General News
21 August, 2024
Iconic Outback pub still feeling the pinch of wet season flooding
The owners of the Blue Heeler in Kynuna believe the government should have supported their piece of history.
The dining room where Banjo Paterson debuted Waltzing Matilda is among the extensive repairs undertaken at the Blue Heeler Hotel, seven months after floodwaters ravaged the historic building.
And despite the significance of the Kynuna landmark to the story of the Australian Labor movement, the Miles government does not seem interested in providing any support to preserve the building.
In fact, the lack of interest has made pub owner Matthew “Bindi” McBride at times think it would have been easier to just bulldoze the building and start over rather than commit to saving an important piece of Australian history.
The Blue Heeler is a tourist drawcard in Outback Queensland due to its strong ties with our nation’s past.
Built in 1889, it is said that Samuel “Frenchy” Hoffmeister, whose death was the inspiration for the lyrics of Waltzing Matilda, was a regular at the hotel.
A hand-painted plaque in the bar claims Banjo Paterson also brokered a truce between Dagworth Station owner Robert MacPherson and the itinerant workers that brought an end to the infamous shearer’s strikes in 1894.
Months later, Banjo would premiere Waltzing Matilda in the dining room with the assistance of MacPherson’s daughter, Christina.
In an age of gift shops and tacky roadside attractions, the Blue Heeler Hotel is an unpretentious working pub that has changed little in 135 years – and that’s the problem.
The hotel was built on sloping ground that is vulnerable to flooding – ironically from the Diamantina River – the same water system where pub icon Frenchy Hoffmeister met his fate.
Bindi admitted that no one would build anything on that ground today.
But he also said the historical significance of the site was part of the appeal when he purchased the pub three years ago.
Due to its flood risk, Bindi is not able to secure any insurance.
So when 130cm of Diamantina water washed over the floorboards and up the walls in January – a flood event that is thought to be the worst since 1940 – Bindi knew there would be a hefty price tag to repair the building.
The grounds of the pub were also severely damaged – tables were found several hundred metres away in the rodeo grounds; the nine storage freezers bobbed along the floodwater and had to be tied together behind the beer garden bar; an above-ground pool, which had been planned to be installed behind the accommodation rooms, now sits in a paddock about 150 metres from the pub.
It is the first thing any tourist notices when travelling north into Kynuna.
The 20 accommodation rooms all went under – drowning air conditioners, television sets, bedding and all furniture.
Bindi praised McKinlay Shire for its immediate assistance – within 30 hours of the floodwaters subsiding, the council had delivered a refrigerated trailer to save the food in the kitchen and within 72 hours there was a team of prisoners from the Julia Creek Work Camp piling up the ruined furniture and washing down the mud-caked floors.
Bindi praised the inmates for their willingness to be part of the team and tackle the difficult tasks that were placed before them.
The total repair bill for the pub is more than $600,000. Bindi has not received any flood assistance money and has relied on volunteers to undertake repairs to date.
His parents, Kaye and Andrew, had only planned to help at the pub over the Christmas break before returning to Broken Hill.
Instead, they have remained at the site working long hours behind the bar and in the kitchen as the business struggles to get back on its feet.
Bindi has poured extra money from his Longreach-based transport business into the pub repairs.
However, he admits making a profit is difficult with fuel prices on the constant rise.
Some retired tradesmen from South Australia have been at the pub for several weeks assisting in the repairs in exchange for a place to sleep and few pub meals.
“There is a lot of work that needs to be done to get that place back. The whole thing needs re-stumping. We have to do it ourselves otherwise it will cost a fortune to get someone from Brisbane to come up and repair it,” Bindi told North West Weekly.
While Labor governments rushed with assistance when the Tree of Knowledge in Barcaldine was poisoned and when Winton’s Waltzing Matilda Centre burned down – the state government hasn’t been eager to acknowledge the Blue Heeler Hotel’s plight.
Perhaps more concerned about his uphill battle to save his Cairns seat at the coming election, Tourism Minister Michael Healy didn’t provide any reply to questions from North West Weekly.
Instead, the enquiry was forwarded to the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, which confirmed there were not any targeted loans or grants for small businesses in response to the McKinlay Shire floods.
Bindi says he will persevere with his efforts to return the iconic pub to its former glory.
He said locals and tourists have been supportive in their frequenting of the business despite the work crews and clean-ups underway.
“We want to keep the pub as close to the original as we can and we are trying to source the same materials at the moment,” he said.
“But sometimes it seems it would be easier to just bulldoze the thing and start again than try to keep its history intact.
“The government doesn’t seem to care either way.”