The western Queensland pub with no town, where beer flows thicker than water
Melbourne Cup day will grant an historic pub in far western Queensland a rare time to shine, where locals will find it easier to get a beer than a glass of water.
At the South Western Hotel in Toompine the beer will be flowing and the yabby races running, in stark contrast to the locationās dicey water supply that has been stifled by ageing pipes and an old bore struck more than a century ago in 1918.
While the hotelās punters may have reason to celebrate today as Australiaās most famous horse race is beamed into their remote part of the world 75 kilometres from Quilpie, locals across the district say theyāre already on a winner as new water infrastructure is planned to kick-in from early next year.
It means that the South West Hotel, built in 1893 and the lone building standing in Toompine, a once bustling frontier opal town and Cobb & Co staging post, will have water flowing freely from taps in the outback community for the first time in decades.
Quilpie Shire Council CEO Justin Hancock said council worked with local community groups and stakeholders such as the hotelās proprietors and local graziers to secure the Building our Regions Round 6 grant for the new bore.
āWeāre thrilled that the application was a success,ā he said.
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āWater is the lifeblood of any outback community, and none more so than those set in our arid environment.ā
Hancock said it was already an exciting week for Toompine with the hotel opening back up after closing in March 2020 due to Covid and then having a flood, coupled with supply and staff shortages.
āThe restoration work thatās been done while it was shut is a real credit to owners Stuart and Kate Bowen,ā he said.
āI think the celebrations will be even bigger now thereās a new water source locked in. Itās really going to help Stuart and Kate continue offering more for locals and tourists from the pub and providing infrastructure that will benefit the whole community with the reliable supply of water.ā
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The ownersā daughter Lauren Bond, who runs the hotel with her husband Sean, said she hoped todayās Melbourne Cup festivities would mark a new chapter for the historic pub, after it was purchased just prior to the pandemic and renovation costs blew out as repairs and modifications were carried during closures, shortages and natural disasters.
āBut all thatās behind us now,ā she said.
āThe restoration is complete and it all looks great and weāll be celebrating Melbourne Cup.
āWith this bore news coming we feeling like weāve got to be the luckiest place in Queensland.ā
Hancock said that while the new water infrastructure would provide a suitable, reliable and sustainable water supply for the pub, it would also improve the regionās liveability as well as supporting the local recreation grounds where polocrosse and gun club activities are pursued.
He said the reliable water supply would also provide the community with firefighting capabilities and increase agricultural productivity by providing access to water for stock and resilience against natural disasters such as drought, and even floods when waters inundate and contaminate surface ground water.
Funding for the Quilpie Shire Council ā Toompine Town Bore Replacement comes from the Queensland Governmentās Building Better Regions grants as well as contributions from Council and Toompine landholders.
The total project cost is anticipated to be just over $780,000.
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