Moving to Bagtown in 1914, ‘Tango’ Joe Burgess established himself as a “ratbag” and a “scallywag”, making a name for himself selling ‘pinkies’ at his Tango Joe’s Bar.

Pioneer Park Museum’s curator Bonnie Owen talks us through his escapades and devilish schemes, at the recreation of his bar at the museum in the video below:

“Tango Joe was really well known for his very quick witted signs,” Ms Owen said.

“One of which said 'Free Drinks Tomorrow'. Of course, tomorrow never comes.”

However, according to local stories, a man came along and insisted his name was Morrow and Tango kept his word, furnishing him with free drinks.

He would sell his meals around the clock, offering rooms and beds to rent, and was renowned for manufacturing and selling his drinks. 

In 1923 when he moved to Griffith, he established New Tangos and purchased equipment he used for carbonating and bottling his drinks.

As far as advertising went, he promoted his rooms for rent by keeping it simple with “clean beds, no bugs.”

Lemonade and cordials were always on offer, but he was sneaky enough to also sell hot beer, and his most well-known called ‘pinkie’ which was likened to a port wine.

He sealed his cordials with marbles, which were well known for going missing as the children would steal them to play marbles with. 

“He was breaking the rules with his hot beer and his pinkies, as there was a prohibition at the time,” Ms Owen said.

“It was said that whenever any of the authorities came to test drinks, he would offer them a sample that had not been fermented yet and managed to get away with it.”

Although Bagtown was officially a dry area, groups at the singlemen’s camp opposite Tango Joe’s would sometimes ‘put in’ for a two gallon demijohn of pinkie on Friday nights.

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Constable Ford, the only policeman in Bagtown at the time, would patrol the area. He didn’t arrest the men, but once they were out cold, he quietly emptied the demijohns. 

Anyone who became intoxicated was handcuffed to the tree until they sobered up.

Infamous stories of Tango Joe were passed around by former residents of Bagtown as time went on, including how, when he ran out of meat, he made and sold sandwiches filled with mustard and brown paper.

And to finish with one of his most famous signs advertising his pinkies: ‘Pinkie: Panned and punched by a pugilist, pinched and potted by a ponderous policeman.’

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