The demise of bush pubs
Submitted: Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:02
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bluefly
I don’t know about you but bush pubs are an icon in Australia and there’s nothing better than relaxing in one after a long trip.
Particularly if they’ve got a bit of character, and a few local misfits telling tall stories.
Just recently the licensee of a local bush pub down here in Victoria walked out the door and declared bankruptcy. We all saw it coming because the landlord was greedy and didn’t allow the bloke any chance of survival what so ever. You would may say it was his fault and that's fair enough.
The loss of these key meeting
places is always central to the prosperity of a town and you can bet a shilling to a pound that a small town is in trouble when they start to lose their pubs. It's a very complex issue and varies from state to state.
I was back in
Wiluna a couple of years ago and looked at the pub again from the opposite side of the street. How such a magnificent historical building can be turned into that condition is beyond me. Tourism WA needs a kick up the a***
One of my favorites is the
Milparinka pub. We usally stop there from time to time and have a ball. Just be carefull who you wake with!
However, we're lucky that a few are still surviving and maintain the richness of our travel.
Cheers
Reply By: Member - barry F (NSW) - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:28
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:28
Yep, I can associate with your comments!! But I don't need to do a long trip before visiting a country pub to soak up the atmosphere!! LOL.
Your comment about pubs with character & the local wags jogged my memory of a pub just taken over by a couple of women that we were lucky enough to stumble on by accident last year.
It was a little place in far far very far northern NSW, just a bit North of
Toowoomba called Cooyar.
They allowed us to
park our vans on a nice green grassy spot, plug into 240V, use the
toilet & shower facilities, at no charge, provided we had a drink at the bar!! No probs with that!!
Drink at the bar we did & we also had a great meal in their restaurant. But the best part was the local "roustabout" who filled in as barman now & then. He was the heart of the place, a bit of a rogue & full of local humour & yarns.
Mind you, we were enjoying ourselves so much the grog bill run away a bit & the nights stay ended up being way over trip budget!! But would not swap it for quids. LOL & happy travelling
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Follow Up By: Sir Kev & Darkie - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:37
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:37
Barry,
Ya Old Fart, your
Geography is still not getting any better LOL
The
Eulo Queen is currently up for Lease if someone wants to enter the Outback Pub Scene ;)
Cheers Kev
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Follow Up By: Member - barry F (NSW) - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:44
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:44
Nothing wrong with my
geography young Kev, its just that my true blue principles & common decency do not permit me to cross the border & enter a backward state. As
Sherlock Holmes would say. "Elementary dear fellah, elementary". LOL
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Follow Up By: Sir Kev & Darkie - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:46
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:46
Using that method, would mean that is the only way you can get home then hey LOL
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Follow Up By: Member - barry F (NSW) - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:59
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:59
Young Kev, at the risk of breaking the "chit chat" rule, I reckon that if I were a fisherman & you were a fish, you would be in the pan by now!! LOL & we love the photos of your two "vegemites".
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Follow Up By: bluefly - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 19:00
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 19:00
We were in the bar at the Burke Town pub one night and this old fella started to talk about the tale of 'Crooked Mick' which is
well known to most folks on the land.
The recipient of this tall tail was the mate’s girl friend who believed everything he said.
Both of us stood there trying not to laugh but it got the better of us. She then twigged as to what was going on and chased us down the main street shouting bloody blue murder......!
This is another pub full of character.
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - lyndon NT - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 19:38
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 19:38
The best thing about the burke town pub is the dress code, last time we were there under pants were fine! The publican didn't even have shoes.
What a laugh.
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Reply By: Patrol22 - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:51
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 18:51
Yeah agree entirely. We had a very memorable stopover in
Marble Bar last year and this great outback put, complete with it couple of Irish backpacker barmaids and local roustabout, were highlights of our trip. This is one town and pub that we will be going back to even though it's a bloody long way from Queanbeyan NSW (4,635 km by the shortest track according to Google Maps),
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Follow Up By: Member - lyndon NT - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 19:43
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 19:43
I remember
well lying in my swag in
marble bar 20 years ago listing to a black fella walking past after just have left the pub singing don't step on my blue suede shoes, very funny times
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Follow Up By: bluefly - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 20:33
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 20:33
Lyndon
I’ll tell you another story about country folks. Normally I know what’s going, but this girl got me recently.
I walked into a road house up in northern Queensland and ordered bacon and eggs. The girl looked at me for a couple of seconds then said ‘nar we don’t have any of that fancy stuff but we do have eggs and bacon’. The truckies nearly bleep ed themselves.
