Fly-up bars, 5.5kg burgers: Queensland’s best bush pubs revealed
From 5.5kg burgers to fly-up bars, Queensland is spoiled for choice when it comes to our best bush pubs. We have rounded up our top ten favourite spots. SEE THE LIST
Bush Summit
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Of all things that small Queensland towns do well, and are renowned for, top-notch pubs would have to be up there, so narrowing it down to just the top ten is a challenge.
These local watering holes are often places of great community importance, where locals gather in times of celebration and of sorrow and welcome visitors with open arms.
It would be one hell of pub crawl to visit these ten rural pubs, spanning from the outskirts of our major cities all the way out to some of the most remote communities in our state, but wouldn’t it be a great way to see the state?
This story is part of News Corp’s Bush Summit series celebrating rural and regional Australia and championing the issues that matter most to those living in the bush. You can read all of our coverage here.
THE CLUB HOTEL
Brown St and Sirmon St, Croydon
The Club Hotel in Croydon is a veritable United Nations with England, France and Ireland represented behind the bar.
The pub started life in 1887 serving thirsty gold miners and was once part of a massive settlement rated in the late 19th Century as the fourth most populated centre in Queensland.
The gold miners moved on but the pub endures, attracting back packers from around the globe who often find temporary work behind the bar.
Nicole Verdejo, 31, from Ireland, Lola Fuser, 25, from France and Hannah Muchamore, 29, from England are all currently on duty.
They say XXXX Gold appears to be the most popular brew, but Great Northern has developed a strong following.
“I don’t mind what sort, I would drink any beer,’’ says Nicole.
NINDIGULLY PUB
Sternes St, Nindigully
It wouldn’t be a list about the best Aussie bush pubs if it didn’t include the Nindigully Pub, situated almost two hours west of Goondiwindi.
Established in 1864, ‘The Gully’ is one of Australia’s oldest continually licenced hotels, and has a rich history providing a stopping, resting and celebrating place for farmers and travellers alike.
Beyond its outback charm and convenience for those venturing in to the Australian outback, the Nindigully Pub has become known for its whopping 5.5 kilogram ‘Road Train Burger’ which claims to feed 4-6 people for a cool $130.
If that isn’t enough to feed your crew, or you are one of the many rally groups that pass through, ‘The Gully’ also offers a series of mega burgers and hotdogs, ranging from 12 to 25 kilograms, and are served on custom, novelty shaped buns made fresh in nearby St George.
For those with less hungry stomachs, ‘The Gully’ menu features a range of classic pub fare with a strong focus on local and Australian grown produce, meat and seafood, and the bar stocks a range of beers and wines made by the publicans themselves.
Every November, this local watering hole hosts their annual pig races, raising funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and since 2004 has donated an incredible $300,000 to the cause.
RUDDS PUB
10 Tooth St, Nobby
Rudd’s Pub, in the Darling Downs, was named after ‘Dad n’ Dave’ author Steele Rudd (real name Arthur Hoey Davis) who called the small town of Nobby home for a short time in the 19th century.
The pub was built in 1893 and originally named the Davenporter, but was renamed in honour of the town’s historic celebrity.
If the local rumour mill is to be believed, the Heritage room at Rudd’s Pub, was where Rudd wrote many of the stories in the ‘Dad and Dave’ series.
Now, it is home an impressive collection of Rudd-specific and other local memorabilia, which lines the walls and evening the ceiling of the pub.
NOCCUNDRA HOTEL
6 Wilson St Noccundra
Parking up out front of the local pub to head in for a feed, a chat and ‘bevy’ is a time-honoured tradition, but for the little three-person town of Noccundra, many pub-goers park up in a plane, rather than a car.
The Noccundra Hotel, built in 1886 of sandstone transported by camel train, is the last remaining building in this little town deep in the Queensland desert and is fronted by an unsealed airstrip.
But, its remoteness doesn’t stop this heritage-listed site from being a firm favourite with travellers along Adventure Way and those passing through in the skies.
