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Home | The Pub Route
The story of Outback NSW is written in the history of the Roadside Inns & Pubs. Take a trip along the path of the these Historical Hotels and visit genuine Bush Pubs along the way.
About
The Pub Route is your roadmap to unlocking the essence of outback Western NSW through the beating heart of the communities themselves.
Pub Routes
We invite you to stop and explore some of the truly iconic pubs of Western NSW along the Pub Route, where ‘The Pub’ is more than just a place to have a beer – it’s the heartbeat of the town. The Pub Route connects travellers to the history and stories of the forgotten ‘pub spots’ …
Two Rivers Route
The ‘Two Rivers Route’ takes you from the Pubs of Cobar and Shindy’s Inn at Louth to the Warrego Hotel at Fords Bridge then onto ‘The Northy’ and Port of Bourke Hotel.
Copper Route
The ‘Copper Route’ takes you from the Pubs of Cobar through Canbelego to Nymagee, down to the Lachlan River at Euabalong, across to Mount Hope, and back to Cobar.
Poets Route
The ‘Poets Route’ follows the path of some famous Australian poets as it crosses the Warrego, Cuttaburra and Irara Rivers and also crosses the Queensland Border into the township of Hungerford.
River Run Route
The ‘River Run Route’ follows the Darling River down to Tilpa and back, including stops at Shindy’s Inn at Louth, and the famous Tilpa Hotel as well as numerous historic pub spots along the way.
Rockholes Route
The ‘Rockholes Route’ follows the old coach road from Bourke, past Mt Oxley to Gongolgon, across to Byrock for a stop at the Mulga Creek Hotel, and back to Bourke along the Mitchell Hwy.
Opal Route
The ‘Opal Route’ could take a few hours, or a lifetime, depending on your frame of mind. There are certainly many long-term residents in the opal fields that ‘only came for a look’ – be careful!
Barwon Route
The ‘Barwon Route’ carves a large rough triangle of the North-West as it traverses the black soil plains. Twisted Coolabahs line the roadsides while broadacre farm fields stretch to the horizon beyond.
Hot Baths Route
The ‘Hot Baths Route’ navigates some of the best spots in the Great Artesian Basin and explores the rejuvenating qualities of mineral rich artesian bore baths while visiting a few pubs along the way.
Towns & Villages
Discover the Towns & Villages of the Pub Route.
Video Stories
The Pub Route invites travellers to stop and explore some truly iconic pubs, where ‘The Pub’ is more than just a place to have a beer – it’s the heartbeat of the town., and a welcoming spot for locals and travellers alike to connect.
Pub Stops – Historical Hotels
Australian Arms Hotel
This hotel was known as the ‘Australian Arms’, the ‘Australian’, and in an article by Bill Weate in the Spectator, the ‘Australian Coat of Arms’. Government records make it fairly clear that the correct name is the Australian Arms, but regardless, the hotel was always known to locals as ‘Cook’s Hotel’.
Avondale Hotel – Merrywinebone
The Avondale Hotel was at Merrywinebone siding, a horse-changing station for the coach line, and probably continued with the arrival of the railway.
Bee Mountain Hotel – Illawong
As so often happened, the development of mining led to the development of a village. The scatter of houses and businesses at Bee Mountain, serving the Queen Bee and other small mining ventures, was proclaimed a village in 1906 with the name Illewong bestowed upon it.
Bobadah Hotel
Bobadah is not on the most direct route between Nymagee and Euabalong and lies 53 kms south-west of Nymagee. The village was originally called Carpina, as proclaimed on the 3 November 1897, but the name never stuck and it was always known as Bobadah. The little village boasted three hotels.
Box Holes Hotel
About six kilometres past Grass Hut, the hotel at Box Holes Tank seems more a myth than a reality. In 1886, a lady with the very Irish sounding name of Brigette O’Neill was convicted of dealing in sly grog there.
Carriers Arms Hotel
This hotel is thought to have been built in the mid 1870s, with its first licensee being John Fletcher in 1879. It was the second Carriers Arms in Bourke and one of four in the district to bear the sign of house, with namesakes in Tudor street (later the Commercial), Barringun and Byrock. The hotel doubled as a booking agency for the Cobb & Co Coach service, and as late as 1950 a sign reading; ‘Cobb & Co LTD, Booking Office for Hungerford Line’ still swung from the verandah rafters.
