​The Iconic Pubs

Iconic Pubs are determined by having no pokies, are community-minded and have a colloquial reputation.

The Wallendbeen Hotel, Wallendbeen, NSW

According to Wallendbeen local John, he saved the town.

“What’s a town without a pub?”, he quipped.

“He must have poured at least 1/2 a million dollars into the place. And it’s bloody brilliant now.”

The man in question is local Wallendbeen Hotel owner Groove, who runs the place with wife Kerry and their two kids.

Groove spends two weeks at BHP in WA and then flies back again to enjoy the pub he’s spent so much money on restoring.

The locals love him. He loves them, and a beer or three.

We rocked up during his birthday party with many of the locals coming to celebrate.

​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

The Tumba Hotel - Tumbarumba, NSW
The Tumba Hotel, located in the heart of Tumbarumaba, New South Wales is a unique pub which has, in recent years, become a hub of the community due to tragedies within the township.

When fires ravaged the area in late 2019 it was new publicans Sue and Greg Scanlon and their trusted team that assisted the township of 1800 locals in ensuring the community and local emergency workers were fed for the battle ahead.

Later that next year they assisted the town in pulling through during floods and when Covid19 struck they too had a plan for making sure the community had meals to eat.

Find out more by clicking on "See More..." below.

Old Bush Inn, Willunga, SA

The Old Bush Inn in Willunga, South Australia, lies nestled amongst the doorstep of the Adelaide Fleurieu Peninsula.

Established in 1839, it was the second pub to receive a State liquor license.
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These days it serves the community and those keen for a picturesque drive from the Adelaide suburbs well and is known for its delicious food, original building relics and laid back country charm.

Gavin Collings, the Publican of the Old Bush Inn, says the original brickwork, floorboards and timber windows have been national heritaged in Canberra.

​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

The Duke of Brunswick Hotel, Adelaide, SA
So you want to know what makes a good pub great?

Lean in, listen in and read on …

Simone Douglas, publican of the Duke of Brunswick says this…

“We’re providing a space where who you are is absolutely enough”.

“It’s taking the pub back to the place it used to be. The place to come where you become safe when nothing is working.”

“Diversity is a fact. But inclusivity is a choice.”

“Our employees are family.”

Find out more by clicking on "See More..." below.

The Great Western Hotel, Rockhampton, QLD

​The Great Western Hotel is not just the only indoor rodeo arena in Australia but also hosts sell-out shows of great Aussie rock bands like Midnight Oil.

It's mammoth inside and caters for approximately 250,000 patrons every year. The Hotel features live bull riding every Wednesday and Thursday nights and has built its audience from cowboys to steak-lovin locals.

It also has it's own brew - Great Western Lager - on tap which go great with one of its famous steaks!

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

The North Gregory Hotel, Winton, QLD
It was the birth place of Qantas and Waltzing Matilda. It has survived 3 fires, drought, and hardship but as the the "Grand Old Lady" sings with rich history of North West Queensland it is now forging a new future for itself.

It was on April 6, 1895 on a piano in The North Gregory Hotel in Winton Banjo Paterson's Waltzing Matilda was first performed and then in the 1920's it was where secret board meetings for Qantas were first held. Today it is the home of Australia's only Outback Film Festival.

On the final weekend of the Festival when we were there the town was chock-a-block full of travelers flocking to get a glimpse of an amazing line up of Australian and international films.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Oasis Roadhouse, Lynd Junction, QLD

Australia's smallest bar makes it big​
Standing at just 144cm x 134cm the bar of the Oasis Roadhouse at Lynd Junction, Nth QLD is the smallest in Australia.

It is at the meeting spot of four Australia's major road routes and a great place for travellers to take a rest in their journey.

The Oasis began as a Roadhouse in the 1950s with the original owner using the site to store 44 gallon fuel drums which he dropped off for refueling his truck when delivering cattle to the meatworks in Cairns.

​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Garradunga Hotel, Innisfail, QLD
The pub that might just float away...
Built in 1888 the historic Garradunga Hotel in Innisfail is nestled next to a railway line and surrounding cane fields and is famous for it's resident ghost Athol.

