Riverina Rewind: Long lost knife bears a royal Wagga connection

Wagga resident Troy Crocker was digging around in an old cupboard recently when he came across a curious souvenir.

“Found this in an old cupboard today. Zoom in and read the writing,” he said on Facebook where he posted the photo of an unusual knife and its wooden scabbard to the Lost Wagga Wagga page.

While the writing on the battered wooden handle is scratched away in places, most of it can be read.

“Kelly’s Duke of Kent Hotel, Wagga Wagga, Phone …” and the number is lost.

According to the president of the Wagga Wagga & District Historical Society, Geoff Burch, Joseph Alfred Kevin Kelly purchased the freehold on the Duke of Kent Hotel on 19 October 1965 and held the licence in partnership with his wife Margery until they sold up in May 1969.

This places the age of the artifact to within a 4-year span and is in keeping with the style of knife that was a popular promotional item in the 1960s and 70s sold by British company, Warco.

Usually described as a Japanese floating fishing knife, the buoyant fixed-blade knife is around 8 inches (20 cm) in overall length with a 3.5 inch (9 cm) blade.

The rectangular wooden handle has a bevelled edge along one side and is matched with the wooden scabbard that forms an eight-inch ruler when sheathed.

The stainless steel blade has an edge on one side and a fish scaler and a line cutter/bottle opener along the spine.

It is held in place by a thin plastic bolster and a single brass pin.

This style of knife was sold widely around the world at one time and examples exist bearing the logos of everything from Coca-Cola to motor oil.

The most famous version is the ‘honest/dishonest’ fisherman’s knife which has two different rulers on each side for measuring your fish.

Kelly’s Duke of Kent Hotel is today known as the Jungle Duke, but it has been through a few incarnations over the years.

The original building was dubbed the Golden Age Hotel upon its completion in 1876.

According to a Daily Advertiser article from 1938, the first portion of the current structure was erected in 1901 and further rooms were added over the next decades.

The name was changed to Scott’s Hotel in 1924 and then to the Southern Cross in 1931.

It was owned by Mrs D Hudson for almost 38 years before being put up for sale following her death in December 1938.

“The Southern Cross Hotel occupies a very important position and some years back did an enormous bar trade,” reported the Daily Advertiser.

“Owing to Mrs D Hudson failing in health in recent years the business suffered to a great extent, but will quickly respond to keen management, as it is conveniently situated to command trade.”

In January 1939, the new owner, Mrs Lena Andrews, applied to have the name changed to the Duke of Kent Hotel.

The new name was in honour of Prince George (the Duke of Kent), the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary.

He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George VI and uncle to Queen Elizabeth II.

He served as an RAF officer during World War II and was killed in an aeroplane crash in Scotland on 25 August 1942.