Carrington – Four Mile Hotel
Alfred Eccles’ Four Mile Hotel was located on the eastern approach to town on the road to Brewarrina.
Club House Hotel
The Club House Hotel in Bourke was a notable establishment located on the north-west corner of Wilson and Hope Streets.
Clubhouse Hotel
The Club House Hotel was situated on the corner of Lewis and Harcourt Streets – just right for men knocking off at the Great Cobar Mine or for the passing traffic heading around the bottom of the slag dump to Dapville or Wrightville. Licensed in 1882, the first proprietor was Frederick Toy, who for many years ran the bark-roofed original Cobar Hotel. The Club House was a somewhat more sophisticated structure with accommodation that eventually included several cottages.
Comborah Hotel
On the southernmost travelling stock route from Wilby Wilby to Walgett, another watering place became the focus for a small settlement. It was to be called Cumborah.
Come By Chance Hotel
The Comby Store serves as the local hotel these days, but there was once a thriving hotel in the community on the black soil plains.
Commercial Hotel
The Commercial Hotel, a bustling hub on Euroka Street near the Fox Street intersection in Walgett, opened its doors in 1881, becoming a landmark in the community.
Commercial Hotel – Jandra
The Commercial Hotel was located at the 18 miles peg, downriver from Bourke within the travelling stock route that ran along the river to Louth. William Irwin was granted a lease of eight acres of land to build a hotel, effective January 1, 1880.
Cooly Arbor
Cooly Arbor was located on the Bourke-Wanaaring Road, near the turn-off from Toorale, now a stock watering place known as ‘Sibraas Bore’.
Corella Wine Shanty
The Corella Wine Shanty was a wooden building of six rooms licensed to Thomas Meadows under a Colonial Wine License.
Court House Hotel
Why call it the Court House Hotel? Because it’s on Barton Street, opposite the Court House. Possibly there were people who felt the need of a drink before or after an appearance in court. Definitely there were people who worked or drank at the Court House Hotel who made an appearance in the other Court House.
Criterion Hotel
Most closely associated with the Criterion Hotel was the magnificent Henry ‘Poppa’ Cornish’. In spite of his name, Henry was an Englishman (try telling the Cornish they are English…). He had had rather a thrilling life, seeing action in the Crimean War before coming to Australia and eventually settling for the humdrum quiet of the Outback.
Cryon Hotel
At a lonely crossroad on the vast black soil plains sits the little siding and grain depot of Cryon, one of the important accommodations and hotels for itinerant workers in the region.
Cugong Hotel
The Cugong Hotel is thought to have been located a few kilometres toward Condobolin from where The Pub Route joins the Lachlan River. Keen fans of Cobb & Co memorialised the location with a stone marker for the Cugong Hotel, installed in 2002 as part of the Year of the Outback.
Curraweena Hotel
The Curraweena Hotel, situated half-way between Bourke and Cobar, was also known as ‘Yellow Water Holes’. There was also known to be a Royal Mail Hotel near to a major pastoral station which indicates it could be the same place.
Doughty’s Hotel
Doughty’s Hotel at Elouera, just outside of Cobar, was a wooden structure that included detached accommodation with three bedrooms. In 1918 the pub was destroyed by fire as there was little water at the location to put out the flames. This may or may not have been the end of the pub at Eloura.
Dry Lake Hotel
Some 35 kilometres north of Bourke, on the road to Barringun on the Queensland border, there is an ephemeral water body commonly known as the Dry Lake. This shallow depression was an important watering point on the dry stretch of road between the Darling and Warrego Rivers. As such, it was also home to several well-patronised wayside inns, in particular the Warraweena Hotel, that survived from the days of horse and coach to motor transport.
Dunlop Hotel
Known locally as ‘Fields Sandhill’, history records this hotel as ‘The Dunlop Hotel’, and while it is well clear of the current Dunlop Boundary, it would once have been well within the footprint of the vast pastoral lease.
Empire Hotel
It seems every town has an Empire Hotel, but the emperors and the empires they rule are always different. Sometimes they are even empresses.
Enngonia Hotel
The first of the European settlers to push into the country around the lower Warrego river was Cornelius “Con” Bride, a young stockman in the employ of pastoralist, and later politician, Thomas G. Dangar. Bride’s favourable reports of the country surrounding the Warrego saw a rush of wealthy investors snap up grazing leases along the river frontage.