Known locally as the "Original Canecutters' Drinking Place" it has been immortalised in the song "Hey Rain" by Australian singer Bill Scott.

The song is all about rain and talks about the pub being anchored down to stop it from floating away.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

The Prairie Hotel, Prairie, QLD

The Prairie Hotel in Queensland is on a prairie in a town called Prairie in the middle of nowhere.

It was built in 1860 as a horse-changing point for the Cobb & Co. stage. It hasn't changed much since then. The front railing is straddled by a row of old saddles. Many choose it as a place to sit and drink and many fall off!

Inside, the ceilings and walls have a fine collection of relics hanging from them in true bush pub fashion. A dentist's chair provides barside seating, there's a very grand dining room and a kid's playroom.

​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Walkabout Creek Hotel, McKinlay
Where the legend of Mick Dundee lives on...
Walkabout Creek Hotel in Outback QLD gives a lot of credit to Mick Dundee for bringing the tourists through the doors.

While many bush pubs struggle in the drought the pub, which was the one featured in Paul Hogan's Crocodile Dundee, manages to get passersby stopping in for a drink and a photo.

Built in 1900 and originally named The Federal McKinlay Hotel it was moved from its original location 24 years ago after the redirection of the Matilda Highway. 

The pub has recently acquired the bar from the film set after it was left abandoned in storage for 30 years.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Three Rivers Hotel, Greenvale, QLD

Greenvale in North QLD, is a small town, home to some interesting history and the Three Rivers Hotel.

Located approximately 220km north west of Townsville it is imortalised in song by Stan Coster (words) and Slim Dusty, a ballad which earned Stan the APRA Song of the Year Three Rivers Hotel in 1977.

But there's more to the town than Slim and Stan's tune says Lou Fannamore, the publican, who recalls the township was established to house workers and their families, and in its heyday the population of Greenvale swelled to 650.

​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Ravenshoe Hotel, Ravenshoe, QLD
Queensland's Highest Pub is on the rise...
The Ravenshoe Hotel in the Atherton Tablelands is the highest pub in QLD standing at an elevation of 916m.

It changed it's name from Hotel Tully Falls in 2014 to avoid confusion with the town of Tully on the QLD coast.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Blue Heeler Hotel, Kynuna, QLD

The Blue Heeler Hotel in Kynuna, West QLD, an 1860s staging post for Cobb and Co. coaches, has a rich history imortalised in the famous Australian ballad Waltzing Matilda.

For it is here, it is claimed, that the bush poet Banjo Paterson first performed the tune. A claim however shared 180Km down the road at Winton’s North Gregory Hotel.

As the pub’s outgoing manager Pat Young explains though the Blue Heeler has had their version of history confirmed recently.

Folklore has it that the owner of nearby Dagworth Station, Bob Macpherson, told Paterson about the suicide of the shearer Samuel Hoffmeister beside the Combo Waterhole, 22km South East of the pub. It is said he had a last drink at the Blue Heeler.

This story inspired Paterson to write “Waltzing Matilda”. A sign on the wall declares the Blue Heeler to be the place where the song was, according to Young, first performed.

​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Larrimah Pink Panther Hotel, Larrimah, NT
The Larrimah Hotel, where you'll be tickled pink
The Larrimah Pink Panther Hotel lies almost 500km south of Darwin, NT.

It took it's quirky name from the Pink Panther stuffed toy placed out the front of a small "lake" which formed when a leak on the driveway was not repaired by council.

The pub features pink walls, a small wildlife enclosure with crocodiles out the back and a claim to the "highest bar" in the Northern Territory.

Don't miss their Esky races in October.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Bojangles Saloon, Alice Springs, NT

The place to shout a mate a beer from the other side of the world...
Starting as a guesthouse in 1935, was the Teapot Inn 1956 - 1967 and the Centre Restaurant 1967 - 1978 then taking its new name.

