Rowena Hotel

The licence for the Rowena Hotel was issued to Edwin R. Hardy in August 1912, with optimism for what the future might bring the township, as reported in the North Western Courier in 1913:

 “Mr. E.R. Hardy of the Rowena hotel evidently has every confidence in the future of Rowena. He has just erected a cottage for which he already has a tenant and has the timber on the ground for another of four rooms, also a bulk store for Messrs. Gordon and Co, storekeepers.”

Mr Hardy may have had better offers as the hotel changed hands the following year with Stephen Dempsey taking up the licence, and again in 1916 when James Burrell was the licensee.

The Rowena Hotel made it to the pages of almost every newspaper in the country in 1927 when tragedy struck the Hotel, with reports like the following:

“TWO LIVES LOST. ROWENA HOTEL DESTROYED. A fire took place at Rowena, when the Rowena Hotel, together with the whole of the contents, was totally destroyed.

It is reported that the fire was attended with fatal consequences. Two persons losing their lives. One man, George King, a bore-drain caretaker was burnt to death, whilst another man whose name is believed to be Francis, died from the effects of burns in the conflagration.”
– Maitland Mercury, 13 September 1927

The 1930s brought further uncertainty to the hotel. In 1932 the owner, Lily Donoghue received £1,240 compensation from the Licence Reduction Board for being deprived of their licence. Mrs Donohue evidently leased the premises which were then again destroyed by fire in 1935:

“HOTEL BURNED DOWN. The hotel at Rowena was destroyed by fire about 3.30 a.m. today. The building was of weatherboard and was owned by Mrs. Donohue, and had been leased for the last two years by Mr. A. W. Brown. There is no water supply or fire-fighting equipment in the township.” 
– Sydney Morning Herald, 20 November 1935

The Northwest Champion reported in February 1937 that:
“The matter of the license of the Rowena Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in November 1935, came before the Wee Waa court for attention. It was admitted by the licensee that the hotel had not been rebuilt, nor had any plans been lodged for a new hotel. An application from the licensee that his license be surrendered was refused, and his solicitor, Mr Bruce, having no alternative suggestions to make, the license was there upon cancelled. A suggestion was made at one time that the license might be transferred to Wee Waa, but the obstacles in the way of this move were too great for the arguments in its favour. This decision now means that the license is cancelled permanently and will not be made available for any centre.”

However later that year Colin Doohan began to petition for a return of the licence to the village: “NEW HOTEL FOR ROWENA. – Mr. Colin Doohan, who recently sold his property, ‘Yarral Yarral,’ at Rowena, has purchased the former site of the recently destroyed hotel at Rowena (says Narrabri ‘Courier’) Mr. Doohan intends building an up-to-date and modern hostelry. It is believed no difficulty will arise in securing a license. He is at present in Newcastle for that purpose.”
– North West Champion, 21 October 1937

The Rowena Hotel disappears from the public record after this time. Jenni and Sid Brummell purchased the Rowena Pub in 2020 and set about renovating the place and expanding the spaces to create a modern, well appointed, and welcoming venue that now has a dining room, outdoor areas with fires, play area with jumping castle, full kitchen and accommodation for 30 people.

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