Eremerang Pub
Eremerang is known to be a major pastoral station in the region. It is likely that a store-cum-pub was operating within the vicinity. Eremerang was also mentioned as part of the Nangerybone wolfram explorations.
Eumanbah Hotel
Roughly 10 miles from Walgett on the Lightning Ridge Road, the Eumanbah Hotel existed for just a few short years before disappearing from the historical record.
Evandale Hotel
In a paddock beside the Come By Chance Road are the crumbling remains of the Evandale Hotel, the land is currently privately owned. When the growth isn’t too high you can still see the stumps and the remnants of a dam at the site which incorporated other buildings as well. Look closely, and you’ll find several shapes remaining from the original foundations.
Exchange Hotel
The Exchange Hotel enjoyed a prominent location amongst a network of commercial properties, had a terrible relationship with fire, and may have been the site of Walgett’s first hotel.
Exchange Hotel – Kallara
In 1878, William Morrison of Morrison Brothers Coaches established the Exchange Hotel on the eastern side of the river, nearly opposite Kallara Station.
Federal Hotel
The Federal Hotel in Bourke, built in 1892, became a key landmark and a vibrant centre of the town’s social life for more than nine decades. The hotel’s history mirrors the ebbs and flows of Bourke’s own, marked by both periods of prosperity and hardship. Through two major fires and the leadership of many memorable personalities, the hotel remained a central gathering place in Bourke until its closure in 1983.
Federal Hotel – Pokataroo
With a name derived from the Aboriginal word ‘Bukkitaro’, roughly translated as ‘river going wide’, Pokataroo is a small locality on the Western fringe of the Liverpool Plains.
Four Mile Hotel
The Four Mile Hotel was a short-lived licensed premises located on the travelling stock route between Bourke and Louth in the late 1870s. As the name suggests, the pub was about four miles from the town, but not to be confused with a later “Four Mile Hotel” on the road east to Brewarrina.
Galway Hotel – Rose Isle
Before the current road network with bridges and crossings was established, overland travellers followed and crossed rivers according to need and proximity. Working men approaching or leaving the enormous Toorale Station simply crossed the river to what was known as ‘East Toorale’. A number of hotels owed their existence to this accumulation of men, and the Galway Hotel, a few hours further downstream towards Louth also flourished amidst the endless enterprise of pastoralism.
Gidgea Camp Hotel
The remarkable Mrs Harrod raised three consecutive families in the pub she began out of a cellar excavated at Cedia Camp, half a mile south of the bore on the eastern side of the road to Barringun.
Gladstone Hotel
The Gladstone Hotel, which operated from 1888, enjoyed a varied life as a hotel, store, and boarding house before being condemned in 1953.
Goangra Hotel
Goangra was a surveyed town on the Namoi River about 20 miles from Walgett on the Pilliga Road.
Gongolgon
In 1829, fifteen-year-old Edward Botfield arrived in the colony of NSW as a convict. Some forty years later he settled his family on the Bogan River, named his property ‘Botfield’ and opened his house as a coach stopover. Such were Gongolgon’s simple beginnings.
Goorooway Hotel
The Goorooway Hotel, some 30 miles from Walgett on the Lightning Ridge Road, had a reasonably long life, though nothing remains of the old hotel today.
Grass Hut Hotel
Also called the Grass Tree Hotel. Sited at Claypan Hollow 60 kms north of Bourke in 1892, near a government tank.
Grawin Hotel
Also known as the Grawin Inn and The Grawin Creek Pub, this shanty is often confused with the Wilby Wilby Hotel due to a colourful character associated with both locations.
Gumbalie Hotel
The Gumbalie Hotel was a popular watering place along the Warrego, at the junction of the river and the Wanaaring Road. It was thought to be a location where Henry Lawson stopped along his walk to Hungerford.
Harp of Erin Hotel
The Harp of Erin was a prominent establishment in Bourke with a colourful history, having been known by several names throughout its existence.
Helman’s Tank
Helman’s Tank was a public watering place enclosed by the current property ‘Dijoe’. The site appears to have been established as a hotel by Henry Hillman in 1882, however the premises seem to have been converted to a family home by 1887, as conveyed in the tragic story of Mary Hillard-Smith.
Imperial Hotel
The Imperial Hotel has been through several incarnations in its lifetime, always dominating the crucial location on the corner of Fox and Wee Waa Streets.
