This is so cool. I’d love to run an illegal bar out of Stately Prick Manor:

It’s not quite a speakeasy during the 1920s Prohibition era in the United States, but police have raided a secret, alleged illegal bar that may have also distributed illicit drugs in the heart of Sydney’s CBD.

The bar, on York Street in The Rocks, was searched by licensing police and detectives about 3pm yesterday.

Inspector Paul Simpkins of The Rocks Local Area Command said a fully operational bar was found and about $20,000 of alcohol was seized.

“It was fairly well set up. Heated meals were also available,” Inspector Simpkins said about the ground-level venue in a commercial-use building.

Of course, they got shut down eventually by the revenuers. Still, such entrepreneurialism is to be applauded, and I hope the Herald follows up: I’d love to know more, and wonder if there are any other such speakeasies going in Sydney? Readers who are aware of such things are free to e-mail passwords and secret knocks to pwafork [at] gmail.com.