Pub Crawl
It says something about Australia that its best known landmark buildings are quite often pubs. This is never more true than in regional and outback Australia. So when you are on your travels around the wide brown land check out some of our more famous watering holes.
St Bernard's Hotel
Discover the tranquil beauty of St Bernards Hotel - Paradise made simple.
St Bernards Hotel is situated in the most ideal position. Located on the edge of an ancient volcanic escarpment, the Hotel commands wonderful views of Tamborine Valley overlooking Guanaba Gorge, Moreton Bay, the Gold Coast skyline and the Pacific Ocean.
On one hand you have the sea views and on the other the invigorating air of the mountains.
Rainforest walks starting from the Hotel include five different waterfalls.
So come and enjoy some country hospitality with views that are spectacular, fine dining for every occasion and an experience that's well worth it.
Robert Muir built St Bernards House in 1881 on the site of the present Council Quarry as an accommodation house for its managers and staff. He bought almost 2000 acres of heavy scrubland at the top of the southern end of the mountain intending to grow sugar cane when the land was cleared. Mr. Muir was drowned in the flooded Logan River at Yatala in 1887.
The following owners started a village settlement and moved St Bernards to its present site in 1898. During its history , St Bernards has had many varied roles including Post Office receiving centre, in 1915 it became a licensed property, the 1920’s saw St Bernards as a convalescent Private Hotel and an accommodation House for up to 100 guests. The tariff was three pound fifteen shillings per week.
Rainforest walks starting from the Hotel include five different waterfalls.
Today, St Bernards prides itself on its country home-style atmosphere, with great food, good people and the warm ambience typical of a country pub. Summer allows you to escape the heat under our hundred year old trees enjoying wonderful alfresco dining with fabulous views, whilst winter provides cosy rooms with traditional furniture and pot belly stoves radiating warmth in traditional bars.
St Bernards the largest and most famous Hotel on the Mountain, located in heart of Gold Coast Hinterland.
Birdsville Pub
The Birdsville Pub is as remote as a place gets, standing since 1884 on the edge of the last untamed frontier, the Simpson Desert.
The pubs name is forged into Australian folklore and everyday travellers make their pilgrimage to one of Australia's most treasured icons.
Whether you have driven for days or your plane's just landed on the airstrip next to the pub, you'll get the same warm outback welcome. Relax and soak up the true blue atmosphere, or sit up at the bar to hear a few yarns from old drovers, ringers and friendly locals.
In the first week of September the population swells from 100 to over 5000 for the Birdsville Races. This legendary race has been run on a sandy track since 1882 and now boasts professionally trained racehorses and prize money of over AUD100,000.00.
For years, yarns have been spun at the Birdsville Pub, lubricated with icy cold beers, and here maps have been scratched into the red desert soil to guide travellers to special spots.
Where is Birdsville?
This is truly an authentic place where the spirit of Australian mateship is definitely alive and kicking. Birdsville is a small town located in the Channel Country of western Queensland, Australia. It is 1590 kilometres west of the state capital, Brisbane, and 720 kilometres south of the city of Mount Isa. Birdsville is on the edge of the Simpson Desert, and the climate is very arid. At the 2006 census, Birdsville had a population of 115.[1]
A bit about Birdsvilles History
Proclaimed a town in 1887, Birdsville was located at the border of South Australia and Queensland to collect tolls from the droves of cattle being moved interstate. Birdsville was formerly known as Diamantina Crossing. Later the name Birdsville was adopted believing to be on account of the prolific bird life in the district.
Many of Australia's pioneering European explorers travelled through the Birdsville district well before the town was gazetted. Monuments to acknowledge the feats of Captain Charles Sturt, Burke & Wills, Madigan and others are located throughout the town.
Birdsville had a population of over 300 at the turn of the twentieth century. It had 3 hotels, a cordial factory, blacksmith store, market gardens, police and customs facilities but but after Federation in 1901, the tolls were abolished and the town fell into decline [2] to about 50 throughout the 1950s. Livestock trade kept the region alive and in recent times tourism has joined cattle as the major industry in the area.
GYMPIE ROYAL HOTEL A WINNER
Local watering hole wins top Hotel awards!
Excerpt from story by The Gympie Times. Written by Jannette Parke.
Gympie’s stylish art deco showpiece, The Royal Hotel, has been named one of Queensland’s best hotels after it scooped prestigious industry awards.
The crowning accolades for the smartly renovated hotel in Mary Street – owned and developed by Wes and Trish Wright and their daughter and son-in-law Kerrie and Paul Candrick – were announced at the 16th Annual Queensland Hotels Association Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Taking centre stage at the black-tie function, The Royal won Best Redeveloped Licensed Premises – up to $2 million and Best Boutique Accommodation Hotel, from very competitive fields. The Royal was also a finalist in the Best Casual Dining Award and Best Marketed Hotel Award.