Jolly WaggonerS Hotel
The Jolly Waggoners Hotel, built in 1881, was a notable establishment located near the northwest corner of Mitchell and Glen Streets in Bourke.
Kelly’s Camp
Kelly’s Camp was originally licensed as a wine shanty, later becoming a hotel. The site is on a regular supply of artesian water, and categorised as “a farm” by 15-year-old R. Stretton, in his published correspondence to Dame Durden.
Kerrigundi Hotel
While a public watering place is identified close to this location, little is known of the mysterious Kerrigundi Hotel
Lake Eliza Hotel
When the lake was full, Arthur Atwood’s Lake Eliza Hotel was a popular stopover for teamsters and drovers.
Lightning Ridge Inn
The Lightning Ridge Inn was the first hotel in the area on the stock route in the Cobb & Co chain from Walgett to Angledool, and onwards to Hebel.
Mercadool Hotel
While there is little remaining evidence of this short-lived hotel, being regarded as ‘long since obliterated’ as far back as 1920, there is still an interesting mystery concerning the death of the proprietor’s son.
Meryula Hotel
The Meryula Hotel was a long, low, wooden building between the mining settlements of Cobar and Mt Boppy (Canbelego). The building had two fireplaces and operated for 28 years. The Meryula had as a one-time owner or tenant, the writer of one of the most colourful challenges to a fight ever published.
Mount Drysdale
Three hotels operated at different times in the small but dynamic mining village of Mt Drysdale. Tattersalls Hotel, Drysdale Hotel and The Globe Hotel were reported as large and commodious buildings.
Mountain House
In 1870, an old English soldier named James Read took up 80 acres at the foot of the Mt Oxley ranges and opened a small inn, which he named the Mountain House.
Mungunyah Hotel
Mungunyah, located just 10 miles down river from Enngonia, once rivalled that settlement for prominence as a preferred crossing site on the Warrego River.
Native Dog Hotel
Mounds, craters and depressions locate the natural Native Dog Springs site. The name may be an echo of the long Aboriginal tribal use of the area indicated by the scatter of artefacts.
Peak Hotel
Relatively close to the current ‘Peak Gold Mine’, the Peak Hotel recorded a brief history in the heady days of ‘opening up’ the country around Cobar.
Pink Hills Hotel
Once you pass Mt Oxley, there is really only one point of elevation that could be called a ‘hill’, and though it is covered in Mulga, it gave its name to the hotel that was located there.
Post Office Hotel
Built in 1888 by Devon-born Edward Luscombe, the two-storey Post Office Hotel in Oxley Street was also the centrepiece of social life in Bourke for over a century. Luscombe held a licence for a hotel on the Culgoa River for several years in the 1880s but moved into Bourke to build his new hotel in Oxley Street in 1888.
Pubs & Breweries of Canbelego/Mt Boppy
Canbelego is closely associated with the nearby gold mining operation of Mount Boppy, and became the service town for the thriving enterprise. At one time the township featured its own railway station, at least three hotels, a number of stores and a school.
Pubs & Breweries of Gilgunnia
The name Gilgunnia literally means ‘swamp with Aboriginal huts around it’ as there was once a spring in the area, a key resource for traditional owners and of great interest to settlers moving onto their lands. A hotel was established at Gilgunnia in 1873. Its founder envisaged it as a stopping place north of the Lachlan River.
Pubs & Breweries of Mount Hope
The first of the licensed premises granted for Mount Hope was the Mount Hope Hotel in March 1881, followed by William Clark’s Royal Hotel (July), Thomas Saunders’ Albion Hotel (August) and John Lees’ Commercial Hotel (November 1881). In September 1882 a licence was granted to James Lyell for the Great Central Hotel at South Mount Hope.
Pubs & Breweries of Nymagee
There are known to have been five hotels in Nymagee with records of the: Traveller’s Rest, Royal Hotel, Metropolitan Hotel, Commercial Hotel, Club House Hotel and the Cardiff’s Arms.
Pubs & Breweries of Shuttleton
The township of Shuttleton was founded after copper was discovered there in the late 1890s. The township grew quickly and soon had two pubs, Tattersall’s Hotel and the Commercial Hotel. In 1902, it boasted seven stores, including a bakery and a wine shop. Lying a little distance from the town, the Priory Hotel also served the stage coaches and other thirsty travellers.
