T.S. Kelly — who the hotel was named after.
FOURTH generation hotel Kelly’s Motor Club Hotel has been a central part of Cranbourne since the early 1900s.
Its name was believed to have derived from the many motor car clubs that passed Cranbourne en route to Gippsland at the time and the hotel was a gathering point for many locals.
Cranbourne’s first hotel was the Mornington Hotel, which was originally owned and managed by Thomas and Elizabeth Gooch.
Arthur T Kelly was the licensee of the Cranbourne Hotel around 1917 when he and his family took over the reins of the Mornington Hotel, what is now Kelly’s Motor Club Hotel, in 1922.
They initially ran both hotels before leasing out the Cranbourne Hotel to focus more on developing Kelly’s.
When Arthur’s son, RAAF Flight Lieutenant Thomas Arthur Kelly, returned after serving with the 37th Squadron, he took over as manager and quickly became a popular identity in the area.
After Tom’s passing in 1974, his wife Betty and their children Arthur, Margaret and her husband Alan, continued to run the hotel, which is family run to this day.
Kelly’s continues to be a vibrant family oriented establishment and are proud to be part of Cranbourne’s history for 150 years.