There was an expansion to the saloon in 1999 and Bo's Saloon now offers dining, functions and a great atmosphere.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Daly Waters Pub, Daly Waters, NT
It's an Aussie legend, an iconic place to have a beer
Established in 1930 after taking over from a drover's store, Daly Waters Pub takes its name from the area which was named by explorer John McDouall Stuart in 1861,and named after the Governor of South Australia, Sir Dominic Daly.

The famous township is almost 600km south of Darwin and has never reached three figures.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Cheeky Bull Bar, Mt Bundy Station, NT

It's the vibe of the place, the laid back nature
Cheeky Bull Bar at Mt Bundy Station is just a 5-minute drive from Adelaide River, in the NT.

A great atmosphere with live music every night during the dry season and beautiful grounds for camping.

It's rustic, it's charming and we reckon you'll love it!

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Humpty Doo Hotel, Humpty Doo, NT
The World Famous Humpty Doo Hotel is world famous ... because it is.
The Humpty Doo Hotel just out of Darwin is world famous. It says so on the sign!

In 2016 it enforced a must-wear-shirt policy for all male drinkers. It's a policy which proved unpopular with some at first ... but they've come around.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Adelaide  River Inn, Adelaide River, NT

Adelaide River Inn where you'll meet Charlie and Jock...
Standing in a bar in the Adelaide River Inn is Charlie, the Buffalo famous for his role in the Paul Hogan film Crocodile Dundee.

He's seen a taxidermist of course but these days he's joined by 5m monster Jock the Croc.

The Pub, 112km south of Darwin, is famous for it's role in WW2 and sits on lush grounds and is a gateway to many crocodile tours.

It's atmosphere as good as the grounds it sits on.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Lazy Lizard Tavern, Pine Creek, NT
The Lazy Lizard Tavern... where you can be a little lazy
The Lazy Lizard Tavern is a unique place - it was built using bricks made from the termite mounds that used to be in the grounds next door to it.

This relaxed pub comes with an adjacent pool, snake and lizard enclosure and caravan park and is the hub of the small town of Pine Creek, 225km south of Darwin.

Still a place for gold prospectors, 150 years after the first gold rush, it's a beaut place to sit back and enjoy a cold one.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Mataranka Homestead, Mataranka, NT

Some beers with some mates in some hot pools... doesn't get any better than that!
Mataranka Homestead, 426km SE of Darwin, boasts a great little pub and thermal hot pools.

It's an awesome combo for weary travelers journeying the Stuart Highway.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Barrow Creek Hotel, Barrow Creek, NT
A bar, a murder and some folklore...
Walking into the Barrow Creek Hotel is like stumbling upon an oasis in the desert, particularly if you're thirsty. 

There are only a handful of pubs between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek and this is probably the most famous. Largely due to the events that took place July 15, 2001 when a road train pulled up out the front of the hotel in the early hours of the morning with a terrified Joanne Lees.

Lees explained how she had been bound and gagged by a solitary man who had stopped her and her partner Peter Falconio. Falconio had gone to the back of their van and spoke to the man. She heard a loud bang and was attacked. To date Peter Falconio's body has never been found.

In 2015 Bradley John Murdoch was found guilty of his murder but the gruesome story of that stretch of highway continues to live on.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Babinda State Hotel, Babinda, QLD

The Babinda State Hotel is the only Government built pub in QLD and the only one still operating in all of Australia.

​It was built by the Queensland government in 1917 at a cost of 18,000 pounds, the equivalent of about $1.6 million today.

The build was part of the Ryan Labor government's state enterprise scheme, designed to bolster the Queensland economy, which was flagging during World War I.

But current publican Kitty Anning said there were other reasons for the state's intervention.

"There was a big problem with the sale and consumption of liquor in small communities ... the Sugar Works Act prohibited the consumption of alcohol in areas where there was sugar cane," she said.

​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Criterion Hotel, Rockhampton, QLD
The Majestic Criterion... for lovers of all things beer and classy
The Criterion Hotel in Rockhampton is a grand old building. In fact it may be, architecturally, the grandest in all of Australia.

It was originally known as The Bush Inn when it was built in 1867 - on the first site for a pub in the town.

In 1889 it added a third story to be the finest hotel in Central Queensland. As a result it was heritage listed in 1992.

