The Royal Standard Hotel in Toora, the ‘Toora pub’, goes into liquidation
A historic South Gippsland pub which has stood for nearly 140 years has closed its doors, leaving traders fearing the worst for the town’s tourism value.
Bass Coast News
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Traders in a small South Gippsland town fear the closure of their historic pub could have long-lasting effects, with many bracing for local tourism to take a major hit.
It comes as the Royal Standard Hotel in Toora, built in 1889, announced it had gone into liquidation due to “financial difficulties”, resulting in an immediate closure.
In a statement on Facebook, the hotel said it was being “wound up” and its assets would be sold to pay off outstanding debts.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, and will keep updates via this page,” the hotel wrote.
“Finally we thank our fantastic community & amazing staff for all their support & efforts over the last eight years, it’s been a great ride with you all.
“A registered liquidator has been appointed to manage this process, and all creditors should get in touch with the hotel for contact details to register their claims.”
With a population of less than 700, many locals say the pub’s closure has already had a “big impact” on the town.
St Thomas’ Anglican Outreach Centre Op Shop Toora volunteer Barbara Grady, 77, said the pub was the “hub” of the town.
“There might not be many people out and about now due to the closure,” she said.
Ms Grady said visitors from the Toora Caravan Park would often go to the pub, with senior citizen groups often stopping off for lunch during bus tours,
Toora local Liz Hall said the pub itself had a “huge historical value” to the town.
“It has been there since I’ve been here — it’s always been there and I’ve been down in South Gippsland since 1970 and we always loved going to the Toora pub,” Ms Hall said.
She said the community would “very much hope” the pub would reopen.
“At this stage it’s only been closed from early this week and I think they’re just all holding their breath and hoping something positive will come of it,” she said.
Toora Bazaar Market manager Sheryl Jones said people tended to gather at the pub for family reunions.
“We’re definitely going to feel it in this area — especially in Toora — it’s a very tourist area,” the 66-year-old said.
Ms Jones said on a Thursday and Friday night there was almost no parking available as everyone parked near the pub.
“The Toora pub is very old and it goes back with the history of the tin mines and when the tin mines were here,” she said.
“So it has got a lot more history than the other pubs.
“We’re definitely going to miss it around here — we actually hope someone comes very quickly and takes over — every town needs a pub.”
Toora Woodfired Pizza owner Tina Gilbertson said the pub and her pizza shop were the “only two places to eat” at night in town.
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“There’s a huge accommodation at the top of the street with all the caravans and campers — we used to see a parade daily coming down to the pub,” she said.
“And what used to be so nice about it is they can drink and just walk home without having to drive anywhere.”
Ms Gilbertson said she had to order double the amount of food supplies for her shop to get through the weekend as she was getting a lot of extra customers because of the pub’s closure.
“I went through so much more (last night) than I normally would,” she said.
The Royal Standard Hotel was contacted for comment.
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