Conargo Pub: Five year anniversary of fire destroying venue

This week marks five years since the Conargo pub burnt down, and despite support from locals to reinstate their only watering hole, they remain without a pub.

Town with no pub: Alan Hardcastle at the site of the Conargo Hotel on the fifth anniversary of the fire that destroyed it. He is disappointed there is still no hotel in the NSW Riverina town. Picture: Dannika Bonser

THE memory of the Riverina’s famed Conargo pub lives on through the recognisable bumper stickers slapped on the back of thousands of utes.

But, five years after a fire destroyed the landmark venue, Conargo residents are still thirsty for their local watering hole.

“Our first thought was let’s get it rebuilt as quickly as we possibly could and then as time has gone on people have realised that it won’t ever be rebuilt — certainly not in the near future anyway,” retired plumber and former customer Alan Hardcastle said.

He remembers the night of November 11, 2014, well, when he was called out to the fire as a member of the local brigade, and how the effects were felt through the community.

“It was very traumatic in a way — the whole community was devastated.

“Not only was the pub a bit of an icon because it’s well known all over NSW and even Australia but for the community it was the centre, the hub, everything revolved around the pub. It was an integral part of the community,” he said.

Conargo Hotel

Over the years there have been several attempts to rebuild the institution, with money being a major factor in why ground is yet to be broken on the site.

“I think it’s died a death since then,” Mr Hardcastle said.

“Most people would really like to see the pub rebuilt. There’s no doubt about that but realistically they can see that the economics of it aren’t viable in this day and age. Country pubs in general are not doing too well.”

The town hall committee, which Mr Hardcastle is part of, has done its best to keep the community together by volunteering their space to run a fortnightly bar for residents.

“The bar generates some money for the hall to support ourselves and we put everything we can back into the community — we do things like raffles and Christmas functions,” Mr Hardcastle said. And the committee have inadvertently celebrated the five-year anniversary of that fateful night.

“Funnily enough on Monday night it’s our annual general meeting so no doubt we’ll have a bit of a drink and a wake,” he said.