Not to out done I told her I was on diet and asked if there were any vegetarian shops in the town. What transpired after that was hilarious. Whilst the eggs and bacon were cooking she gave me a plate of grass cuttings and asked if I wanted cow protien on the side!
You wouldn’t be dead for quids.
Cheers
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Reply By: Michael A (VIC) - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 19:45
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 19:45
Reckon I must have had a great run the
.........
Wiluna, Mungerannie,
Birdsville,
Laverton,
Kalbarri, Sunset Tavern
Karumba,
Timber Creek,
Marble Bar,
Innamincka,
Arkaroola,
Melrose,
Kingston SE, Moree
services club,
Dargo, Wellborough,
Bicheno, Middleton,
Kununurra,
Halls Creek, Quamby,
Rainbow Beach, Musicians Club
Broken Hill, Mt
Augusta,
Monkey Mia,
Erldunda,
Coral Bay, Mt Isa,
William Creek,
Ceduna,
Eucla,
Bedourie,
Boulia,
Coober Pedy, Tiboburra,
Prairie Hotel,Mt Dare,
Post Office Port Douglas .............and the list goes on, these are some off the top of my head and there are plenty more
Take the point that pubs are integral to our culture and it is tough to find good ones, especially in the big smoke.
So I am going to hang on to the great memories of the people , and pubs, in the list above over ten years of touring holidays.
Hats off to those who continue to run country pubs !
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Follow Up By: Wayne (NSW) - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 07:24
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 07:24
Michael,
Firkin and Hound,
Alice Springs, June 2005.
Wayne
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Follow Up By: Michael A (VIC) - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 07:28
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 07:28
Absolutely Wayne.....fun times.....
Come to think of it you are a bit of a common theme at some of these
places :)
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Reply By: Member - Scrubby (VIC) - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 21:35
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 21:35
G`day Bluefly,
Someone mentioned dress code,
well for an Outback Pub it doesn`t come much stricter than this .....................Image Could Not Be Found
The notice says it all. LOL
Scrubby.
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Reply By: Troppo Tom (Virginia, N.T.) - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 21:39
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 21:39
Gidday,
Yes some wonderful bush pubs up here. My favourite is the
Daly Waters Pub. Must have the most remote traffic lights in Oz and always red.
Cheers,
Tom
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Follow Up By: 3GoBush - Tuesday, Nov 09, 2010 at 00:05
Tuesday, Nov 09, 2010 at 00:05
We live in Arnhemland, when we go south for holidays we spend the first night at
Daly Waters Pub.
It is the first place we stay on the way out, and the last on the way home, the last time we were there was just before Xmas, and the
young boy was scared that Santa would not catch up, but to his surprise, Santa was riding in the back of the Fire engine around the
camp site, the
young fella had a great night and fell asleep with out a doubt that he would find him some few days later.
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Reply By: Member - Marc Luther B (WA) - Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 22:54
Sunday, Nov 07, 2010 at 22:54
Hi Bluefly
Agree with your comment totally. I don't drink alcohol, but I frequently go into pubs and order a glass of milk, and get some lovely looks. Fortunately for me I am big and ugly, and rarely get any comments, but usually find the experience amusing. Where the heck are the rules that one must buy grog in a pub, never seen them.
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Fred G NSW - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 10:07
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 10:07
G'day Mark......from this day hence ya shall be etched in my mind as the Milky Bar Kid :-)))) That image of you with a schooner of milk.....Good onya mate, love it.
Fred
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Follow Up By: Fab72 - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 12:54
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 12:54
Marc... I'm with you on that one. A bad motorcycle accident ended my drinking days. My internal organs don't deal too good with alcohol anymore.
These days I drink Schweppes Mineral
Water, and TBH, I don't miss the grog at all.
Anyway, for the rest of the posters on this thread.......It surprises me though how so many people get up in arms when a country pub closes. Sure they are an important part of history, of which I cringe when any of it is lost. However, what makes a pub more historically significant than say an old school house,
post office, inland mission,
police station,
general store etc?
I love my country pubs, but I equally love all historical buildings...yes, even churches fall into that category.
Fab.
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Follow Up By: Member - Marc Luther B (WA) - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 14:50
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 14:50
Hi Fred G
Fair enough mate. At least when I get pulledover for a breath test, and the police ask have I been drinking in the pub, I can still blow all zeroes mon the breathalyzer, then I explain that I only drank some milk or soft drink.
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - Marc Luther B (WA) - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 17:56
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 17:56
Hi Fab72
Love your comments, and how right you are. There is some stunning architecture in the variuous towns around the place, and some very memorable ones.
