The Spread Eagle Hotel opened for business in 1854 just up the road from its current location - a thriving business with a live eagle living on the enclosed balcony. Mary Allan and husband Albert later bought the business and commissioned renowned German-born architect John Augustus Bernard Koch to rebuild the pub on the corner of Bridge Road and Coppin Street. Mary insisted an eagle stand at every corner of the bar and on the staircase. The rebuilt Spread Eagle re-opened in 1885 and still stands today as a Richmond landmark.

Business was steady but the Allans had a tempestuous marriage, with reports of jugs of beer thrown across the bar at each other and alleged poisoning attempts between spouses.

Albert was scarcely missed when he abandoned Mary for another woman, leaving her to run the Spread Eagle alone.

High-spirited Mary was never without her pet cockatoo, known to the locals as Cocky Allan. He was Richmond’s most talkative resident for his 22 years living in the pub. So loved was Cocky Allan that he was controversially buried in the family grave at Melbourne General Cemetery in 1912. The then head of the Victorian Catholic Church protested Cocky Allan’s burial in sacred ground, but Mary Allan had other ideas.

Since its colourful beginnings, the Spready has brought good old-fashioned hospitality to the heart of Richmond for more than 130 years.