OZtralia.tv Blog

Where To Grab A Drink While Down Under

By: Karen Halabi

Next time you’re passing through a country town, head for the wide verandahs and cheery atmosphere of the local pub. Here you’ll discover the soul of a town; it’s where the beer is cold and the yarns are spun.

New South Wales
Apart from the legendary Pub With No Beer, NSW is dotted with quirky and colourful character pubs.

In the tiny township of Tilpa, 130km north of Wilcannia, in far west NSW, there’s a classic pub called the Tilpa Hotel. The interior of this old corrugated iron pub is plastered with graffiti from its many adorning fans. And, for a $2 donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, you too can leave your mark on the pub’s tin wall.

In nearby Broken Hill, call into the Palace Hotel, the historic, three-story pub with long verandas and elaborate cast-iron balustrades featured in the movie, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, or visit the Silverton Hotel in the former mining ghost town, known for great hospitality and quirky locals.

Then, hit the Pacific Highway and head north to possibly our most famous pub of all. As country singer Slim Dusty once lamented “There’s nothin’ so lonesome, so dull or so drear, than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer”. But as legend has it that’s exactly what happened at this historic pub in Taylors Arm on the north coast of NSW. While the debate still rages as to whether this pub was in fact the inspiration for the song, one thing is for sure — with the addition of a new brewery the pub’s valuable liquid asset will never run dry again.

A little further north you’ll come across The Billi Pub in historic Billinudgel, the former home of Australia’s oldest publican, a woman by the name of Mar Ring.

Mar Ring was publican for 53 years until the age of 101. She taught former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke how to pull a beer, and was awarded an M.B.E. for community service. A painting of her still hangs over the public bar. This timber pub in the Brunswick Valley of Northern NSW, close to Byron Bay, is steeped in history, with many photos of the old township along with a good collection of memorabilia. The Billi is a good old country pub with tall stories and a friendly atmosphere, much the way it would have been in the early days.

Queensland
From Billinudgel you can head out west via Goondiwindi to Nindigully, just across the border into Queensland.

Walking into the rustic Nindigully Pub is like walking into the lounge room of the Outback. This quintessential Outback pub on the banks of the Moonie River has been the meeting point for locals for well over 100 years. It’s famous for the more than 140 Akubra hats from local farmers and stockmen which adorn the walls. Queensland’s oldest hotel, it was issued a license in 1864 after it had been shearers’ accommodation for Nindigully Station and is still in its original condition.

From here you can head north to Roma where the historic 1863 Romavilla Winery is a rarity – an Outback winery. Sample the local wines in the rustic timber and corrugated iron building, and imagine the hardships establishing a winery here.

From Roma take the Matilda Highway north through historic Outback towns such as Blackall, Barcaldien and Longreach to Winton.

Legend has it that Australia’s best known and much loved national song and the nation’s unofficial national anthem, Waltzing Matilda, was sung for the very first time at the North Gregory Hotel in Outback Winton in north-west Queensland. The Tattersalls Hotel in Winton has also been serving up genuine Outback hospitality for 120 years and is a top spot to share an icy beer with locals including miners, station owners, ringers, truck drivers, cattle buyers and shearers.

A little further north along the Matilda Highway through Outback Queensland be sure to stop and drink a toast to Australia’s hardest working dog, the blue heeler, at the Blue Heeler Hotel in Kynuna, the 100-year-old hotel where Banjo Patterson observed champagne being handed through the window to end the angry shearers strike of the 1800s. The Combo Waterhole, the famed billabong featured in Waltzing Matilda, is 20km south of Kynuna.

On the same Outback highway headed north towards Mt Isa you’ll meet locals as colourful as Mick Dundee over an ice cold beer in the historic Walkabout Creek Hotel in McKinlay in Outback Queensland. It’s famous as Crocodile Dundee’s regular drinking spot in the original movie of the same name. Known originally as the Federal McKinlay Hotel it was sold for $290,000 after the movie was made and is now the town’s one tourist attraction.

One of Australia’s most legendary watering holes is the Birdsville Hotel on the desolate Birdsville Track in Outback Queensland near the South Australian border. Built in 1884 it has been witness to history made, yarns spun and the survival of Australian mateship. It epitomises the essence of the Outback.

But even without heading so far Outback you can see some great Aussie pubs by sticking to the Pacific Highway. If you’re passing through Brisbane, stop off at the Story Bridge Hotel (formerly know as Kangaroo Point Inn), one of only a few hotels to feature architecture from the quintessential Queenslander period. Built in 1886, it’s famous for its Australia Day Cockroach Races.

Further north up the Pacific Highway on the Sunshine Coast is historic Eumundi. There is something special about a country Queensland pub with their wide balconies and timber lattice work shading dimly lit bars and swirling ceiling fans and Joe’s Waterhole (formerly The Commercial Hotel) in Eumundi is one of these treasures.

