rear extension.

Joe sold a beautiful black opal to help with the deposit.

Then they set to finishing the extension and renovation.

Sadly, Joe had a bad heart, probably as a result of rheumatic fever as a child.

His legs swelled, and he died in 1892, leaving Annie with a big and busy hotel, a debt and six children under 13. It was now we saw what Annie was really made of.

The hotel thrived under her administration, as did the children, who all received an excellent education.

In 1903 she completely rebuilt the hotel, adding a third floor at a total cost of £30,000.

It became the pride of Launceston, with a palatial dining and ballroom, and a magnificent chandelier.

As she prospered, Annie loved to travel and acquire diamond jewellery.

She tolerated no nonsense, but was generous and keen to see her town advance.

She loved horse racing, attending 33 Melbourne Cups, and 51 consecutive Launceston Cups!

In 1942 she became the longest female holder of a hotel licence ever in Australia.

To celebrate 50 years as a publican, and 50 attendances at the Launceston Cup, she bought and donated a gold trophy to the Tasmanian Turf Club, which had been formed in her hotel back in 1871.

She was also their only female member.

They sent her a magnificent bouquet of gladioli and carnations to say thank you.

Her trophy was presented to the winner of the 1942 Launceston Cup by Premier Cosgrove.

Annie couldn't do it herself due to age and infirmity, but she watched proudly from the sidelines - an honoured guest of the Turf Club.

It particularly tickled her that the winning owner, the famous Walter Menzies, had been a resident of her hotel for 11 years!