THE ROADVALE HOTEL
320 Roadvale Rd, Roadvale
This beautifully renovated hotel has been given a second lease on life by owners Milly Davenport and Andrew Wilson.
The pair transformed the former dilapidated space into what’s been billed as the Scenic Rim’s first gastropub, with a beer garden stretching out onto a grassy courtyard for the kids to play and a classic front bar for enjoying a schooner with the locals.
The menu is a line-up of pub classics elevated with the best of the award-winning food region’s produce. Think chicken thigh parmi, bangers and mash and twice-cooked duck leg curry, ready to pair with a tight selection of wines, beers and house cocktails.
APOLLONIAN HOTEL
19 Laguna St, Boreen Point
The Apollonian Hotel in Boreen Point north of Noosa, is another bush pub simply dripping in fascinating history.
The building itself is one of the last timber music hall hotels built in the 1870s, that has truly withstood the test of time, including being picked up and moved from its original home in Gympie.
Now, the Apollonian is a destination unto itself, with regular live music, whole spit roast feasts cooked in the venue’s smokehouse, and regular, wildly varied groups and clubs including car shows, knitting groups and dog meets.
Beef products at the Apollonian, from steaks and sausages right down to the bone broth used in soups, are all homegrown by the hotel’s farm located just a stone’s throw away.
THE BULL AND BARLEY INN
61 Eton Street, Cambooya
Lovingly restored to its charming colonial self, The Bull and Barley Inn in Cambooya, south of Toowoomba on the New England Highway, is perhaps one of the most visually pleasing pubs in the state.
The Bull and Barley Inn was built in 1902 and has undergone countless renovations since then to keep the building in top notch condition, from the pub and dining areas downstairs, to the charming accommodation on the upper level.
BETOOTA HOTEL
671 Betoota Access Rd, Birdsville
Widely considered to be the most remote pub in Queensland, taking up residence in a town with no people, the Betoota Hotel regained life in 2018, after being closed for decades.
The town, known to many only as the inspiration for satirical publication The Betoota Advocate, is a frequent stopping point for travellers traversing the vast Queensland outback.
In 2018, a panelbeater from Logan made the risky decision, along with several friends, to purchase and reopen the pub which had stood abandoned fro more than two decades.
The reopening of the pub was a delight to many, offering a place to rest and recuperate before tackling more endless stretches of dusty road.
THE BUN PUB
72 Moffat St, Kaimkillenbun
Charming but unassuming from its facade, Kaimkillenbun’s Bun Hotel, offers a surprisingly classy experience for visitors to the Western Downs.
Featuring a gastropub, a wide array of carefully selected craft beers and “the tastiest coffee in the western downs”, this little surprise favourite is a must-stop on a journey out to the Bunya Mountains.
The pub also hosts an annual Moo and Brew festival, celebrating local beef and beer, and according to the hotel itself, tripling the small town’s population for the duration of the festival.
OTHER NOTABLE MENTIONS:
THE FARMERS ARMS TAVERN
9864 New England Highway, Cabarlah
MERINGANDAN HOTEL
30 Main St, Meringandan
HELL’S GATE ROADHOUSE
Cliffdale Station, Nicholson
BLUE HEELER HOTEL
16 Hulbert ST, Kynuna
THE SPOTTED COW
296 Ruthven St, Toowoomba
MAPLETON PUBLIC HOUSE
2 Flaxton Dr, Mapleton
CONDAMINE HOTEL
1 Wambo St, Condamine
WINDSOR HOTEL MILES
39 Murilla St, Miles
PORTERS PLAINLAND HOTEL
66 Laidley Plainland Rd, Plainland
FOREST HILL HOTEL
51 Victoria St, Forest Hill
THE IMPERIAL PUB EUMUNDI
1 Etheridge St, Eumundi
THE DROVERS DOG HOTEL
36 Burke St, Julia Creek
NORTH GREGORY HOTEL
67 Elderslie St, Winton
MULGOWIE HOTEL
106 Mulgowie Rd, Mulgowie
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