"I was in Melbourne yesterday shopping and I had my digital camera in the car, so I took the photo you see below of the
Southern Cross hotel. This is the hotel the Beatles stayed at when they came to Melbourne in 1964.
They came out on to the balcony you can see just above street level in the photo and waved to about 20,000 people that were
jamming the whole street below.
I took the photo because they are now pulling it down and in a couple of months another Beatle memory will be gone !"
On Sunday June 14th 1964 the Beatles arrived in Melbourne on a chartered flight from Adelaide for a 3 night concert engagement with 2 shows each night. There were chaotic scenes outside the Southern Cross Hotel (on the corner of Bourke and Exhibition Streets) when the Beatles appeared on the balcony just above street level. Exhibition Street was blocked by an estimated 20,000 screaming fans. John allegedly gave Nazi salutes to the crowd.
Inside the hotel the Beatles were reunited with Ringo who had flown in with Brian Epstein that morning.
Jimmy Nicol packed his bag and left the next day.
The Southern Cross then, is the ONLY hotel to play host to ALL FIVE Beatles .... so it plays an interesting part in their history.
Also, an E.M.I. reception was held at the Southern Cross Hotel the following day and John Lennon flew into a rage when he saw the altered Australian cover for the "With The Beatles" album.