The original Mulga Creek Hotel sprang up to support the expansion of mining operations in Cobar in the days when overland transport routes followed the Bogan River down to Gongolgon, and then overland to Cobar with a natural stop at the Mulga Creek, about three kilometres from the current location of Byrock, which is where they put the pub. When the railway line was laid from Nyngan to Bourke the whole village was relocated to be closer to the rail siding, and a later spur line distributed rail traffic from Byrock across to Brewarrina.
Byrock now has around 20 residents and the Mulga Creek Hotel (Byrock Pub to the locals) is a classic bush pub with old stylings in a modern, solid brick building. Hats, memorabilia and various curiosities adorn the walls and ceilings. The large, angled bar features hand made stools, furniture and tables all created from local Mulga.
The pub is open seven days per week serving lunch and dinner, with excellent accommodation and entertainment on offer including a pool table, juke box and dart board. Being the only business in town, the pub is also the local post office, provides fuel for travellers, and has excellent caravan park and camping facilities at the rear.
An absolute ‘must stop’ along the Rockholes Route, or on your way along the Mitchell Highway, the Mulga Creek Hotel is a true gem of the bush.
The Mulga Creek Hotel is a Pub Stop along the Rockholes Route. Discover more routes and pub history.
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.
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.
Byrock
One of the smaller villages of the Bourke Shire, Byrock has an interesting and colourful past intersecting with coach, rail and road.