The Route
(total 3,100 km)
The pubs we visited
- The Bun Pub – KAIMKILLENBUN
- Windsor Hotel – MILES
- Queens Arms – ROMA
- The Royal on Ninety-Nine – ROMA
- Mucka Bup – MUCKADILLA
- The Rock (Hotel RIchards) – MITCHELL
- Ellangowan Hotel – AUGATHELLA
- Hotel Corones – CHARLEVILLE
- Royal Hotel – EROMANGA
- Noccundra Pub – NOCCUNDRA
- Eulo Queen Hotel – EULO
- Warrego Hotel – CUNNAMULLA
- Nindigully Pub – NINDIGULLY
- Sandy Creek Pub (aka Darling Downs Hotel) – ALLAN (near Warwick)
We have learned over the years that every Australian bush pub has a unique and colourful history. From why and where they were built; to the characters who owned, worked and visited them; to the floods, fires, droughts, wars and financial ups and downs that shaped their stories. Many had various name changes over the years. I will not attempt to tell their stories here, but have put a link on each pub for those interested.
The convoy
It all started with a few friends/neighbours and one little book. Australian Bush Pubs. We have been travelling with our book since 2015, marking off the bush pubs we visit, from far North Queensland, through Northern Territory, Western Australia to NSW. Many have free or cheap caravan accommodation available in exchange for supporting them by buying a meal.
Finding out that Di & Al, our friends / neighbours / fellow caravaners, also have the book and mark off the pubs they visit, made it obvious that a Bush Pub Crawl would be lots of fun. And so a convoy was born.
A snap shot of the roads we travelled
The places we stayed and things we did
We all planned to meet in Roma for the Tuesday Live Stock Sales Yard tour, a 510 km trip. Tim and I headed out on Sunday, but an hour out we got side swiped by another car, which took out our side mirror.
Back home on the Monday, Tim was able to source parts and fix the mirror and we set out for Roma again Monday afternoon.
KAIMKILLENBUN (population 248)
Our first night on the road and first bush pub, The Bun Hotel, established 1911. Kaimkillenbun has the longest name of any town in Queensland.
CHINCHILLA (Population 7,068)
MILES (Population 1,874)
The Windsor Hotel is owned by the same people as own THE BUN.
ROMA (population 6,838)
Due to our car mirror incident, Tim and I didn’t make it in time for the Tuesday morning Roma Saleyards Tour (the largest cattle selling centre in Australia), but the rest of the convoy did and it’s definitely on our bucket list for next time.
We stayed at the Roma Gun Club, which has a large area with powered and non powered camp sites, Dump point, laundry, showers, toilets, potable water and internet.
Places in Roma we visited.
Queens Arms Hotel, established in 1917
The Royal on NInety-Nine. Established in 1870, it burnt down and was rebuilt four times. The last rebuild being 2016. So it is a very modern pub inside.
Ace Drapers. Di was super excited to take us to this store. And once there I realised why. Its amazing.
Here’s a link to a video I found on YouTube by Sew Focus On Tour.
The Big Rig Night Show in Roma tells the story of the oil and gas pioneers through exhibits, machinery displays, and a history film in the outdoor theatre.
MUCKADILLA (Population 38)
In 2019 the historic Muckadilla Pub burnt down. The new owners have done a fantastic job of rebuilding. “You had 1 job’: Hilarious spelling error made at historic pub” Mucka Bup
Although the Mucka Bup was not open when we passed through, we were given a tour of the pub and told of its history by the lovely guy who works there. There are also camping options out the back.
Mitchell (population 995)
We stayed over night at the Major Mitchell Caravan Park on the Maranoa River. Walking distance to the hot pool and the town.
The local butcher has some interesting produce.
The hotel was built in 1907, burnt down in 1927 and rebuilt in 1928.
Mitchell Great Artesian Spa This is the first of many spas/ hot springs we visited during this trip. The water is from the Great Artesian Basin.
AUGATHELLA (population 328)
The town started as a resting place for bullock teams, positioned where three tracks converged. The bullock tracks from Morven, Tambo and Charleville. Bullock drays were a familiar sight in Australia in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. The slow, labouring bullocks were the backbone of Australia’s colonial workforce, transporting heavy goods such as wool, wheat, timber, farm equipment and building supplies, even houses!
The last time we visited Augathella (2023) there were only four caravans in the town, this time there were too many to count. Here’s a link to our last visit.
Although the Warrego River didn’t have much water in it, the free camp on its grassy banks was beautiful. There was even potable water available . Brad made a camp fire and cooked a medley of meats (from the Augathella Butchers) in his camp oven. Ours is a little camp oven, we cooked some oxtail, both meals were delicious. Russ lead a sing a long with his guitar and Di collected some less than appetising bush tucker.
Frazer’s Butcher at Augathella is well worth a visit, the meat is local and very good.
Ellangowan Hotel built 1877 (prior to 1883 the town of Augathella had been called Ellangowan, the pub has retained that name)
Augathella’s local football team, the Mighty Meat Ants were fearless in their attack. This earned the town the nickname ‘Meat Ant Country’.
