Rowena was proclaimed as a village on 22 December 1909. A post office had operated since 1901 and the railway brought enough trade for a hotel and shop. In 1911, the town was described as being built, “as most stations on the north-west are, right in the middle of a plain, the wind blows dry and dusty all day long, while the heat in summer and the cold in winter are said to be fair extremes.”
Only three of the purchased town lots were ever built on, with one of the buildings being E. R. Hardy’s Rowena Hotel, a single-storey construction with 18 rooms and its own gas lighting plant. Hardy was also building a blacksmith’s shop. The post office and C. Malouf’s branch store were on the other side of the railway line.
There were optimistic expectations that the police station and court house at Bulyeroi would be moved to Rowena. A shire hall was built in 1934 and the hotel was rebuilt after destruction by fire.
Owners Jenny and Sid purchased the Rowena Pub in 2020 and, with Covid upon them, set about renovating the place and expanding the spaces to create a modern, well-appointed and welcoming venue that now offers a dining room, outdoor areas with fires, play area with jumping castle, a full kitchen and accommodation for 30 people.
The Rowena Village Inn is a Pub Stop along these Pub Routes. Discover more routes and pub history.
Pub Stories
Discover the history of The Rowena Hotel
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.