Located in the heart of the city it has 19 motel suites and 26 hotel rooms for accommodation, gorgeous balconies overlooking the Fitzroy River, an ornate tower and a whole lot of atmosphere in the public bar.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Imperial Hotel, Ravenswood, QLD

The Imperial Hotel is a striking two storey brick hotel in the main street of Ravenswood.

It is one of a handful of buildings which survive from this once important gold mining town. At one stage over 30 locations sold alcohol in the area. 

Constructed in 1901 for James Delaney and run by members of this family for most of the twentieth century, it is evidence of Ravenswood's prosperity during its boom period. 

The building retains almost all of its original fabric and the interior layout is typical of nineteenth century hotels.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Railway Hotel, Ravenswood, QLD
​The Railway Hotel sits opposite the site of the railway station in Ravenswood, one of a handful of buildings which survive from this once important gold mining town. 

At one stage over 30 locations sold alcohol in the area

The three-storey hotel was built about 1901 for John Moran and underwent extensive renovation in 1988. It was heritage listed in 1992.

The Railway Hotel was also a location for the filming of Breaker Morant: The Retrial in 2013.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Yungaburra Pub (The Lake Eacham Hotel), Yungaburra, QLD

​The Yungaburra Pub, or as it also known, The Lake Eacham Hotel, was built in 1910 as an elegant mountain retreat servicing Far North Queensland's wealthy.

It is heritage listed and remains largely intact with red cedarpanelling and furniture in the lounge and dining room creating a real sense of history.

It is a great base for exploring the beautiful and unique surrounding areas of the Atherton Tablelands, complete with waterfalls, rain forests and huge patches of lush green.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Mingela Hotel, Mingela, QLD
​Originally built in 1894 as the two-story North Australian Hotel, the pub enjoyed a steady trade until a fire in 1942 destroyed the building.

The locals, keen to have a pub back up and running, decided they would repurpose the town's hall as a hotel.

The hall was jacked up and logs placed under it. it was then rolled on the logs, one full town block, to its current position.

The pub's name changed in the mid 80's to the Mingela Hotel.

The town has seen many name changes, first Cunningham in 1861, then Ravenswood Junction in 1884 and finally Mingela in 1930. The name Mingela being a corruption of the Aboriginal name "Ming-Illa" meaning big waterhole.

​​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.

Malanda Hotel, Malanda, QLD

The Malanda Hotel is Australia’s largest wooden hotel.

It was built with possibly greater speed than had been envisaged. All of the English family with the exception of Patrick and Bill were attending a picnic at Lake Eacham one Sunday afternoon when two men arrived at English’s farm. The young men overheard them talking about the proposed railway, its position and the possibility of building a hotel.

The English farm, portion 39 at the time, was often visited by early settlers wanting to purchase cows which James had transported up from the south. On this occasion the visitors were not interested in purchasing cattle and proceeded to tell the boys they wished to build a pub in the new township and were seeking land for the purpose.

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The Sir George, Jugiong, NSW
Located in the riverside village of Jugiong, The Sir George offers a unique eat, drink, bake experience in the Australian bush. 

The Sir George Tavern as it was known, was originally built by Irish settler John Philip Sheahan in 1845. 
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Rising floodwaters from the mighty Murrumbidgee washed the original structure away in the floods of 1852. 

That year, Sheahan began rebuilding the pub with the help of stonemasons from Ireland and the end result was the structure that still stands today.

​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below. 

Ettamogah Pub, Table Top (Albury), NSW

Albury Ettamogah Pub in Table Top was used as the base to bring the Ettamogah brand into a themed restaurant and pub chain across Australia.

The original creator of the Ettamogah Pub was Ken Maynard who started drawing the Ettamogah Pub in 1959. It was made famous through his regular cartoons in The Australasian Post.

The original Ettamogah pub was built by businessman Lindsay Cooper and first opened in 1987. The aim was to create a themed family restaurant which would become a tourist icon. The timber building featured sloping walls and a distinctive architectural style true to the original cartoon design.

​Find out more by clicking "See More..." below.
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