CHARLEVILLE (population 2.992 )
We stayed at the Charleville Bush Caravan Park. It has a dump point, toilets showers, laundry, water, power and a communal fire pit where we cooked another camp oven meal. Tim had fun getting Ally and Brads drone airborn.
Hotel Corones Built 1920. The history tour of the hotel is well worth going on.
The Charleville Cosmos Centre. Three telescopes were set up for us to view the night sky, next time we will go when there are planets to look at as there were no planets visible at this time of year.
The Charleville Bilby Experience has an excellent display, our guide was particularly good. It is set up at the Heritage listed Charleville Railway Station, a one platform station built in 1888 and currently the terminus for the passenger train The Westlander which runs from Brisbane to Charleville twice weekly.
The bilby breeding program is set on a 2,500 hectare predator- exclusion area at Currawinya National Park in western Queensland. This article has more information on the predator proof fence, or Bilby Fence.
Being nocturnal, a small number of Bilbies are in a darken room for visitors to view.
Charleville WW2 Secret Military Base runs tag-along tours which we found amazing.
“Despite playing host to 3500 US airmen and hiding a classified military device used in the bombing of Hiroshima, Charleville barely registers a blip on Australia’s wartime radar. So clandestine was Uncle Sam’s presence in Charleville between 1942 and 1946, that some locals – sworn to oaths of secrecy – took the knowledge to the grave… up to 250 B17 bombers were assembled there during the Battle of the Coral Sea. .”
QUILPIE (population 530)
The Channel Country Tourist Park & Spas has a dump point at every powered site, something we have never seen before. We enjoyed the hot spa tubs; visited St Finbarr’s opal altar, admired the many sculptures around the town, and joined Di & Al in celebrating their wedding anniversary with a hilarious ‘ping-pong-muffin-tin-game’ that Di had made (anther thing we had never seen before). Di truly is the queen of games.
EROMANGA (population 98)
Eromanga is the furthest town from any ocean. It is know for its many oil wells, opal mines, and dinosaur fossils, including Australia’s largest dinosaur, a titanosaur. It also has a lot of emus, one almost took a ride with us.
The Royal Hotel built 1885 as a Cob & Co coach stop.
Beside the Royal Hotel is a free camp, no water or power but it has a dump point and clean toilets and hot showers. A donation box for the Royal Flying Doctor is on a post at the entrance.
The Natural History Museum tour was excellent.
Eromanga Living History Centre
I was particularly interested in visiting the Living History Centre next to the Royal Hotel as my sister Pam had worked in the area in the 1970’s as a governess (school of the air) for one of the Pegler families in the area. Margaret & Tony Pegler at Corowa Downs sheep station. The original Peglers had settled in the area in 1926, and several generations had bought properties around the area. The average size sheep or cattle property in this area is around 40,000 ha (approximately 100,000 acres) My family and I visited Pam at Corowa Downs during school holidays. Their daughter, while at boarding school in Brisbane, would come and stay with us on week ends. While chatting to the publican at the pub, I learned he was also related to the Peglers.
Leaving Eromanga we headed west. Sixty km out, Brad and Ally pulled over at a rest stop and cooked us all breakfast.
NOCCUNDRA (population 16)
This was the western most stop on our trip.
The Noccundara Hotel, built in 1880, is positioned near the Wilson River for the stock and trading routes from South Australia and New South Wales. A stock route is an authorised thoroughfare for the walking of domestic livestock such as sheep or cattle from one location to another in Australia. The stock routes across the country are colloquially known as The Long Paddock.
The hotel is constructed of sandstone mined from Mount Poole, New South Wales 1,580 km away, and brought to Noccundra by camel train.
It was not by chance that the NRL State of Origin final was on at the pub that night. All in the convoy (except for us) are crazy NRL supporters. Di had been ringing various towns to see who had the best internet and TV reception to watch it. And Noccundra Hotel was it.
Walking distance to the hotel is the Noccundra Waterhole free camp. It was a bit muddy getting in but it is a beautiful spot. Fires are permitted and we saw many birds, several brolgas, pelicans and whistling kites. There are no facilities, but showers and toilets are available at the hotel for a donation.
THARGOMINDAH (population 243)
Established at a pastoral property in 1868 by the two Dowling brothers. Violence with the local Aboriginal Kalali people soon ensued and one of the brothers was killed. In retribution, the Kalali were pursued by Vincent Dowling and a Native Police detachment.
Explorers Caravan Park was walking distance to the town and all the sights. They have all other facilities but no dump point at the park but there is one in town. There are also free hot showers and potable water in the town for travellers passing through. Al made a camp fire and Di dressed Russ up as Mr Whippy serving ice creams from their van.
Purchase a swipe card from the information centre or Explorers Caravan Park to enter the tourist attractions in town. All walking / riding distance and all lit by solar lights at night. The Old Jail, Leahy House, the Hospital and Hydro electric plant are featured.
The Old Jail cells constructed in 1930.
Historical Leahy House. The family owned the newspaper.