Rockhampton is Australia’s beef capital. The Great Western Hotel here is widely regarded as the home of great steak, beer and rodeos. This 116 year old pub plays host to major national rodeos and features a huge undercover rodeo arena for 1,000 people that attracts champion riders to the hotel, which also has a Saddler and Poker Saloon and Mavericks Western Wear Shop.

South Australia
The only stopover on the 528km Birdsville Track, the Mungerannie Hotel sits on the edge of the Sturt Stony, Simpson, Tirari and Strzelecki deserts and is nestled beside the Derwent River – an oasis in sharp contrast to its surrounds.

Right in the heart of Burke and Wills explorer country, the Innamincka Hotel at Cooper Creek in South Australia once played host to early drovers who brought cattle down the Strzelecki Track. The pub’s convivial Outamincka Bar has become the stuff of bush legends and is must stop for anyone travelling in these parts.

You can’t get more Outback than the famous Prairie Hotel at Parachilna in South Australia. Built in the 1890s, the pub attracts visitors from all over the world who come to try the renowned Australian native cuisine or bush tucker, otherwise known as ‘feral food’, while drinking in the view of the magnificent Flinders Ranges.

The William Creek Pub is located smack bang in the middle of the world’s largest cattle property, Anna Creek Station which, at 23,800 sq kms is almost half the size of Tasmania. William Creek is South Australia’s smallest town. The William Creek Pub has an almost legendary status and is the only watering hole on the Oodnadatta Track between Marree and Oodnadatta.

On South Australia’s Darling River is the picturesque town of Pooncarie. With only 89 residents, a general store and a pub built in 1976, the town has a lovely old country town feel. But the first Saturday in October sees the town swell to around 1,500 people for the annual Pooncarie races. People come from all over the country, and of course they drink at the old Telegraph Hotel.

Tasmania
In a beautiful little valley called Pyengana you’ll come across a sign that says, “Pub in a Paddock 3km - Come and see our Beer Drinking Pig”.  The Pub in the Paddock is surely one of Australia’s quirkiest pubs. This 1880s watering hole sits in the middle of a paddock in Tasmania’s Pyengana Valley and is famous for its beer swilling pig, Priscilla, who can scull a watered-down stubby in seven seconds. In a pen out the back the sign says, “Hi, Geez I’m dry, I’d luv a beer”. The owner claims the pig has downed 76 stubbies in on session, “more than Boonie”. A Tasmanian institution since 1880, the pub offers hearty country meals and comfortable accommodation.

Northern Territory
The colourful Daly Waters Pub, clad in corrugated iron, is crammed with decades of Australian memorabilia. Once a popular drover’s rest, this quirky pub built in 1930, gained fame again as a stopover for pilots and passengers arriving on the new Qantas airline in 1934. Today, it is a pit-stop for thirsty tourists travelling the Explorer’s Way between Alice Springs and Darwin.

At The Mataranka Pub at Mataranka Springs just south of Katherine you can lean against the bar with its brightly coloured paintings then toddle off to see the nearby replica of the hut in which Jeannie Gunn lived at Elsey Station. Her story was captured in the book We of the Never Never.

The Humpty Doo Hotel in Arnhem Land is conveniently located for travellers heading to Kakadu. The hotel has many colourful local characters, so stop in at the famous Humpty Doo Hotel when next in this part of the world.

At the Barra Bar & Bistro on the Kakadu Highway at Jim Jim, you can cook your own local delicacies on a supplied barbecue with an accompanying buffet.

Just south of Darwin on the Darwin River Road at Berry Springs,  you’ll find the Lichfield Pub, home of the bull arena and shed, which has a 180ft long bar.

Western Australia
Over on our West Coast, The Roey, Broome’s oldest pub, lives by the saying “if it’s going to happen in Broome, it’s going to happen at the Roey”. If you stumble across a local character by the name of Swindle, pull up a chair and order a coldie because he has enough tales about pearling and gangsters to last a week.

While sunset camel rides on Broome’s Cable Beach are world famous, it’s the tales about beer drinking camels that draw attention at the Whim Creek Pub.  Half way between Karratha and Port Hedland, this pub has its own wildlife sanctuary and was once home to a camel with a penchant for beer. Don’t worry about missing the pub – it’s painted bright pink!

The biggest and best known pub in Kalgoorlie is The Exchange. It holds the record for the biggest volume of Jim Beam sold in regional WA. It was originally constructed as a shed in the late 1800s.

The population of the small goldmining town of Kookynie, 200km from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, is less than 10 people, but the town’s 1894 vintage Grand Hotel with its big verandahs and spacious rooms continues to survive. It was once the favourite watering hole for local prospectors.