Pubs & Breweries of Tilpa
Tilpa’s first licensed hotel was opened in 1877 when a licence was granted to James Buckley on 3 January of that year. On the original licence its location is given as Killara, Darling River. The name of this new hotel was the “Wee Watter”, although it has sometimes, unofficially, been called the “Wee Watta” or “Wee Watah”.
Pubs & Breweries of Wrightville
A mining town of 3,000 souls needs a place to quench its thirst. Wrightville had four hotels offering food, drink, accommodation and a great deal of merriment.
Pubs and Breweries of Collarenebri
While history records six hotels in Collarenebri over a long period, it is possible that duplication was a factor. This was not uncommon, as the licensees were registered annually, and would sometimes change the name of the hotel depending on their preference.
Pubs and Breweries of Walgett
While there is no substantive hotel currently operating in Walgett, the village on the junction of the Namoi and Barwon Rivers is a major hub of pastoralism and cropping, as well as a place of great significance for Aboriginal people. During its history, there were at least eight separate hotels in Walgett at different times – and a brewery.
Pubs of Hungerford
Hungerford once had two hotels, The Royal Mail and the Commercial. According to bush legend, one of the pubs, the Commercial presumably, sat right on the border of QLD and NSW.
Pubs of Lightning Ridge
Lightning Ridge is one of the most iconic outback destinations in Australia. Synonymous with its famous black opal, the town’s very backbone is the hard and thirsty work of mining. It’s quite surprising that a town like this only ever really had one hotel.
Railway Hotel
The Railway Hotel, later known as the Cambridge Hotel, was a significant two-storey brick building located on Hope Street, between Glen and Wilson Streets in Bourke.
Railway Hotel – Tarcoon
Little remains of the thriving village that intersected with exploration, coach, rail and wool, and ultimately time itself.
Red Lion Brewery
In the year 1879, a man named Mr. H L Lindsay embarked on an ambitious venture. He established a brewery and cordial factory on Mitchell Street in Bourke, adjacent to the Telegraph Hotel and near Horsfall’s billabong.
Redbank Hotel
The Redbank Hotel was one of a number of small licensed premises that dotted the landscape at an average distance of around 12 miles from one another – 12 miles being the average distance a stockman could move a grazing flock of sheep in one day. Other venues established in the area in the 1870s included the East Toorale Hotel and the Commercial Hotel, established at Jandra Station.
Restdown Hotel
The Restdown Hotel appears to have been a handy mid-point between Mt Boppy and Nymagee.
Riverview Hotel
Known to locals simply as ‘Northy’, the current hotel is on the site of the former ‘Riverview Hotel’, which is likely to have been relocated from Gumbalie. It is one of at least five hotels to trade in North Bourke at different times.
Rowena Hotel
Tenders to sink a bore at Rowena were issued in 1903, and with reliable water, the little settlement established itself and was proclaimed a village in 1909.
Royal Hotel
A key location on the Cobb and Co routes that traversed Condobolin, Hillston, Lake Cargellico, Mount Hope and Cobar, Euabalong had two hotels at one time, and a third watering hole a few miles up the road at Cugong.
Royal Hotel
The Royal Hotel in Fox Street began its life as the Royal Mail Hotel, with the first licence attributed to George Meadows in 1878, and then to Margaret Jane Glover in 1879. But by 1880, the licence had been transferred to Theodore Glover.
Royal Hotel
The Port of Bourke Hotel stands on the site of one of Bourke’s very first hotels, The Old Fort Hotel and has been in operation almost continually since the first license was granted by the local police magistrate on November 11, 1862.
Royal Hotel
The Royal was a lovely old building, made from red cedar timber, which ran vertically. There was a large bar with cellar underneath, six guest rooms, two parlours, a dining room, kitchen, front gauzed verandah sleepout, and quarters for the publican and family.
Salmonford Hotel
It was the enterprising Irishman Michael McAuliffe who built the first public house west of Bourke on the Warrego River at Fords Bridge in 1869. McAuliffe originally named his roadside inn “The House that Jack Built” but for whatever reason, the following year it was named the ‘Salmonford Hotel’, and it was that name which stuck for the next four decades.
Shamrock Inn – Newfoundland
When Andrew Murray opened The Shamrock in 1867, on the optimistically named Newfoundland Run, he intended it as a link to his native Ireland, where the local pub was an integral part of the culture.
Shearlegs Hotel
A brief way station in the tides of history, the Shearlegs Hotel still had a few reportable moments.
