13698 Mitchell Highway

Barringun NSW 2810

The hotel sits on a 215 acre (87.25HA) holding encompassing a myriad of smaller lots that made up the old village, running all the way down to Barringun Creek from which you have a 2MG water license to pump from (maybe a tad optimistic amount considering the periodic flow of the creek). There are 2 dams both of which need repair work before they can be fully utilized. The balance of the country is cleared open flats that can easily lend itself to farming, recreation, camping or tourism pursuits. Accommodation wise the original building offers a dizzying array of rooms, both living area and bedroom friendly. The best way to describe the current arrangement of rooms is; 9 bedrooms, 2 large gauzed sleepouts, a TV/lounge room (called the Tap Room by locals which is yet another part of the history of the hotel), an enormous formal living area, an even bigger second lounge/dining room, a kitchen and two bathrooms both of which are external. In addition to all this there is also the Post Office . Some time in the early 1900's the then owners of the hotel acquired what had been a QLD Police Station which was situated in a now extinct town on the other side of the border from Barringun. It was moved to the current hotel site and established as a local Post Office and telephone exchange until the 1950 s. Since then it has been converted into a second residence on the property, offering a further 4 bedrooms, lounge, kitchen, closed in verandah and internal bathroom. This part of the hotel easily lends itself to accommodation either in full or room by room.
There is an assortment of outbuildings on the site, including a large 4 bay machinery shed with an annexed tractor/secondary shed on the back an old set of stables and stockyards, the original meat house where the butchering would have been done and of course a chook run. The fencing still remains for the tennis court, but as you will note from the photos no games have been played there for quite some time. Water to the hotel is provided via 36,000 litres worth of rainwater storage in tanks on the building as well as a constant supply from an artesian bore which feeds water through both residences and the grounds. In the past water has also been pumped from the creek and dam but this infrastructure hasn t been used for some years.
The hotel is currently operated by Mary Crawley, who at 93 years of age is reputably Australia s oldest publican. An outback legend in her own right, the fact that Mary was able to run this hotel single handedly until she was 92 years old is a testament to the easy and stress free lifestyle this property can offer, should you wish to keep it as is. Having said that the hotel would benefit greatly in trade from offering accommodation, meals, merchandise or fuel (currently there is no fuel between Bourke & Cunnamulla 250km). Given her time in the hotel Mary knows this is more than a hotel, its importance to the area is far greater than that as it acts as a makeshift post office, community hall, information distributor and meeting place among other things. As a result the hotel will be left with the inclusions that were in the building when Mary took ownership as they belong to the pub not me, I ve just been looking after them . A myriad of antique furniture (including a large Enfield Grandfather Clock which was the trophy for a horse race in the 1930's), memorabilia, historical documents and photos and even the old 240v & 52V generators will be left for the new owner.
Its simply not possible to list the historic features and stories of this hotel here as there are so many. The original ledgers of the Barringun Jockey Club are still on site and show Breaker Morant still has an outstanding balance and that Will Ogilvie worked on a local station and drank in the hotel, Russell Crowe has slept on the verandah and the survey of the NSW/QLD actually started here. In more recent times the hotel has been frequented by Malcolm Johnson (Melbourne Cup winning jockey), Peter Moody (trainer of Black Caviar) and several other identities who have become personal friends with Mary. This is in additional to the 200,000 (approx) other vehicles that travel through Barringun in a year.
If you are looking for a lifestyle change and have always had romantic ideas of moving all the way out the Back of Bourke then you should consider this property. Super affordable, stacked with history and oozing with potential Tattersalls Hotel is genuinely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Expression of Interest Closes 28th September, 2017.
NOTE: Barringun is located in NSW in the 2840 postcode and not in QLD as google maps will indicate.
http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/back-o-bourke-its-a-beautiful-life-20150527-ghax63.html
http://www.motorbikenation.com/review-listing/tattersalls-hotel/
* Agent declares interest