A well-known and respected member of the fledgling community, McAlister concurrently operated both hotels and mail services in the Wagga district for more than 20 years. 

McAlister was the publican of the Australian Hotel in Fitzmaurice Street, from 1867 to 1871 before he took over the licence of the Commercial Hotel (now Romano’s) in 1872. Interestingly, he was fined five shillings and costs in August 1872 for selling liquor on a Sunday to “other than bona fide travellers or lodgers”. 

He continued as licensee of the Commercial Hotel until 1877 when he returned to the Australian Hotel.

While apparently quite successful in his endeavours, it appears as though McAlister was not the best money manager as he was declared insolvent on three separate occasions. His first appearance at the Bankruptcy Court was in 1878 where it was stated that he had incurred liabilities totalling £11,503 against assets of only £2575. 

In 1879, McAlister obtained a Certificate of Discharge which enabled him to borrow capital from Messrs King and Cox. He used these funds to take up the licence of the Australian Hotel once again, staying there until 1893.

The large stables adjoining the hotel allowed McAlister to hire out horse and buggies and also to operate a coach and mail service – apparently at one time he had more than 400 horses on the road. 

Coaches left the Australian Hotel bound for Deniliquin, Hay and Sydney multiple times a week, while the hotel also acted as a booking office for Cobb and Co.

McAlister also held numerous mail contracts, at various times transporting articles to locations such as Narrandera, Oura, Eunonyhareenyha, Mangoplah, Yarragundry, Collingullie, Urana, Pullitop Station, Gregadoo and Big Springs. Deliveries were made three times a week and undertaken on horseback.

In 1876, McAlister was elected to council as an alderman for the North Ward, but had to resign in 1878 when he was declared insolvent. 

He was quite active in the community and was a member of the Wagga Wagga Hospital Committee from 1887 to 1892. 

During the disastrous floods of 1870 and 1891, he provided food and lodging at the hotel for anyone who needed assistance and no recompense was asked from those who could not afford to pay.

McAlister was possibly too generous, as in 1897 he was, once again, declared insolvent with a deficiency of £1595. His only asset of value was an allotment of land with a 66-foot frontage to Kincaid Street by a depth of 165 feet to Crampton Street. The property, including a cottage and stable, was valued at £400, but was mortgaged to the Union Bank.

Probably his greatest passion was horse racing, having been a jockey in his youth and later a successful breeder and owner of high class race horses. 

His best performer was “Jessie”, who won in the best company at Randwick, finished third in the 1882 Wagga Cup and was one of 35 starters in the Melbourne Cup that same year. 

In 1868 McAlister rode “Pelham” in the Murrumbidgee Turf Club’s now infamous Ten Mile Race.  “Riverina”, owned by McAlister and W.J. Bowen finished third in the race. 

In later years he resided at “Smith’s Terrace” in Macleay Street. 

He suffered from diabetes for many years and died in August 1910 at the age of 75.

The CSU Regional Archives is currently extending its opening hours to include the first Saturday of every month. This initiative has been put in place to cater for those researchers who are unable to visit the Archives on weekdays during normal business hours.

The next Saturday opening will occur on November 1, from 10am to 3pm.

The CSU Regional Archives are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and the first Saturday of every month from 10am to 3pm. Located in the Blakemore Building on South Campus of the University, access can be gained via College Avenue or Hely Avenue.

Members of the public are welcome to visit the search room where professional archival staff can assist with enquiries. For those people unable to visit the archives in person, staff can provide a research service for straight forward enquiries for a fee of $55 per hour including copying and postage.

For further information, please phone 6933 4590, email archive@csu.edu.au, or visit our website at www.csu.edu.au/research/archives for a full listing of holdings and more detailed information.