Sportsman’s Arms
The Sportsman’s Arms hotel in Walgett opened its doors to the public around 1884, at a time when the town was emerging as a regional hub for wool production.
Stoney Creek Hotel
The Stoney Creek Hotel stood quietly atop a stony rise, close to the shimmering waters of the Darling River, 14 miles south of Louth. Established in 1881 by John Howell, the hotel quickly became a lifeline for weary and thirsty pastoral workers from nearby stations like Dunlop, offering a cool drink and respite from the blistering heat. Its high ground saved it from the Darling’s devastating floods, including the great flood of 1890 when the hotel was surrounded by water, leaving it a lonely island amid the murky expanse.
Sutherlands Lake House
Known as ‘Sutherland’s Lake House’, and also ‘Lauradale Lake’ or ‘Lauradale Hotel’ – the pub appears to have been a simple construction with an earth floor in the dining room.
Tattersall’s Hotel
This hotel was located at the corner of Fox and Wee Waa Streets, diagonally opposite the Imperial. It was a two-storey building of timber construction with balconies fronting both Wee Waa and Fox Streets.
Tattersall’s Hotel
Tattersall’s Hotel, built around 1860, stood in a prime location near the Darling River and played a central role in Bourke’s early days. It quickly became the lifeblood of a town where paddle steamers, teamsters, and coaches converged, creating a bustling social and commercial hub.
Telegraph Hotel
The Telegraph Hotel was strategically placed in the heart of Mitchell Street, Bourke’s main thoroughfare at the time. Situated next to Mr. Adolph’s large store, the hotel became a focal point for both commerce and social life in a bustling town.
Telegraph Hotel – Weelong
Upstream on the eastern side of the river was the location for the district’s next licensed hotel, at Weelong. The Telegraph Hotel was located where red country runs on to the bank of the Darling River, about a kilometre and a half above Curranyalpa homestead.
Terminus Hotel
The Terminus Hotel was opened in 1899 by Charles Thomas, the first proprietor. Thomas wanted to catch the trade from the train station and the name the Railway Hotel was already taken, so his new premises was christened The Terminus.
The Barwon Inn
The Barwon Inn is one of the long standing establishments in the Walgett district, and the stretch of the river where the hotel was located is still known by this name.
The Grand Hotel
The Grand Hotel, built by William Hogan in 1898, cost more than £500 to complete. It was an investment for Mr Hogan, who was a solicitor, long-term Alderman and six times Mayor – and an entrepreneur. The hotel was intended to be a first-class establishment, as befitted its name. It boasted hot and cold showers as well as plunge baths and, as a major attraction, lavatories.
The Great Western Hotel
Something must have been in the water in 1898. That was the year in which not one but two magnificent establishments were built in Cobar, the Grand and the Great Western Hotels.
The New Occidental Hotel
The original Star Hotel, later rebuilt as the New Occidental Hotel, was located on the corner of Marshall Street and Louth Road (Government Road) and was one of the first hotels in Cobar. Over the years, it witnessed many changes and events, including the first electric power pole placed on its prominent corner.
The Pubs & Breweries of Cobar
Eighteen hotels are known to have existed in Cobar. Fortunately, they did not all exist at the same time as it may have been harder to get things done.
The Pubs & Breweries of Bourke
From its earliest days Bourke has always had a reputation as a drinking town and it’s no wonder as it was, in fact, founded by publicans!
The Pubs & Breweries of Burren Junction
There have only ever been two hotels operating at any one time in Burren Junction, in addition to a ‘Refreshment Room’.
The Pubs & Breweries of Byrock
For aeons, the Ngemba stone-country people had rested by the sacred water hole they believed to have been carved from the rock by Baiame, the Creator. By the 1870s, their quiet was shattered as Cobb & Co coaches began ploughing the long miles from Dubbo up to Bourke.
Pub Stops
Carinda Hotel
The present-day Carinda Hotel wasn’t always a hotel. For the early part of its life it was a tea room and clothing store, later becoming a fruit shop and general store. The building finally evolved into a hotel when the old Corinda Hotel burnt down in 1927.
Club in the Scrub
The Grawin Opal Fields are a loose assemblage of shacks, mines, camps and houses, held together by tracks, trails, mounds and used machinery… and the Club in The Scrub is no different.
