DEAREST FRIEND,
Allow me to introduce myself,
My name is Eliza Forster, and while I may have been around these parts for rather a long time, I’ve never been one to make too much fuss about myself.
I was once the lady of The George Hotel, back when Ballarat was a very different place. My husband, Charles, was the licensee, but anyone who knew me would tell you I was never merely sitting quietly by the fire.
The hotel was my world. I was involved in its day-to-day happenings, its people, its stories and, no doubt, a fair share of its secrets.
Ballarat was a bustling place in those days. Gold brought people from far and wide, and with them came stories, celebrations, heartache, ambition and plenty of reasons to gather around a table with a drink in hand.
I rather liked that part.
You see, I’ve always believed there is something special about bringing people together.
A good drink has a way of loosening the tongue. A game can turn strangers into friends. Music can make an ordinary evening feel like something worth remembering.
And a little mischief never hurt anyone.
So, when the opportunity came to create a place of my own again, I knew exactly what I wanted it to be.
A place tucked away from the ordinary.
A place for cocktails and conversation. For games that become unnecessarily competitive. For live music, late nights and spontaneous plans. For first dates, old friends, birthday celebrations and those evenings that were only ever meant to be one drink.
That is how Dear Eliza came to be.
A little piece of the past, with a few modern pleasures thrown in.
So come in, make yourself comfortable and stay as long as you please.
Tell me your stories.
I promise I won’t tell anyone else.
After all, dear, what happens at Dear Eliza stays between us.