There is no doubt that the
Young and Jackson is the best pub in Melbourne to sit down with a pint and either relax after a day's shopping, have a couple with some mates before going to the footy, or if get a stool near a window and do a bit of people watching. There is plenty to see as the pub is right across from Flinders Street Station and is also on one of Melbourne's busiest corners - the corner of Flinders and Swanston Street.
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The Young and Jackson is a favourite for both tourists and locals alike and most Melbournians can probably tell you a yarn featuring this iconic pub. It is steeped in history. There has been a hotel on this corner since 1861 and in 1874 two Irish diggers named Henry Young and Thomas Jackson took over the pub and renamed it the Young and Jackson.
The pub is probably more well known for Chloe - a life sized nude portrait of a 19 year old French lady. The painting has a history as remarkable as the pub itself. Chloe was painted by French artist Jules Joseph Lefebvre in 1875 and debuted in a Paris salon before being a central figure at the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880. After being displayed at the festival to much acclaim as well as shock Chloe was purchased by a Melbourne doctor and upon leaving for Ireland he asked the National Gallery of Victoria to give her a home.
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Chloe was responsible for a large outcry amongst the conservatives and local art lovers. There was much debate played out between these groups with the conservatives aghast that such a painting would be displayed and those art lovers who felt the painting should be admired for its beauty. Once the doctor returned to Australia he reclaimed the painting and after his death Young and Jackson bought the painting where it has hung in the same place since 1909.
Chloe has kept company with lawyers, sailors, beggars, coppers, and crooks. Over the years soldiers before they set off to fight in campaigns, from Gallipoli to Afghanistan, have raised their glass to Chloe for luck. In the earlier half of last century there were many young men whose first vision of a woman was that of the lovely Chloe and thousands since have all stood transfixed by her beauty and raised a glass in her honour.
Chloe's influence is seen throughout the pub where the upstairs bar is named in her honour and one of the pub's best selling beers, 'Naked Ale' is also named in her honour.
Whenever I head to the Young and Jackson I have a pint of the Naked Ale and head upstairs and raise a toast to Chloe and head back down to the comfy leather lounges in the private bar to watch the comings and goings of the busy Melbourne folk.
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The pub is always lively and you will be sure to meet a few colourful characters in the bar where lively discussions from the weekends AFL games to beer prices will be held amongst friends and strangers alike.
When you are next in Melbourne with nothing to do - be sure to pay a visit to Chloe and sit back and let the charm and energy of this beautiful city wash over you.