This was also the best place to watch the sunset. A large deck with tables and chairs has been constructed around the building housing the plant, with views across the paddock toward the west.
YOWAH (population 126)
The town first started as a pastoral property in 1883. It is known for its rich supply of opals, particularly the rare Yowah Nut opal. The annual Yowah Opal Festival was on the day we arrived. Brad and Di were very happy with the rocks they picked up.
The town has a caravan park and general store which sells groceries and fuel and has an ATM. There is also a very large free camping area, with amenities (toilets, showers, laundry, dump point). Yowah has a free fossicking area (fossicking licence available at the general store). Artesian spas is a community run facility which offers two geothermally heated baths at 57°C (134.6°F). There is also excellent internet service here.
Sadly Michelle and Russ had to leave the convoy and so we were down to three vans.
EULO (population 94)
On the banks of the Paroo River, Eulo first appeared on maps in 1872. Eulo once hosted the World Lizard Racing Championships on their Paroo Track, but environmentalists put an end to that annual event.
Eulo Queen Hotel established 1886
We stopped in for lunch and I had the best steak sandwich I have ever had. The bar stools were decorated with bottle tops.
CUNNAMULLA (population 1,233)
A settlement arose here because there was a reliable waterhole where two major stock routes intersected. The town itself came into being around 1863 as a coach stop for Cobb and Co coaches.
The town is home to the Cunnamulla Fella, it is an Australian country song about a fictional stockman from the Queensland town of Cunnamulla that was first recorded by Slim Dusty in 1965.
Its amazing how much fun six adults can have with a set of toy false teeth.
Warrego Hotel being the only pub opened on a Sunday, we hoped to get lunch, but they were down a chef. So after having a drink and playing on the ‘chocolate wheel’ we had camel burgers at the cafe down the road. The burgers were nothing to write home about.
Chocolate wheel (occasionally known as Raffle Wheels) derives from the fact that pre WWII the prizes were almost always small boxes of Cadbury’s or Nestle’s chocolates.
Cunnamulla Hot Springs If you plan to visit the hot springs, ensure you have a full day just for it. Sadly they only had full day or two day passes and we didn’t have a full day free, but it looked wonderful.
Driving past, we stopped to watch the shooters.Such a lovely group of people, they were very welcoming and invited us to have a shot. The clay discs fly out of the machine so fast it’s hard to believe anyone can hit them. But of all of us, Tim hit the target first shot, I think they wanted to sign him up on the spot.
Cunnamulla Information Centre and Time Tunnel
Warrego Riverside Tourist Park was a great place for some serious damper making by Tim and Brad.
CHARLOTTE PLAINS
We loved it here, such an amazing place to stay. A little muddy to get into, and gates to open (and close again) as it is a working sheep station. At the bore camp site there is no power or water, and no dump point. But there are toilets and showers and of course LOTS of hot tubs to soak in. Good Internet is available for a fee.
Bath tubs are dotted around the park beside the flow of hot artesian water. The water does not smell and is quite soft. The days were warm and the nights a little chilly.
To take a self guided tour of the farm, there is a book available for purchase which gives a mud map and talks about each of the stops along the way.
These Fairy Martin or Mud Swallow nests were facinating. They were in almost every abandoned building. The nest is a retort- or bottle-shaped structure, made from up to a thousand mud pellets and lined with dried grasses and feathers.
The self guided tour ended at the farm house animal enclosure where we got to pat the animals and chat with the owner of Charlotte Plains, Robyn Russell who was born and raised on the farm and then raised her own family there. Our lovely Ally is not a farm girl, but she did make a big effort to befriend the animals, much to their bemusement in some cases.
After leaving Charlotte Plains we stopped at St George Bakery and then Riversands Winery for lunch.
NINDIGULLY (population 9)
The Nindigully Pub was built in 1864 as a Cobb & Co changing station. In the 1990s, scenes from Paperback Hero starring Hugh Jackman and Claudia Karvan were filmed on location at the Nindigully Pub.
The free camp site has no power or water, but has showers, toilets and a dump point. The river walk was lovely and the bird life stunning,
It was with heavy hearts that Tim and I left the convoy to head home.
SANDY CREEK PUB aka DARLING DOWNS HOTEL
Our last night and last pub on our Bush Pub Crawl. Sandy Creek Pub opened in 1866, it was positioned to capture gold fossickers on the route from Warwick to the Taigai Reef Diggings.
Camping is the cost of a meal at the pub, like most outback pubs, they rely on travellers to keep them going. The Warwick Go Kart track is next door, we would love to come back when it’s on. There was no water or power or dump point at the camp area, but there were toilets and showers. They grow their own pork and bacon and are clearly pig crazy. As it was ‘PARMA night’ and there was nothing else on the menu, I had my first ever ‘parmigiana’, pork of course. It was delicious, but ENORMOUS. When I left, It looked like I hadn’t eaten any.
We had a fantastic trip, a big thank you to Di Al Ally Brad Michelle and Russ for making it so much fun. Especially to Di for her fabulous skills as a tour leader.
cheers til next time, Helen & Tim.