4 Bay View Hotel

16 Alexander Terrace

The Bay View Guesthouse started life in true Irish style as The Shamrock Inn in 1849.

At one stage, Stanley was home to five pubs, but the Bay View was closest to the bustling wharf with one of the best views of the bay.

The first license for the part-stone, part-weatherboard hotel was issued to Michael Lyons, who was engaged by the Van Diemen’s Land Company to manage the large cattle run at Woolnorth. Michael was the grandfather of former Prime Minister Joseph Lyons, so it’s possible that Joe Lyons drank his first beer at the bar here.

Before continuing, turn to face the sea. Look out over the blue-grey sweep of Sawyer Bay, one minute like glass, the next whipped up with an easterly wind so brisk it could wreck a ship. Now imagine the stories told over the hotel bar, the sea shanties sung over whisky, the hotel doors opened on to warm nights and under stars that carried memories of shipwrecks, whale strandings and lives lost on Tatlow’s Beach. Meg even recalled it snowed on the sand once – in 1943; a rare event for Stanley.