John Melton Black, who had pastoral runs in the Cleveland Bay area, formed a partnership with Robert Towns to secure financial backing for plans to establish a port at the mouth of Ross Creek.

Townsville was proclaimed a municipality in 1866 and became the centre of substantial and continuous growth, particularly with the discovery of five major goldfields in the vicinity within six years.

Opposite the wharves, the site was first developed by Hermann de Zoet & Company as the "Townsville Boarding House, Cleveland Bay" in 1865.

In December 1865 de Zoet applied for a licence for the Townsville on the same site at the corner of Flinders and Wickham Street.

In 1866 Joseph Fletcher and Bernard O'Neill purchased the property, retaining the hotel for six months before selling in December to Alexander Mollison.

In July 1869 Evans advertised that the hotel had received "extensive improvements and additions" and could accommodate "a much larger circle of patrons in 'first-class style'; [it] had 'cool' ale, spirits, porter and wines always on hand as well as 'first class stabling'".

[1] The Townsville economy continued to boom in the 1870s and 1880s as the gold fields created new markets for the flagging pastoral industry.

Civic and commercial works underlined Townsville's growing importance as the regional centre and port of an extensive pastoral and mineral district.

He had spent the previous years from 1876 exploring the Hodgkinson region inland from Cairns (a potential goldfield) and before that had been licensee of the Commercial hotel at Sadlier's Waterholes (now Morven) from 1873 to 1875 and the Drover's Arms, Hoganthulla 1875–77.

Tattersall's was centrally located in the growing township with the town's first buses operating from the hotel and continued to be the terminus of Townsville bus routes for nearly a century.

[1] During the 1880s the growth of the sugar and mineral industries encouraged the construction of rail lines from Townsville to Ayr, Charters Towers and Hughenden.

[1] Enright remarried in 1888 to Miss Parker, the daughter of a leading Ipswich butcher and he continued to run the new Tattersall's.

The hotel had a bottle department selling directly imported liquor and made up and dispatched country orders.

It is unclear whether the partial demolition of the non-balconied 1868 extension occurred at this time or whether it was severely damaged during Cyclone Sigma in 1896.

The remaining section was rendered from the street frontage, presenting a blank wall and the roofline totally altered.

The iron lace pattern used on Tattersall's was also used on two other Townsville buildings, Matthew Rooney's House (now Yongala Lodge) and "Kardinia".

Tattersall's Hotel is a two-storeyed rendered brick building with frontages to Flinders and Wickham Streets.

It was filled with cracker dust approximately ten years ago as it had become unusable due to water penetration.

Tattersall's Hotel, erected in 1899 and incorporating an earlier 1868 brick section demonstrates the pattern of Queensland's regional history associated with the development of Townsville as a key northern port and service centre for the surrounding mining and pastoral districts.

[1] The hotel complex, including the 1868 and 1899 buildings, demonstrates the utilitarian pattern of approach adopted in the late 19th century towards reconstructing business premises by incorporating earlier sections as the place developed.

Tattersall's Hotel features a rare pattern of cast iron balustrade particular to North Queensland.

The incorporation of this design of balustrade is an important link to the other two buildings it survives upon in Townsville; the private residences of the former Rooney's House (Yolonga Lodge) and "Kardinia".

The 1868-69 additions use of brick prior to local manufacture has the potential to reveal further information about materials and construction techniques that were adopted during the foundation years of the settlement.

Tattersall's Hotel has considerable aesthetic appeal and is located at a prominent junction of Flinders and Wickham Streets, Townsville.