Historic pub with no town reopens its doors
Richard Dinnen - Queensland Editor |
Toompine was once a busy opal town, an important staging post for Cobb and Co coaches 1,000 kilometres west of Brisbane.
All that’s left is the South Western Hotel, where there’ll be two reasons to celebrate on Tuesday, the pub re-opening, and restoration of the local water supply for the first time in decades.
Quilpie Shire Council CEO, Justin Hancock, said it’s a very big week for Toompine and the region.
“The Hotel is opening back up after closing in March 2020 due to COVID, and then having flood, supply and staff shortages.
“The restoration work that’s been done while it was shut is a real credit to owners Stuart and Kate Bowen.
“There’s no town in Toompine but there are a lot of people on land surrounding the pub.
“It’s only 75 kilometres from Quilpie so it gives the region another social outlet and a stop off point for the thousands of tourists who frequent our regions every year.
“I think the celebrations will be even bigger now there’s a new water source locked in.”
The pub dates back to the 1890s, and the town water supply runs through ageing pipes from a bore struck in 1918.
News came through this week that Quilpie Shire Council had secured State Government funding to replace the bore and fix the water supply.
South Western Hotel publican, Lauren Bond, said the news is very welcome.
“We have actually run out of water before when it was used faster than it could flow from the failing old bore.
“This new bore will be lifechanging. People come for our cold beers, but the water flowing will mean tourists will be able to stop and stay here and enjoy more of what’s on offer in the region.
“My husband Sean and I run the pub with my parents, who bought it back in 2019 just before COVID hit.
“We’ve had a bit of a run of bad luck having to close because of COVID not long after we took over the pub, then staff shortages, flooding in the region.
“And some minor restoration work we had planned while we were closed blew out to a major project when we kept discovering new issues and things that needed immediate attention to salvage them.
“But all that’s behind us now. The restoration is complete, and it all looks great.
“We’ll be celebrating Melbourne Cup, and with this bore news coming today, we’re feeling like we’ve got to be the luckiest place in Queensland to watch the Cup or back a winner in our own yabby races.”
The water project will begin this year with construction estimated to be completed by May 2023.
The project will also support road construction and reduce the long distances that are required to cart water to support the works.
Dams are unviable due to the high evaporation rates in the region, with summer temperatures soaring well into the 40s.
