The large tavern-like brick building on the main street of Pilliga was built in 1992, and re-opened to the public in 2023 after being closed for a few years. The ‘Pub in the Scrub’ has a large bar-room that is well-lit with natural light and a shady verandah. The back windows look out towards an open field where free camping is available, there are showers and toilets for visitors, and a number of powered sites and amenities. There are also a limited number of rooms available if you’re not carrying your bed with you. The verandah is a popular place to take a drink and watch the slow pace of village life meander by.
The Pilliga Hotel proves the case that a community needs its local watering hole to thrive, and in the years that the pub was closed, farmers and graziers would still come into town and congregate at the local police station to catch up on the news and to share a few yarns over a drink. Since re-opening, the community has somewhere to gather again, and now the local policeman has to come across to the pub to catch up on stories and meet friends.
The pub is closed on Mondays, but open Tuesdays from 3pm, and from 11am every other day. There are meals available – in fact, publican Amanda will cook meals until the pub shuts the doors, and will always help out with a snack if needed. Likewise, she will keep the bar open if there are a few patrons around to have a yarn, but she sticks to her guns when it comes to socialising – you won’t find the TV on at Pilliga Hotel, you come to socialise with your fellow man…. unless there’s a major sporting event of course.
With coffee available, good conversation, friendly locals, free camping, hot bore baths nearby, and meals and drinks available any time the doors are open, the Pilliga Hotel is the heartbeat of the little community, and a great place to stop and meet the locals.
The Pilliga ‘Pub in the Scrub’ is a Pub Stop along these Pub Routes. Discover more routes and pub history.