I recall years ago in
Jigalong Community (WA) they had an old sea container for fuel for aircraft, painted on the side was "
Jigalong International Airport", the closest they came to being international was the occasional tourists flying over and landing for fuel in single engine Cessna's, but the
sign was a greaty talking point.
My non-drinking is by choice. I have seen a lot of people get very foolish, and being a big bloke who can be a mongrel anyway, I figured if I drank and lost control I could get into real problem, so decided to leave that alone entirely. I will never miss what I never had.
Cheers
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Reply By: The other Norm C (WA) - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 01:11
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 01:11
Camerons Corner Watering hole was alive and
well In September
As was innaminka Hotel and the Trans continental Hotel
Oodnadatta
Norm
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Follow Up By: Member Brian (Gold Coast) - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 07:39
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 07:39
Loved our stay at
Cameron Corner! Cheryl is such a character... a good example of outback hospitality!
Cheers
Brian
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Reply By: Member - Michael O (NSW) - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 08:04
Reply By: Member - Noel K (NT) - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 08:37
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 08:37
What about the "Humty Doo" and the 'Noonamah" pubs, not to mention the old "Lim's"? Some ripper times had in them in the 70's, pheew... Where the hell's
Noonamah you may
well ask?
Noel K.
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Follow Up By: Fred G NSW - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 10:20
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 10:20
G'day Noel. Memory is getting dimmer, but I remember the Berrimah pub, (Can't remember if it was an actual pub or just a grog
shop) just south of
Darwin past the airport... couple of big logs in the
carpark out the front were the seats. Very popular
waterhole of an afternoon for the thirsty mob, especiall the bus drivers and abbatoir workers.
I think I recall Doug T mentioning some time ago his outback pubs photo collection.
Fred
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Follow Up By: Member - Noel K (NT) - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 22:21
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 22:21
Hallow Fred G,
I think you maybe referring to the old Berrimah Store site, yes it was just a take away venue, but after cyclone Tracy, any place to have a casual beer on the way home from work with fellow workers was most sort after in those days when everything, was wrecked! It actually still had a hitching rail out the front, and one bloke would tie the bull bar too it to stop the Toe joe rolling back as everyone leaned against it....?
Bye the way Fred if you frequented there in those days.... no wonder your memory is getting dimmer. LOL. Aaaaar the Territory ya gotta love it.
Noel K.
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Follow Up By: Fred G NSW - Tuesday, Nov 09, 2010 at 07:00
Tuesday, Nov 09, 2010 at 07:00
That's the one Noel, and I'd forgotten about the hitching rail.
I last saw it pre cyclone Tracy, probably about late 1968. My folk lived not far from there.
Fred
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Reply By: Alloy c/t - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 10:09
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 10:09
Muttaburra QLD , pop currently 97 , 1 pub [The Exchange] , average amount of meals served Friday nights = 70/90 .
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Reply By: Fred G NSW - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 10:52
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 10:52
CheckTHIS out for a pub.........it comes to you.
Fred
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Follow Up By: Member - Michael O (NSW) - Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 21:24
Monday, Nov 08, 2010 at 21:24
Aaahhhh The XXXX Gold Retreat
Have had many a beer there.
At
Bathurst. And Sandown. And Phillip Island. And
Darwin. And
Townsville....
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Reply By: Flynnie - Tuesday, Nov 09, 2010 at 00:13
Tuesday, Nov 09, 2010 at 00:13
Had a good session when me and a mate called in to
Moonan Flat pub on Saturday night. A visitor did a bit of country music acoustic style. It was great.
Some favourite drinking pubs are at Gravesend, Deepwater and
Bundarra in NSW. Other great ones were Bellata - burnt down and Glencoe - closed.
Tatt's Hotel at
Winton in QLD is another favourite.
Olary Pub in South Australia is another.
Flynnie
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Reply By: Wilko - Tuesday, Nov 09, 2010 at 07:46
Tuesday, Nov 09, 2010 at 07:46
Fav pub's are The Lions den, The Rabbit trappers at Albert, Fat Lamb @ Eugowra and the Morg Pub In Glenmorgan.
You can leave your money on the bar and noone touches it Responcible service of alcohol, If you can stand you can have a beer.
Great
places Great people. No wonder I hate the citys. lol
Cheers Wilko
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Reply By: the_fitzroys - Tuesday, Nov 09, 2010 at 18:13
Tuesday, Nov 09, 2010 at 18:13
Was at Shindy's Inn at
Louth 6 weeks ago. The new owners have done a great job with it.
Tilpa is a great pub with lots of character. And one of our most interesting experiences was the
Mount Hope (NSW) hotel. The female publican was an escapee from corporate life in
Melbourne. Very eccentric place.
Lou
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