Comby Store
Situated halfway between Pilliga and Walgett on the old Cobb and Co route, Comby Store serves as the post office, supermarket, and of course, the pub. This curious community that should be on everybody’s ‘must see’ list is a quiet hamlet now, punctuated by busy race meetings and occasional events at the local hall, but it too had its heyday.
Empire Hotel
While it no longer features that grand old facade that was the face of the Empire Hotel for so many years, the pub itself is still a welcoming, comfortable and very popular place to eat and drink in Cobar.
Euabalong Royal Hotel
Shady river gums line the banks of the Lachlan River, a home for corellas, cockatoos and kookaburras in the sleepy village of Euabalong. Nearby, however, the Royal Hotel is far from sleepy. It’s a busy, friendly hub for this small community, and is always ready to welcome visitors and locals alike through its open doors.
Gateway Hotel
Call into the Gateway for a fantastically well appointed bottle shop, the best of local knowledge, and great accommodation. Unfortunately, since Covid, there is no place to wet your whistle at the Gateway Hotel.
Glengarry Hilton
Looking something like the various mining camps that surround it, the Glengarry Hilton is a community hub for the opal field, and a much loved watering hole for its locals.
Junction City Hotel
A large, modern tavern-style pub located on the very edge of town, the Junction City Hotel offers everything a traveller requires and wouldn’t normally expect to find in a small village.
Metropolitan Hotel
While the heyday of mining might be long in the past for the village of Nymagee, the Metropolitan Hotel is still the centre of a thriving community. It’s a fantastic spot to call in, catch your breath, and catch up on the local news.
Mulga Creek Hotel
Paul and Gail Kelly have owned the Mulga Creek Hotel for fourteen years, and they’ve got some stories to tell.
Oasis Hotel
Enngonia is a friendly, one pub town in north-western NSW, located 40 kms south of the QLD border, approximately 100 kms from the regional hub of Bourke.
Outback Resort
It might be the last pub standing in Lightning Ridge, but the Outback Resort has got plenty to offer, pretty much everything you need actually. Located on the main road into town, right across from the Tourist Information Centre, the Outback Resort is a sprawling complex of motel accommodation, camping, bistro and bar.
Pilliga Hotel
Located on the outer fringe of the Narrabri Shire, the township of Pilliga is known for its hot artesian bore baths located at the edge of town, the famous ‘Pilliga scrub’ protected in the nearby National Park, and of course, the ‘Pub in the Scrub’ – the Pilliga Hotel.
Port of Bourke Hotel
The grand old lady of Bourke, the Port of Bourke (originally called ‘the Royal’) is one of the finest buildings in town, and also one of the finest pubs. A large, double-storey building with deep verandahs on both levels, the pub faces Mitchell Street and is close to the popular wharf precinct, and the newly paved and landscaped park areas around the river.
Rowena Village Inn
The front facade of the Rowena Pub gives little clue as to what lies inside. Opening up like a tardis to reveal fantastic spaces for eating, relaxing and entertaining for adults and kids alike, the Rowena Pub is definitely worth a visit.
Royal Hotel
You can’t miss the local pub at Mount Hope, it’s as though the road bends deliberately around the pub’s front door.
Royal Mail Hotel
The Royal Mail Hotel, situated on Hungerford’s main street along the Dowling Track, is a classic outback pub within easy reach of Currawinya National Park.
Sheepyard Inn
Surrounded by memorabilia and curios, with shady verandahs front and back and a massive stone fireplace inside, the Sheepyard Inn makes a comfortable stop for locals and visitors.
Shindy’s Inn
Shindy’s Inn, the current hotel in Louth, features shady verandahs and outdoor seating. Built on the site of the former Royal Hotel, it became Shindy’s Inn after being rebuilt in 1956 following two fires.
Tattersalls Hotel
Tattersalls Hotel is a beautiful art deco building on the banks of the Barwon River at Collarenebri.
The Back O’ Bourke Hotel
Perched on the corner at North Bourke, ‘The Northy’ is the first thing you’ll see after you cross the North Bourke Bridge, and it’s a great place to stop and get your bearings. The pub is a modern building, recently opened, which replaced the historic old Riverview Hotel that was destroyed by fire in 2010.