True Australian country hospitality is alive and well in our great Aussie pubs. Whatever the style of accommodation or the location, the locals will greet you with a firm hand shake and a strong stare. Our great Aussie pubs are about the people and the places, and they’re the heart of our nation.

The Reserves Where Surfers Are King

By: Gail Liston-Burgess

Sand sticks between your toes with each step you take towards the ocean. The waves tumble noisily and roll against the shore. Several surfers plough through the water tossing their boards over the heads of the breakers. Beside you a giggling teen slides ungraciously off his board then quickly launches himself back into the fray. 

This may be the first time you have donned a wetsuit and tucked a short board under your arm, but it won’t be the last. And now that Australia has five gazetted National Surfing Reserves, visitors have even more reason to sample this quintessential Australian obsession.

Surfing in Australia is open to all. No one cares how well you paddle the board or how often you topple into the surf. The only rule, if there is one, is to wait your turn at the back of the break.

“If you don’t try surfing this year it will just be another year you wish you had,” says Brad Whittaker, beach operations manager for the recently gazetted Cronulla Beaches National Surfing Reserve, just south of Sydney.

“It’s not hard to get out there and have a go,” he says. “Sure there is a wide range of surfing breaks (at Cronulla) for the experienced surfer, but this coast has plenty of options for the new surfers, and you won’t believe the freedom you feel riding a wave.”

Former professional surfer Mark Aprilvic, who has been coaching new surfers for the past 30 years at his Cronulla Surf School, endorses this message.

“We’ve taught people from six to 70 to surf. Once you learn how to paddle and the standing technique, it’s not that hard. Anyway wiping out is part of the fun.”

Surf legend Mark (Occy) Occhilupo is a local Cronulla boy who has won 12 elite surfing tour victories and seven world specialty event titles, including the 1999 World Title.

According to Occy, the surfing reserves are “paramount to protecting the surfing environment and keep places like Cronulla the way it is – with so much variety for both pro and amateur surfers.”

“I remember thinking, ‘far out, I can’t believe this’, when I started riding waves,” says Occy. “This feeling stays with you.”

“I felt like that too,” says Mark Aprilvic. “Everyone does when they start to feel the water and enjoy this environment – it’s stress release. Like you are reconnecting with nature.”

Getting to the Cronulla Beaches National Surfing Reserve is easy. Trains and buses service the area, and the beach is only a 40-minute drive from the centre of Sydney. Each of Australia’s existing surfing reserves are all a short drive from major arterial highways.

You do not have to be a professional surfer to enjoy these surfing reserves. They are open to anyone who feels the desire to dive into the sea or fling a beach towel across the sand. And you may pick up a few tips from the locals or learn new skills by joining a surfing class offered by one of the reserve’s accredited surfing schools.

There are 10,685 beaches along Australia’s 37,000-km coastline. It’s called the “ribbon of gold” for a good reason because some of the finest beaches in the world embrace this island nation.

It’s not surprising, then, that more than 80 per cent of the Australian population lives within 50 kilometres of the coast. International visitors are similarly attracted to Australia’s surfing breaks and an outdoor experience that is second to none.

“The beaches belong to everyone,” says Brad Farmer, the National Surfing Reserves Chairman.

“Anyone can be a surfer. It’s part of Aussie culture. We wanted to create National Surfing Reserves around the country for everyone to experience surfing. Cronulla is the fifth National Surfing Reserve in Australia and there are 24 more on the way.”

The first of Australia’s National Surfing Reserves was Bells Beach in Victoria. The reserve was established to protect the coastal environment and the beach culture that emerged along this coastal fringe in the 1960s and became so much a part of the Aussie way of life.

Bells Beach is the home to six lauded breaks, as well as the longest running surf contest in the world – The Rip Curl Easter Pro – and the birthplace of the iconic international surfing labels Rip Curl and Quicksilver. Many visitors say it is almost a religious experience to touch the sand or dip a toe in the water.

Australia’s second surfing reserve was dedicated at Angourie in northern New South Wales in 2007. The surfing fraternity considers the right-hand point break at this north coast surfing village to be hallowed territory. On any given day you could be paddling at the back of the break alongside surf legends such as Nat Young and Mark Richards, or American champ Kelly Slater if he happens to be in town.

Lennox Head was the next to make the list. At the heart of the surfing hub of the far north coast of New South Wales, Lennox is renowned for its tough right-hand break off the point.

Crescent Head, also in New South Wales, became a surfing reserve in June 2008. This surfing hot spot was the breeding ground of the longboard surfing in the 1950s. Today Crescent Head attracts longboard riders from around the world.

