Lee Mylne, author of Great Australian Pubs, is on the blog today to reveal her favourite Australian pub.
Forget that bloke in Queensland. It seems that in many people’s minds, I’m the person with the Best Job in the World. What could be better than a job where you get to go on a massive pub crawl around Australia?
‘What do I do to get your job?’ That was a common reaction during the course of my research. And the second most asked question – now that the book is out – seems to be: ‘What’s your favourite pub?’
With 4000 pubs, taverns and bars in Australia, that’s a very tough question.
When researching my book, I started with some of the most famous pubs, places like Melbourne’s Young & Jackson and Sydney’s trio of the ‘oldest’ – the Lord Nelson, the Fortune of War and the Hero of Waterloo – and added some outback icons, like South Australia’s Prairie Hotel at Parachilna and the Daly Waters Pub in the Northern Territory.
And, of course, the New Norcia pub in Western Australia, where I first came up with the idea of the book.
Everywhere I went, I asked for other recommendations. My travel plans changed even while I was on the road, as new finds cropped up with my original list in each state or territory changing as I went along.
There are so many great pubs it’s hard to pick a favourite. The atmosphere of a pub can be different depending on the day of the week, the time of day, the month, or just the company at the bar.
But a couple that stick in my mind from my travels are the Pub in the Paddock in Tasmania’s Pyengana Valley, the Shipwright’s Arms in Hobart and the Apollonian on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. The most beautiful old pub was the ornate Imperial Hotel in Ravenswood, south of Townsville, standing resplendent in what is almost a ghost town.
The best beer gardens were in Sydney, at the Oaks Hotel at Neutral Bay and the wonderful water views from the Newport Arms.
Then there was the almost surreal experience of sitting on the verandah of the Blue Heeler in the Queensland outback town of Kynuna, watching brolgas dance in the dust outside the front door.
At Goat Island Lodge in the Northern Territory, I arrived by helicopter to sit at Casey’s Bar and keep a wary eye out for the resident crocodile; in Victoria, I arrived at the Blue Duck Inn on horseback, as so many patrons do.
Picking the best is no easy task. The best idea is for readers to find out for themselves which pub they consider the best!
Lee Mylne is the author of Great Australia Pubs, for sale in all good bookshops and online
Image credit: Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, courtesy of Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel; Daly Waters Pub, courtesy of Lee Mylne; Pub in the Paddock, courtesy of Lee Mylne; Newport Arms, courtesy of Newport Arms; Casey’s Bar, Goat Island Lodge, courtesy of Lee Mylne