The Great Western
The Great Western Hotel is a great place to stop and soak up some of the ambience of ‘Old Cobar’ and have a yarn with the locals. The hotel is family friendly, with accommodation, dining facilities and a coffee shop open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
Tilpa Hotel
Grown from the river boat trade along the Darling River, the hotel and pub is at the heart of Tilpa and a favourite attraction for both travellers and locals. Established in 1894, the Tilpa Hotel is full of character and includes a bistro and accommodation. The pub’s walls, made of timber and corrugated iron, are …
Warrego Hotel
Call into the historic Warrego Hotel, built in 1913 and thought to be the only pub in Australia still standing constructed of mud bricks. The pub also rests on the site of the Cobb and Co changing station, where the legendary stage coaches swapped out their horses for a fresh team.
Towns
Bourke
While only two hotels remain operational in Bourke, the town is synonymous with the outback, pioneering adventure, and the associated hotels that are scattered throughout the shire.
Cobar
Cobar was once the largest producer of copper in Australia, an industry which spread right throughout the shire, drew thousands of men to undertake the heavy work, and therefore necessitated dozens of watering holes to slake the thirst of a hot and hard working community.
Walgett
Walgett is nestled near the meeting point of the Namoi and Barwon Rivers, one of the most significant river junctions in Western NSW. The town’s only roundabout marks the junction of the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways, guiding eager outback adventurers through town and onto some of Australia’s best outback touring routes.
Burren Junction
An hour’s drive east of Walgett along the Kamilaroi Highway brings you to Burren Junction. This small, welcoming town features a few streets with churches, a school, a post office and a pub.
Byrock
One of the smaller villages of the Bourke Shire, Byrock has an interesting and colourful past intersecting with coach, rail and road.
Collarenebri
A crossing on the Barwon previously known as Rocky Ford, Collarenebri is the home of the mighty Murray Cod in the upper basin.
Come By Chance
Come by Chance often appears on lists of unusual place names. This small town, with a current population of just two residents, is situated on Baradine Creek, known locally as Bungle Gully Creek.
Cumborah
Nestled into the surrounding Mulga and Cypress scrubland, Cumborah was once a thriving hub for local graziers, their families, and employees. The name Cumborah is thought to translate to “sweet water”, referring to the small springs that bubble up from the sandstone.
Enngonia
The village of Enngonia is little more than a few buildings and a popular watering hole, the Oasis Hotel/Motel, on the Mitchell Highway. Its main claim is that it is particularly rich in bushranger history.
Euabalong
Euabalong is a great town for a beer, and always has been, it was once a key stopover on the Lachlan River Cobb and Co route. The town is situated right on the bend of the river, with beautiful water views and picturesque natural landscapes.
Fords Bridge
The village of Fords Bridge, located on the Warrego River, was once a tiny flourishing town with a butcher shop, post office, school and race track, and of course, a pub!
Hungerford
Located right on the QLD/NSW border near the Paroo River, the township sits nestled in the lee of the Wild Dog Fence and features a large border gate to cross jurisdictions. The town was named after Irish pioneer and pastoralist Thomas Hungerford.
Lightning Ridge
Like the rare black opals hidden deep within the region’s dusty brown foundation, Lightning Ridge is bursting with colourful highlights and fascinating people, ready to reward the inquisitive traveller.
Louth
Once a thriving river port with up to five thriving hotels at different times due to its proximity to pastoral stations, the village of Louth is now a popular stop for travellers seeking adventure along the Darling River. It’s well known for hosting NSW’s premier outback race meeting every August.
Mount Hope
Mount Hope is situated on the Kidman Way, 95 kilometres north of Hillston and 150 km south of Cobar. History tells us this was a vibrant mining community, like many others in the surrounding district.
North Bourke
‘Northy’ is Bourke’s premier suburb, located just a few kilometres from town on the opposite side of the river. The village has a history of hotels as well as plenty of current attractions.
Nymagee
Nymagee was built on the backs of Cornish, Welsh and Scottish miners and mining engineers, and Graham Street alone reputedly boasted four hotels, one on each corner.
Pilliga
Pilliga is a small town with a population of about 300, located 105 kilometers west of Narrabri. It is home to the Pilliga Artesian Bore Baths, constructed in 1902 as a permanent town water supply after a severe drought.
Rowena
Rowena was once a stop along the Pokataroo Railway Line, marked by a wheat stack and a hotel. While trains carrying wheat and cotton still pass through the town, the station is now closed, and all business is conducted through the Rowena Pub.
Tilpa
Situated on the western banks of the Darling River, between Louth and Wilcannia, Tilpa is a welcoming outback stop for travellers seeking a unique experience, whether you’re just passing through, or looking to spend a few days.