Hawke’s Brewing Co has celebrated its Marrickville headquarters – the Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre and Chinese-Australian bistro The Lucky Prawn – moving to seven days trading by unveiling the biggest golden prawn in the Southern Hemisphere.

Bestowed with the name ‘Shane Prawn’, the 120kg crustacean-model towers over the Lucky Prawn bistro, with both its mechanical arms waving to the patrons below, as a blessing of luck and good fortune to both the business and its guests.

“It’s been a fun seven months since we opened the doors of The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre, but we all thought it was time to take it up a notch and move from five days of good beer, good leisure and Chinese meals to a glorious, non-stop, seven days ”, said Nathan Lennon, co-founder Hawke’s Brewing Co.

“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who’s helped make the journey so rewarding, so to give some love – and hopefully luck – back to the community with a large, golden, waving prawn is the least we can do.”

The big moment was celebrated by a full house of locals and media friends this week, who dined on The Lucky Prawn menu items including prawn toast, spring rolls, special fried rice and sizzling beef.

It was Drinks Digest’s first visit to the Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre and it won’t be our last. The team has created a very special spot that delights with its retro fit-out. Carpet recycled from Petersham Town Hall is matched with a wood-panelled bowlo-style bar and Bob Hawke memorabilia, against the backdrop of its state-of-the-art brewery.

The burst of nostalgia and nods to Australia’s most beloved Prime Minister, the brewery’s co-founder Bob Hawke (and his favourite cuisine), are an irresistible combination.

However, while Hawke’s Brewing Co celebrates the past it also looks to the future. A cathedral of large, steel tanks line the second level of the site. Powered by a 100kW rooftop solar farm, the brewery implements an array of eco-innovations, including a carbon capture system developed in partnership with UTS Tech, which uses CO2 from the fermentation process to grow plants and vegetables for use in the venue. 

The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre, located at 8-12 Sydney St, Marrickville. To make a booking go to
www.hawkesbrewing.com/beerandleisure

Albo raises a glass at the Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre