120-year-old Gellibrand River Hotel reopens

A historic pub near Colac has a new lease on life, reopening with some familiar faces at the helm and new ownership.

A new chapter has begun for the 120-year-old Gellibrand River Hotel with a flurry of locals and tourists returning to the well-known venue this summer.

Late last year, after being closed for well over 12 months, the Gellibrand River Hotel was reopened under new management and with new ownership.

In March last year the Venturoni family listed the pub for sale, with a Melbourne investment group purchasing the property for a high six-figure sum.

Familiar faces Corrie and Dorthe Koorn, who have owned the nearby Otways Tourist Park for the last 23 years, have taken up the lease of the pub.

Mr Koorn said he and his wife were inspired to take on the management of the pub, located 20 minutes from Colac and the Great Ocean Road, by their caravan park customers.

Haylee Bartlett and Nichole Mahoney at the Gellibrand River Hotel.

“A lot of people who stayed at the caravan park always inquired about the pub and said they would stay or stay longer if the pub was open,” Mr Koorn said.

“So that was the motivation for leasing the pub.

“The community wanted it back and the local response has been fantastic.”

Mr Koorn said the pub has been busier than expected since reopening.

“So far it has been far beyond our expectations, we have been averaging about 150 meals per day serving lunch and dinners,” he said.

“Our belief is that a country pub is only as good as its kitchen and we have been getting rave reviews for our meals.”

Dorthe Koorn, Haylee Bartlett, Kim Read and Nichole Mahoney at the newly reopened Gellibrand River Hotel.

Since reopening the pub has been staffed with some employees from the Otways Tourist Park bistro while also recruiting some people from Colac.

In 2019 the Venturoni family purchased the pub after it had been closed for around 18 months prior to the sale.

After about nine months of refurbishments Kellie Venturoni's parents, Bev and Charlie Roles, ran the pub for nine months before Covid restrictions led to the Venturoni's closing its doors.