Louisa O'Brien

Louisa O'Brien MBE born Louisa Read (1 September 1880 – 16 December 1957) was an Australian hotelier. She controlled a number of hotels but her favourite was the South Australia Hotel in Adelaide which she revived into one of the best hotels "in the empire". It was said to be the city's first hotel and it had taken that name in 1841.

She obtained the lease in 1913 of the Young Queen Inn in Gawler Place in Adelaide. She obtained some of the money from her husband John O'Brien who was a jockey. She had married him two years before even though her father disapproved of him. He became well known and it was said that the hotel's snobby clientele were pleased when they got a nod or a smile from Lewy. Lewy was dedicated and he rented a room nearby so that he could spend all his waking hours at the hotel six days a week. On Sundays Lewy saw his wife and child. O'Brien died in her South Australia Hotel in Adelaide in 1957. She had three children and two daughters and all but one daughter survived her and several managed her hotels. In 1971 the South Australia hotel closed and it was replaced by a less characterful replacement.