A thirst for history takes man on world's greatest pub crawl

A passion for trains and a thirst for history led Bowen man Scott Whitaker to have a beer at every railway hotel in the country.

Scott Whitaker is on a mission to have a beer at every railway hotel in the country. Picture: Jacob Miley

A PASSION for trains and a thirst for history led Bowen man Scott Whitaker to have a beer at every railway hotel in the country.

The former air traffic controller of 30 years made a list of the hotels to visit thinking there would only be a couple of dozen. That list has now grown to over 700 railway hotels nationwide and Mr Whitaker has enjoyed a beer at all except three.

Of the 700, approximately 150 still operate under the name, he said.

While the beer is great and his trip is often referred too as the "world's greatest pub crawl”, what drove him to the idea was the history behind the railway hotel.

"The social history,” Mr Whitaker said. "How it affected people's lives. In the glory days of railways when there were lots and lots of people employed by the railway system... everybody was connected with the railway.”

He has since written three books about the history of the Railway Hotels of Australia - giving a unique insight into the social change.

Railway hotels were created at rail construction sites. Often, the hotels would move with the sites but some publicans chose to stay. Towns such as Emerald, Blackwater and Longreach were created that way, he said.

Mr Whitaker said when he travels around, everybody has a story to tell.

"They want to come up and talk to me about their connections with the railway hotel,” he said.

"I have learnt so much about history just reading people's stories and meeting descendants of these people,” he said.

In the Mackay region there were three railway hotels, one of which still holds the name. The very first railway hotel in Mackay was on the corner of the Peak Downs Highway and the Bruce Highway and is now known at the Boomerang Hotel.

The other, Langford's Hotel on Tennyson St. The only hotel that continues to operate under the Railway banner is in Marian.

Interestingly, Mr Whitaker said Queensland's railway system differs to that of New South Wales and Victoria.

"In Queensland all the railway line was built from the coast into the hinterland to open up the country,” he said.

"It wasn't until 1923 you could actually catch a train from Brisbane to Cairns.”

Originally published as A thirst for history takes man on world's greatest pub crawl