Within 20 years, he had built the imposing three-storey Royal Hotel and the adjoining Theatre Royal, showing great faith in the future prosperity of the town.

Carl was born in the German state of Nassau in 1848 and left for Australia when six years old with his parents.

His mother died on the voyage, and when his father was hospitalised in Brisbane on the ship's arrival, Carl was adopted by a kindly person who looked after him until he could take care of himself.

Carl Basche took over the Harp of Erin Hotel on the corner of Forth and Smith streets in 1881, and within a few years rebuilt it as the Royal Hotel.

He later built the Theatre Royal alongside which was used for stage productions, boxing matches and later movies.

He had married Emelie Ellen Sheehy in Frederickton in 1869 and the couple's children were Alice, Percival, Carl, Stella and three male children who died young.

Their second son, also named Carl, joined the 1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles and served in South Africa where he died of typhoid in 1900.

A memorial plaque was placed in his honour in the All Saints Anglican Church, West Kempsey.

Alice Basche married Charles Clemenger of the Commercial Bank, Uralla in 1890 while Stella Basche married Arthur Matear in Mosman in 1911.

Percival Basche co-founded the agricultural produce firm of Basche and Lowney in Sydney in the early 1900s.

The Royal Hotel, renowned on the coast for service and comfort, was eventually taken over by the Robinson family in 1905.

Carl then concentrated his energies on his dairy farm, Greenfields near Frederickton, which became one of the largest and most successful establishments of its type in the state.

By the time Carl and Emelie Basche retired to Sydney in 1919, they had made very substantial contributions to the District Hospital, the schools and all public bodies on the Macleay River.

Emelie passed away in 1923 and Carl in 1933, both in Manly.

Under the Robinson family, the Royal Hotel continued to be known as the premier hotel on the North Coast.

A staff of 14 or 15 tended to the needs of travellers with housemaids, chambermaids, porters, bell boys, stable attendants, cooks, scullery maids, waitresses, barmen and clerks.

Much patronage came from the wharves at the end of Forth Street in the booming years of river shipping.

The adjacent Theatre Royal was known as the cultural centre of the district, hosting such acts as the singer Harry Lauder, and the magician the Great McEwan.

The first silent films in the district were later shown there.

Age and five floods left their mark however on these two historic buildings and repairs necessary to meet Licensing Board standards proved impractical.

The Theatre Royal was demolished in 1979 and the Royal Hotel the following year.