Archive for category Queensland

Hambledon vs Grafton Hotels (Edmonton, QLD)

Head to Head Shoot Out!

Which Would you Choose? – Read On!

These two pubs are perched on either side of the Bruce Highway / Mill Road Intersection. A busy intersection it is too, and in times past, not only were they separated by the Mill Rd, but also by a Railway Branch Line, and Cane Railway, that once ran down the side of the Grafton. So getting from one pub to the other, especially after imbibing the offerings of any of the establishments, was always going to be a hazardous exercise. Shrugging aside the risks, Andrew and I were determined to do this head to head review for our reader.

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Lake Eacham Hotel (Yungaburra, QLD)

It was a very unseasonably rainy, drizzly, miserable and otherwise bleak  November Sunday morning in Cairns, and with the weather came canceled plans and a need for alternative activities and amusement. Noting that this blog has been very inactive recently, or perhaps the other contributors have been remarkably slack, I thought it appropriate to take matters into my own hands and get a pub review done. When the weather is as crook as it was on the coast, it is usually a lot worse up on the tablelands, and with that thought came mental images of  cosy iconic country pubs and how much better beers tastes when you’re in a warm bar watching the rain outside lashing the windows. So a hastily recruited reviewer – eldest daughter Melissa – and we were of the Yungaburra, to visit the Lake Eacham hotel.

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Peeramon Hotel (Peeramon, QLD)

In my opinion one of the biggest losses from Cyclone Larry was the almost total destruction of the brilliant Peeramon Hotel. Rob and I had the oppurtunity to get away for a few hours so we decided to head up to the tablelands and visit a couple of pubs. This was my first visit to Peeramon since 2006 and it was interesting to see how the reconstruction effort, a slow process due to lack of funds, had changed this iconic north Queensland pub.

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Aloomba Hotel, (Aloomba, QLD)

Reviewed on 4/9/09 by Mike Lee and Hamish Withington

I have seen the Aloomba pub on many occasions and have even visited it once before. However, this was the first time that Hamish has ever seen it and remarked that it actually looks like an old BP Servo. The building is very hmmmm… Retro – Deco.. and really looks nothing like a pub, save for the ‘Aloomba Hotel’ sign on the façade. But there are no illuminated signs advertising brands of beer, which are the typical means of identifying this type of establishment.

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Fishery Falls Hotel, (Fishery Falls, QLD)

Reviewed on 4 September 2009 by Mike Lee and Hamish Withington

This pub was reviewed because of an opportunity provided by Hamish’s car breaking down while he was doing a review of the El Arish Pub. I had to go to Innisfail to rescue him, so it seemed like a great idea to do a couple of pubs on the way back to Cairns.

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Einasleigh Hotel, (Einasleigh QLD)

The Einasleigh hotel stands as the image icon of the outback Aussie Pub, and there was a lot of competition to be the first to get to review this one. The perceived remoteness of this pub was what had kept the reviewing hordes at bay, but in the end it was really a simple matter of catching the train. The only catch was that we had to drive the thing out there ourselves!

The pub was built in 1909, and actually celebrates its centenary in October (next month at time of writing)

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Cock & Bull Hotel (Cairns, QLD)

The Cock & Bull was bound to be amongst the first pubs we visited for ABIEP as, being that it’s the closest pub to Rob’s office, we have lunch there semi-frequently. We were just about to head out the door for a stroll down to the pub when Lee turned up at the office and decided to join us and be designated driver.

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Criterion Hotel (South Johnstone, QLD)

Between Mena Creek and Innisfail is the Mill-town of South Johnstone with the historic Criterion Hotel.  This is a older 2 story pub that still has the original central fridge configuration that was so common in older Queensland pubs.  Driving past it looks like the whole cane-cutter’s business, but I suspect that a bit of a renovation has lost some of it’s character.

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Mena Creek Hotel (Mena Creek, QLD)

The Mena Creek Hotel is a top pub to start out mission.  As the first pub reviewed here it holds a special place, visited by the Trio of Nic ,Victor and Rob – this is a classic country pub complete with bull nose verandahs’ and natural slab wooden tables.  If you are driving past, don’t let this little pub fool you – it might look a bit plain from the roadside, but it is actually a cheerful pub with plenty of character.

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