When late-night eatery Bernies opened in 1939, it quickly became a popular Perth nightspot.

 

Owner Bernard Hardwick began by serving ‘finger meals’, including crayfish rolls, from caravans parked along Mounts Bay Road. Later, he built a more permanent structure where the Mount Hospital now stands.

 

US servicemen are credited with introducing the hamburger to Bernies during WWII. Over 56 years, Bernies attracted people from all walks of life and became the place for late-night social activity, sometimes resulting in complaints from neighbours about rowdy patrons.

 

 

In 1995 Bernies would tragically cook its last burger. Pam (pictured above) was the lucky winner of a raffle to be served Bernies' very last steak burger, and she later donated this golden plate to our History Collection.