Flowerdale Hotel: Steven and Vivian Phelan list iconic Victorian pub for sale via freehold as a going concern

One of the most iconic pubs on Melbourne’s doorstep is for sale, complete with a history boasting all sorts of colourful characters. SEE THE VIDEO

What do gangster Squizzy Taylor, ex-PM Kevin Rudd, and ‘netball star’ Sharon Strzelecki have in common?

They’re all former patrons of a historic country Victorian pub in search of a new owner.

The Flowerdale Hotel has welcomed all sorts of characters in its 105-year lifespan.

From notorious criminals to mild-mannered politicians, to a slew of talented artists — its weathered walls have seen it all.

The only venue of its kind in the tiny rural locality, it’s become a community hub and a popular gathering place for motorbike and car clubs.

There’s even a rumour our most famous bushranger might have stopped by for a pint.

Country music legend A P Johnson penned the song ‘Heaven, Hell or the Flowerdale Hotel’ in honour of the iconic watering hole.

And owners Steve and Viv Phelan count comedy star Magda Szubanski and renowned painter Andrew Sibley among their friends after both fell for the venue’s old-world charms.

Award-winning country pub the Flowerdale Hotel is a popular meeting spot for bike and car clubs. Picture: Supplied

As far as Steve knows, there’s more substance to the pub’s Squizzy Taylor story than the claim Ned Kelly turned up for happy hour.

Taylor was said to have camped overnight in a hay shed behind the old quarters, then snuck out in the morning leaving a pound note under a doormat as payment.

“No one asked questions or said anything afterwards, and that was part of the rumour that gets around,” Steve said.

“I can’t vouch for how true it is, ‘cause I wasn’t around at the time, but I can tell you it’s a part of the romance anyway.”

Flowerdale Hotel owners Vivian and Steve Phelan are selling up after 20 years behind the bar. Picture: Supplied

In more recent years, bikies have been some of the pub’s best customers.

Steve prefers the term ‘bike riders’ or ‘enthusiasts,’ but confirms Harley owners and patch members are a regular sight in the bar.

“We’re affiliated to none, but we like to mix among them and they're a good bunch of blokes and women of course,” he said.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the hotel has hosted top dignitaries including then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who in 2009 sent mysterious suited men inside to suss out the place before he joined a bus load of “oldies” for a roast dinner in the dining room.

Horsepower’s very big at the Flowerdale Hotel says owner Steve Phelan. Picture: Supplied

It was the devastating 2009 Black Saturday bushfires that really put the pub on the map.

At risk of burning down itself — if not for Steve and eight other locals fending off the flames — it became the command centre and refuge for a community facing unfathomable loss.

The framed, ash-stained shirt worn by local man Tim Constable as he fought to save the pub on February 7 and 8, 2009, hangs proudly in the bar.

Mr Constable has since died from an illness, and is remembered as a hero.

“He rocked up here and he said ‘Well, I’ve just lost everything mate, so what can I do?’” Steve said.

“So he’s one of the guys that held the fort, as they say.”

The original Glenburn and Flowerdale hotels were owned by the children of Samuel and Jane Matchett who owned a farm at Glenburn. Picture courtesy of Yea Historical Society member Alan Thorley.

Steve still struggles to talk about that time, but says the pub did its best to “be there for people”.

“It was the only thing that was available for cooking and eating and basically a gathering point for people to make sure they’re OK, and find loved ones and friends and relatives, and as a contact point,” he said.

“They were the main things that come out of it, and it being a bit of a structure for meetings that would then give a constructive sense of how to go about rebuilding and getting on with the restructure of the whole community.”

The framed, ash-stained shirt worn by local man Tim Constable as he fought to save the Flowerdale Hotel on February 7 and 8, 2009, hangs proudly in the bar. Picture: Kirra Grimes

As a well-known local figure, or “Johnny-on-the-spot” as he puts it, Steve was tasked with fronting the media packs that suddenly flocked to the area, and later with hosting sessions for the Bushfires Royal Commission.

He chokes up when reflecting on the intense pressure this placed on him, and the ongoing division the fires created in the community.

“Some people took the unfortunate approach of going a little bit sour over it and then fingers get pointed in all directions, you know, DHS didn’t do this, the government didn’t do that, and the pub’s done this and the pub’s done that,” he said.

“We copped a lot of flak afterwards and that’s in some ways a natural reaction from people, but there was factors people didn't realise.

“Yes, the pub survived but the community was gone, so therefore the income was gone, and people weren’t travelling from Melbourne up to here because they couldn’t.

“So it took a number of years — probably five, six, even up to nearly 10 years — of recovery from there on.”

Built in 1917, the Flowerdale Hotel has undergone renovations over the years, some of them incorporating features of the original Flowerdale schoolhouse. Picture: Supplied

Equally difficult to sum up in a few words was the feeling of saying goodbye to the business into which he and Viv have poured their hearts and souls over the past 20 years.

They raised two children in the hotel, meanwhile building the venue’s reputation to such a high standard, they in 2018 won Victoria’s highest honour in hospitality: the Australian Hotels Association’s Nikakis Award.

That was despite neither of the couple coming from a hospitality background.

Steve ran a printing business in Malvern before the family made the treechange and successfully bid on the hotel in 2001.

Flowerdale Hotel owners Steve and Viv Phelan were blown away to receive the prestigious Nikakis Award in 2018. Picture: Supplied

They haven’t looked back since, delighting in the interactions with their diverse clientele, especially the colourful characters that call Flowerdale home.

“Most of them will give you the shirt off their back without thinking twice about it, even though it might be freezing outside,” Steve said of the locals.

“From a biker to the granny set that comes in, to the doctor and lawyer that come for lunch, or even the copper that's having the day off — having all that mix has been part of the recipe.”

Famous locally for surviving an attack by the ‘killer wombat of Flowerdale,’ Bruce Kringle has been a regular at the Flowerdale Hotel for 40 years. Picture: Kirra Grimes

The decision to put the business and property up for sale was not an easy one, but it was the right time for some long awaited travels.

Steve hopes new owners will be able to retain the authenticity that makes pub so special, while adding their own touches to “reinvigorate” the place.

“I just hope the next person comes on and falls in love with what we did,” Steve said.

“One person once described it as not going to the pub, but going to Steve and Viv’s place, which is the sort of atmosphere and respect that you like to hear.”