QHA President, Tom McGuire, said this year’s finalists and winners have once again raised the standards of the industry and shown an ongoing commitment to ensuring safe and enjoyable experiences for all patrons and guests. Queensland hotels, like The Royal, Mr McGuire said, demonstrated their global competitiveness proving they are amongst the world’s best.
Today
In June 2007, this family team joined forces to give the dear old Royal a major facelift. Sadly it had been closed down and boarded up for two years. There were pigeons nesting in the rooms upstairs and holes in the floors and ceilings.
Wes and Trish Wright, their daughter Kerrie Candrick and her husband Paul Candrick spent over a $1 million on renovations. They installed an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, lounge bar, sports bar, outdoor deck areas and eleven hotel rooms with ensuites.
Twenty years of managing hotels has given the Wrights extensive knowledge and experience in the hospitality industry. They are also community minded and have had a large involvement with the Rotary Association.
Since raising four children of their own and now enjoying their eight grandchildren, the Wrights also have a good idea what members of a family want from their local hotel.
They like their pubs to have a safe and welcoming atmosphere for all ages. The new Royal caters to families as well as singles.
Paul and Kerrie run a successful property development company in Sydney and have three young children of their own. They assist Trish and Wes with the development and marketing of the hotel.
Paul, having over twenty-five years in building and construction, supervised the building works with his team of workers along with numerous local tradesmen.
Architects and interior design consultants were hired to ensure the pub was brought back to its former glory.
The original façade was restored and enhanced to complement the many beautiful buildings in Mary Street built during the Gold Rush.
No longer a gold mining town, Gympie is now famous for its beautiful countryside producing prime beef and dairy products amongst other things.
Patrons at the Royal are encouraged to “stay till the cows come home”.
“Every comfort and delight can now be found in this the only Theatre on Gympie,” the Gympie Times declared in an advertisement back in 1868.
The opening of the original Varieties Theatre in August, 1868 was an exciting development for the social scene of the new gold mining town. Gympie was booming and growing at an amazing rate
Hiding over 4 million ounces of gold, Gympie was a miracle that saved Queensland from going bankrupt.
Within 6 months of James Nash’s discovery of gold in 1867, over 15,000 men had raced to Gympie to dig for their fortunes.
Suddenly there were a lot of thirsty men in Gympie in need of a cold beer.
Over 48 pubs sprung to life at one time or another on Mary Street, with 28 of them being open at the one time !
Probably the reason Gympie’s pubs were the first to be issued licenses in Queensland.
The Royal Hotel, then called the Exchange Hotel and Varieties Theatre, was one of these. Situated in the centre of town on Mary Street, it was a popular venue for locals. First class concerts, Shakespearean tragedy, roisterous comedy and even wrestling matches were big attractions at the theatre.
Unfortunately, its license was cancelled in 1875 following a devastating flood which totally submerged most of the town and a violent cyclone which blew part of the theatre down.
In 1882 it was re- built into a two story timber structure designed by architect Hugo Darietz. The Varieties Hotel and Theatre was again hailed as the most popular venue in town.
In 1885 its name was changed to the Royal Hotel. The Varieties Theatre kept operating successfully in a building attached to the back of the Hotel.
In 1910 the name was changed again. It was now the Theatre Royal and still the hub of entertainment for Gympie.
Locals were treated to their first movie at the Theatre Royal which was a picture of British warships passing through Suez Canal. The movie was made realistic by men behind the screen making sounds such as waves lapping and sirens blowing.
When the Royal suffered a devastating fire in 1935, the Gympie Times commiserated.
“There was removed from Gympie a building which had been the scene of many social and political events, which had its historic interest, and, for the few remaining pioneers, its cherished associations.
“Actors, acrobats, operatic stars, politicians and statesmen had appeared at various times upon its stage.”
Bulimba Brewery quickly snapped it up and re-built it in the Art Deco style popular before the war. The garage at the back of the hotel served as a temporary bar during construction.
A few years later in 1938 and at a cost of £15,000, the Royal Hotel resumed its position as the best pub in town.
In 2005 the Royal was closed down and boarded up for a couple of years and was sadly missed by the Gympie townspeople.
Publican Wes Wright, along with his wife, daughter and her husband, purchased the pub in 2007 and gave it a major facelift. They spent over a million dollars renovating it and bringing it into the twenty-first century.
Patrons are now entertained by huge television screens, surround sound systems and live music. They can also enjoy a wonderful buffet restaurant, lounge bar, sports bar, outdoor deck areas and 11 modern hotel rooms with ensuites.
Situated in the middle of historic Mary Street, the Royal is certainly the place to visit.
