Nightlife in Canberra

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Nightlife in Canberra refers to the bars, clubs and night time entertainment in Canberra, Australia's capital city. The main area for the nightlife in Canberra is Civic, although there are other nightclubs in locations such as Manuka. Other bars and clubs are in different locations around the city.

Canberra's population of just over 300,000 people means that its nightlife pales in comparison to other state capitals (such as Melbourne and Sydney). Furthermore, Canberra's relatively small population is spread widely, which makes the city itself impractical as the sole focal point of night time activity. For these reasons, "nightlife" in Canberra (or lack thereof) is often joked about by visitors from larger cities. Humorous T-shirts and postcards have been produced in Canberra, depicting its nightlife as a small black dot.

Canberra is home to Australia's Federal Government and its population is made up of a high proportion of public servants. Canberra grew dramatically in the 1960s and 1970s and various hotels and bars were popular with politicians and visiting officials. Hotels such as The Rex on Northbourne Avenue were extremely popular during this time, but many have since closed.

1 Nightclubs
2 Pubs and bars
3 Casino
4 Former venues
5 Other

[edit] Nightclubs

The Private Bin was Canberra's most popular nightclub throughout the 1980s and early 1990s [1]. The Private Bin became ICBM in 1999 after a questionable building alteration which saw the club expand into Waffles, the neighbouring restaurant.

ICBM on Northbourne Avenue in Civic

Mooseheads is one of the oldest continuously running nightclubs in Civic, beginning in 1990. It received a national AHA Award for excellence in 2005. [2] It has 4 levels in two sections (an upstairs nightclub and a downstairs/ground floor bar, pool area). Mooseheads is infamous amongst the student crowd for its legendary "Hour of Power", selling $1 drinks on Thursday nights.

Academy[3], formerly the Center cinema, is a nightclub near Garema Place, which was opened on January 23, 2004. [4] It was given an award for being the 3rd best nightclub in Australia in September 2004. [5], the first time a Canberra nightclub had ever been nominated in the competition.

Lot33 in Kingston. Regarded by visiting internationals such as James Zabiela and Nick Warren as one of the best small clubs in the world. Strangely this is not reflected in attendance by the vast bulk of Kingston locals or others. It is often empty until 2 am and consistently charges a cover.

ICBM, Meche (Formerly Insomnia) and North are located in the Sydney building on Northbourne Avenue near where the Private Bin was previously. [6]

Other current nightclubs:

Meche (previously Insomnia which was previously the Private Bin)
Club Mombasa [7]
Cube (Canberra's only gay and lesbian nightclub, which opened in 2002 [8] - formerly Liquid Lounge )
Deja vu
En Trance (opened in August 2003)
Hippo lounge
BBar - Kingston. This lounge style bar is always well patronised. Key attraction to the BBar would have to be the atmosphere created by the constantly updated tracks from the DJ and bar staff that ask which gin you want with your tonic. Add a variety of seating options from couches, ottomans and stools. The price is a crowd and a line.
Holy Grail. Located in both Civic and Kingston, the main bar in Civic is one of the largest in Canberra. The bar received awards for best bar presentation and service in 1999. [9]
Minque (which received awards in 2003 for the best late night entertainment venue and in 2004 for the best bar presentation and service. ) in Manuka.[10] It opened in September 2000, celebrating its 5th birthday on 23-25 September 2005. [11]
The Phoenix
Toast (above Electric Shadows cinema)
Trinity
Shooters (Formally known as Murphy's Shooters)
Sultan's (Formerly Babylon)
The Lighthouse (formally sailes)
The Green Room (known for bands and local music)
Sound Underground (An all ages venue/record store. Known for its financial difficulties in the past.)

[edit] Pubs and bars

PJ O'Reilly's pub has been running since 1998

Canberra has a large number of Irish pubs, which include PJ O'Reilly's, King O'Malleys and O'Neills. PJ O'Reilly's says it opened in "19xx" [12], although the plaque outside the front says '1998' which is presumably the year it opened. King O'Malley's was named after King O'Malley, a tongue in cheek reference to his campaign to ban alcohol in Canberra between 1911 and 1927. [13] Both the University of Canberra and Australian National University have bars which have bar nights and live music.

Canberra also has a number of noteworthy lounge and cocktail bars with great, sophisticated atmospheres and some amazing cocktails. These include Trinity (Dickson), Hippo Bar (Civic), Knightsbridge Penthouse (Braddon), B.Bar (Kingston), Muddle (Civic).

Other pubs:

Wig and Pen (opened in 1994) which produces its own beer.[14]
The Durham Castle Arms - Kingston
Filthy McFaddens - Kingston
Muddle Bar - West Row, Civic (fantastic cocktails)
Knightsbridge Penthouse - Braddon
North - East Row, Civic
Binara One - Casino Canberra
The Phoenix - East Row, Civic
The Soul (formerly The Contented Soul) - Woden
The Statesman Hotel - Curtin
O'Neills - Dickson
All Bar Nun - O'Connor
Edgars Inn - Ainslie
Olims - Ainslie
Julep Lounge Cocktail Bar - Manuka
Trinity Bar - Dickson
Bogarts (formally Meiso) - Kingston

[edit] Casino

Casino Canberra is Canberra's only casino. It opened in 1992 in the Convention Centre however built a new premises where it stands today and reopened in 1994. It is the only location in the ACT licenced to operate gaming tables, however, does not operate poker machines which are featured in Canberra' many clubs, including some venues in Civic.

[edit] Former venues

Jerry Hewson was the owner of the "Chapter One" nightclub in the 1960s as mentioned here. Some nightclubs which once existed in Canberra but no longer include Private Bin, and Heaven (seen once as the main gay nightclub in Canberra [15] ). The Gypsy Bar was once a popular live entertainment venue in City Walk. Other former venues: