Koumala Hotel sells to new owners but Precious the cat stays

After suffering two heat strokes in one day, railway worker Steve Wesche thought it was time to stop swinging the hammer and instead get behind the till.

Steve and Kerry Wesche, the new owners of the Koumala Hotel. Photo Tahra Carniato

At 65, Steve Wesche has gone full circle and ended up back where he was as a young 23-year-old, but this time he’s in the driver’s seat.

Last weekend, he and his wife Kerry Wesche signed off on a life-changing decision to purchase the iconic Koumala Pub from the former publicans Ray and Rowena Colgrave.

Mr Wesche, a railway businessman and cattle farmer from Koumala, had been umming and ahhing at the idea of purchasing the hotel for 12 months.

Then, one blistering summer’s day, he reached the end of his tether.

“I had two heat strokes in the same day,” he said.

Rowena Colgrave was “grateful” to the custodian of the hotel during a “small window” of its 86-year-old history. Photo: Rowena Colgrave

“I said that’s it for me. I’m 65 years old and I’m no longer working on the railways and swinging the hammer,” he said.

The pub brings him back to his early days working at the Sportsman's Arms in St Lawrence where his mum ran the show. 

Mr Wesche also works with cattle on the side and with the help of family members, including grandchildren, he plans on keeping all three machines churning.

Mr and Mrs Wesche also plan on keeping the Koumala Hotel as it is, including keeping the doors open for the town’s unofficial mascot, Precious the cat.

“She can stay there as long as she wants to. It was a walk-in walk out basis,” he said.

Precious found herself in hot water with the Mackay council last year after reportedly being seen in the kitchen.
But thanks to support from then Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman and Mirani MP Stephen Andrew she escaped forced rehoming with all of her nine lives intact.

Precious the cat has been saved from exile and will be allowed to remain safely indoors at the Koumala pub, as long as she stays out of the kitchen. Picture supplied

“A lot of people even from overseas drop in to see Precious,” he said.

“It’s a community hotel, that’s what it’s always been. I can tell you there will be no pokies or anything like that.

“Everything stays the same, with the same staff.

“It was a pretty good run business and that’s what attracted us.”

The new purchase will also mark a major milestone for the cat with Mr and Mrs Wesch becoming Precious’ third publicans.

Stephen Wesche says nothing will change, including rules around having Precious the cat onsite.

The purchase put to bed nine “bittersweet” years at the helm of the town’s only pub for Ray and Rowena Colgrave but they’re happier than ever the reins are being handed over to more locals.

“We’re gonna just go back to cows,” Ms Colgrave said.

“Nine years was enough time to run a hotel. It’s not something you want to do forever I suppose.

“We’re just going to be on the other side of the bar, we’re still staying here.

“I’m gonna enjoy the fact that I don’t have to be the stickler and the hand breaking and, you know, having to make sure people are behaving themselves.”

For the Colgraves, the pub - the only one in town - has provided memories that will stay with them forever.

“The best thing about the hotel is the people,” she said.

“In a small pub like this, it’s just so heartwarming to see a grandfather and a father, a son and a grandson sitting at the bar with a beer together, you know, after a hard day’s work.

“It’s just lovely when you have a one pub town and everything is involved around community.

“It is the hotel, but more than anything, it’s the community centre.”

Rowena Colgrave was ready to move on after nine years at the helm of the Koumala Hotel. Picture: Heidi Petith