Lakes Creek Hotel sold, Pine Beach and The Caves pubs on the market

Two pubs in the Rockhampton region are for sale, with one listed for $1.9 million, while another hotel sold for a surprisingly low price. Check out the details here.

Listed for the first time in more than 30 years, two hotels in the Rockhampton region are for sale and a third hotel has officially sold.

Both the Pine Beach Hotel at Emu Park and The Caves Hotel are on the market, while the Lakes Creek Hotel officially settled in September.

The Piney was listed for expressions of interest through Brisbane hotel brokers Power Jeffrey and Co and closed in late September.

This publication can confirm a number of offers were received.

The property hasn’t changed hands since 1989 when it sold for $1.4 million to the Archers.

The site includes the hotel over a 3194 sqm lot and three homes on the remaining 2671 sqm lot.

Features of the hotel include bars, TAB, bistro, 12 gaming machines, drive-through bottle shop, large beer garden and outdoor entertainment area, three motel units and manager’s accommodation.

The hotel records an annual turnover of $6 million plus gaming and caters to a combined population from Emu Park, Zilzie and Kinka Beach of about 6000 people.

The sale listing cites an existing approval for a multi-unit and commercial development.

The development, named Emu Park Hotel Precinct and Town Plaza, was approved in 2009 and extended in May 2021 until October 2024.

The plans show three and four storey buildings over a basement carpark with a hotel, shops and 21 units.

Another pub listed for the first time in decades is The Caves Hotel which last sold in 1990 for $273,000 to well-loved local owners Rob and Jenny Thompson.

The hotel, which is located 19km north of Rockhampton, is popular among locals, particularly for its good food, and draws in travellers on the Bruce Highway.

The hotel fridges and cold rooms were recently upgraded and the site includes a manager’s residence.

There is also potential for a drive-through bottle shop and the option to purchase the adjoining 7237 sqm to build a motel (subject to council approval).

The Caves Hotel is advertised for sale for $1.9 million.

Meanwhile, the historic Lakes Creek Hotel settled in September with a sale price of $379,500 through Dave Bauer Real Estate to a Central Queensland buyer.

Lakes Creek was named after Captain Lake who would run his ship into the creek to take on freshwater in Rockhampton’s early shipping days in the 1850s.

According to the heritage building listing, the Lakes Creek Hotel was constructed in 1895 and was the third hotel on the site.

It is among the oldest pubs in Rockhampton still standing today, with the Criterion Hotel at the lead, built in 1889.

The first hotel on the site at 431 Lakes Creek Road was built in 1871 and it burnt down in 1880.

Reports at the time suggested the fire was started by rats gnawing through the shelving, causing liquor bottles to fall and ignite, and the single storey timber building was consumed by a blaze within 10 minutes.

A new hotel was built and was run for many years by Thomas McLaughlin and Co, the founder of Rockhampton’s famous ‘Mac Beer’ and owner of the Fitzroy Brewery.

But it was knocked down around 1895, to build something bigger to meet the demands of the growing village of Lakes Creek, settlers and travellers.

The existing hotel was constructed by builder T Moir and designed by prominent Rockhampton architect firm Eaton and Bates.

The hotel was a stop for the horse-drawn coach service from Emu Park to Rockhampton which was a four-hour journey, one-way.

The stables, garage and some of the toilets were removed around 1965, a garden lounge was added in 1985 and a drive-through bottle shop in 1989.

The hotel last sold in 2014 for $295,000 and before that, sold for a listed $1.96 million in 2007.

It has been closed to the public since around 2018.

The hotel had been on the market since March 2020 and was listed for $550,000.

The property has 13 rooms upstairs, a bar, lounge and beer garden.

More details about what the new owner has in store for the iconic pub is hoped to be revealed next month.

The Saleyards Hotel on Gladstone Road in South Rockhampton sold earlier this year, in April, for $400,000.