The historically significant Corkman Pub was built in 1857 and was one of the earliest extant buildings in Carlton. It was knocked down on the 16th of October following a “suspicious fire”on the 8th. The heritage listed pub was demolished without a permit. This was even after a “Stop Work Order” was issued on Saturday morning, before the demolition was completed on Sunday.

Sign the petition to show that illegal demolitions of heritage buildings should not be tolerated by Melbourne City Council. A coalition of law students and concerned citizens is currently seeking an order that the developers should pay for the full restoration of the building, and that no further development of the site in violation of Council protections should be allowed to take place.

The Council has the power to order restoration, and it needs to exercise that power!

We are also calling for a public inquiry into the demolition of this building for profit and the need for stronger protections of Melbourne landmarks.

We loved that pub. It was our pub. The cheap beer. The wedges. Its proximity to the law school. The glorious Irish folk band that coalesced on a Thursday evening. As said by a fellow law student,

"Yes, the reason why we all went there was because it was ludicrously close to the building in which we spent all of our other waking hours. But that closeness meant that everybody went there. And that everybody went there meant that a community existed. We all* made great friendships while getting sloshed in the afternoon in that courtyard. We all drank there to forget the essay due at 9AM the next morning. We all felt the outrage that the EFTPOS machine was once again “not working” and that the extortionate ATM was the only option. We all finally talked to one of our law school idols there for the first time, very drunk, and realised they were just a human being as well. We all huddled around the surprisingly hearty fire, ate the actually pretty good wedges, and scanned the windows as we walked to the tramstop on a Thursday afternoon in the hope of seeing some friendly faces we could grab a beer with."

http://www.deminimis.com.au/home/an-ode-to-the-corkman-pub-and-a-call-to-action