National Surfing Reserves:

• Bells Beach, Victoria –71 kilometres from Melbourne, off the Great Ocean Road. Visit during the Rip Curl Pro from 7 to 19 April 2009. Learn to surf with Southern Exposure Surf School.
• Angourie, New South Wales – Located less than 30 minutes south of Yamba, northern New South Wales. Enjoy year-round surfing with fewer surfers during the week. Yamba-Angourie Surf School will teach you the basics.
• Lennox Head, New South Wales –15 minutes drive south of Byron Bay, northern New South Wales. Lennox Head hosts the annual Lennox Longboard Classic in August and Gromfest Junior Surfing Event in July. Best breaks are between May and August. Kool Katz Surf School provides instruction.
• Crescent Head, New South Wales – 19 kilometres southeast of Kempsey, on the mid north coast of New South Wales. Malibu board hot spot with the Malibu Classic in May each year. Get ready for the waves with Crescent Head Learn to Surf.
• Cronulla Beaches, New South Wales – 40-minute drive from Sydney. After a five-year hiatus, Pro Surfing returns to North Cronulla Beach with the Australian Open surfing event in March 2009. Cronulla Surf School offers classes for beginners.

Did You Know?
Americans played a key role in bringing surfing to Australia. It was Hawaiian Olympic swimming champion Duke Kahanamoko who introduced surfing with demonstrations of boardriding at Cronulla, Freshwater and Manly in 1914. He created a sensation, especially when he stood on his head on the board. In 1959 the Californians brought the short Mailbu boards to Cronulla Beach and started a surfing revolution.

Snow Glorious Snow

By: Phoenix Arrien

It has been the best snow season in Australia for years. The Victorian and New South Wales mountains are covered in the white stuff and snow has even been seen close to Melbourne on top of the Dandenong’s on Melbourne eastern edge - a very rare occurrence.

Families head to Lake Mountain for snow play, adventurers hit the Nordic trails throughout the mountains including Mt Buller and Mt Baw Baw, while downhill addicts stay at Mt Hotham, Falls Creek and Thredbo.

Spring arrives in a few weeks and the snow will melt, so let’s make the most of it now.

Lady Nelson History

By: Phoenix Arrien

The lady is small. So small she bears the nickname of the ‘HMS Tinderbox’.

I couldn’t appreciate her beauty when I first sighted her, crowded amongst the other vessels in Hobart, until we sailed out.

The current Lady Nelson is a replica of an original Brigantine built in England in 1798,

arriving in Australia in 1800. In 1988, the replica was launched and has since taken people on short and extended sails around the island and Australia.

Based in Hobart, this is living history, romantic experience and ecotourism rolled into one floating package

Built in Deptford, England and launched on 13 November 1978, she is sixteen metres long by five metres beam and of sixty tons. Fitted with three sliding keels, designed by a Captain John Schanck and referred to as Captain Schank’s system, enables the Lady to negotiate shallow water. This became the reason the English Admiralty brought the original Lady Nelson in 1791.

The original Lady Nelson set out for the fledgling colony of New South Wales in March 1800 as an Armed Survey Vessel. During the eight month voyage she became the first ship to sail from the west through Bass Strait, initiating a shorter route from England to Port Jackson.

Over the next few years the Lady undertook many important pioneering voyages such as surveying Bass Strait including the first survey of Westernport Bay. She was the vessel that ‘discovered’ Port Philip Bay and accompanied Mathew Flinder’s ship charting the eastern coastline.

Tasmania’s connection emerged when the Lady Nelson twice sailed up the Derwent River in Van Dieman’s Land (later Tasmania) to establish the first European settlement. She also brought Governor Macquarie here for an inspection. Macquarie stated: “(Lady Nelson was) the best and safest boat he had ever sailed”:

Next week, we take a sail…

 By: Phoenix Arrien

Who travels to Australia to meditate? Oz has many attractions but sitting on one’s behind to contemplate one’s navel or nothing at all, is usually not one of them.

However, a group of people have just emerged from a wooden temple in the eastern coastal state of New South Wales after meditating for three years, three months and three days. They were not allowed contact with the outside world apart from a phone call every few months, so they are trying to come to grips with the changes right now.

It is worthwhile getting away for a bit and giving yourself a break from the world; however you don’t have to put yourself away for that amount of time of course. Australia has many different options.

Meditation retreats where you can sit for an hour or a week and have everything supplied; walkabout tours that stem from aboriginal ‘walkabouts’ or ‘heading bush’. You can join group walks or just wander off into the bush - with plenty of preparation and understanding of Australia’s diverse and often challenging environments.

Or do what I and most of Australia love doing. Go to a beach, find a room in traveller’s accommodation or camp in a ‘holiday park’ and just relax on the sand for as long as we can get away from responsibilities.

Make sure that you keep out of direct sunlight between the hottest hours of the day (usually 11am-4pm) and smear plenty of sunscreen on your skin and wear a hat. The sun is brutal Downunder, but nice!