The Tote | |
 The Tote Hotel in July 2011 | |
 | |
| Former names | Healey's The Ivanhoe Hotel |
|---|---|
| Location | Collingwood, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Type | Music venue |
| Genre(s) | Independent music Punk Alternative Hardcore Heavy Metal Experimental |
| Capacity | 408 |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1870s (original) 1911 (present structure) |
| Opened | 1876 (as the Ivanhoe) 1980 (as the Tote) |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Tote is a live music venue, pub and former hotel located in Collingwood, Melbourne, Australia. The venue hosts many independent local, Australian and international acts, and carries a reputation for showcasing new and emerging independent musical acts of a variety of stylistic origins, having done so since the 1980s. The venue operates 5 days a week with performances across 3 settings, the "main stage", the "cobra bar" and the "front bar". It is located at 67-71 Johnston Street.
The hotel is thought to have been built in 1870 as Healey's, becoming the Ivanhoe Hotel in 1876, and held by the Healey family until 1940, when it was renovated. The name changed to "The Tote" in 1980 when the venue began hosting local and Australian punk, post-punk, heavy metal and hardcore bands.
On 15 January 2010, due to high financial costs surrounding disputed liquor licensing laws, it was announced that the venue would be closing that same weekend. A groundswell of community support for the venue and opposition to aspects of liquor licensing laws, quickly mobilised. Several groups on social networking sites quickly sprung up, one such group attracting over 20,000 people. On Sunday the 17th, an estimated crowd of around 2,000 rallied outside the Tote. The events surrounding the closure, the rally and various petitions, sparked public and political debate about liquor licensing laws and live music in Melbourne and Victoria. On 23 February, a much larger rally of at least 10,000, the 2010 Melbourne live music rally, was later held in central Melbourne, that same day amendments to liquor licensing laws were announced. The Tote was eventually reopened and continues to serve the community to the present day.