Railway Hotels of Australia – Author: Scott Whitaker

In the early days, Railway Hotels (along with Terminus, Junction and Station) were quickly established to service the railway construction workers, or navvies. Some publicans stayed in the new town, others moved on with the navvies to the next camp. Some existing hotels were renamed to celebrate the arrival of railway communication, and some were moved to a new site nearer the railway station. Inevitably, the Railway Hotel was the haunt of the local railway workforce.

There was once over 600 Railway Hotels in Australia, but by the 1920s many had gone. Some had been burnt down – deliberately or otherwise – or even levelled by an earthquake or washed away in a flood.

Nevertheless there could have been more. Would–be publicans at Mt Gambier in South Australia, Cook on the Nullarbor Plain and at Alice Springs in the Northern Territory as well as at many other places, announced their intention of opening a Railway Hotel. Some of these people were refused a licence, some had a change of heart or some simply opened their hotel under a different name. And what about the Railway Hotels in towns that never had a railway. How could that be?

Join author Scott Whitaker as he journey’s around Australia investigating the life of the Railway Hotel.

News Bite

Message on a bottle

Photo: Codd Bottle owned by former locomotive driver, Carl Williams One of the most rewarding aspects about conducting author talks around the country, is meeting up with people who have connections with former Railway Hotels. So it was recently when Scott presented a talk in … Continue readingMessage on a bottle

Lights, Camera, Action

Photo: Antique film projector at the Mitchell Library in QLD An enthusiastic bunch of locals gathered at the Mitchell library on election day (for the Queensland state parliament) for one of Scott’s popular author talks. The library at Mitchell (90 km west of Roma) is … Continue readingLights, Camera, Action

Mystery Solved – Gooroolba Railway Hotel

Photo: Scott with some of Mount Perry’s locals at the library (former council chambers) on 21 November 2017. John Bowen is standing next to Scott. Yesterday morning, Scott presented an author talk to the folk of Mount Perry. During the talk, Scott meet a local … Continue readingMystery Solved – Gooroolba Railway Hotel

White Line Fever

Photo : The White Lion hotel with the adjacent Kimba Lodge Motel in the background. After a fun morning at the Rockhampton Local Authors Expo, Scott headed down the Bruce Highway to Maryborough to prepare for Monday’s talks at the Maryborough and Hervey Bay libraries. … Continue readingWhite Line Fever

Barky Days

Yesterday, on the same day that the raid on the Australian Workers Union was making headlines around the country, Scott arrived at the birthplace of the AWU: Barcaldine. Barcaldine, affectionately knows as ‘Barky’ is the home of several fine old hotels that lined the main … Continue readingBarky Days

Grand Day Out

After a pleasant couple of author talks on Monday, Scott headed north via the Blackman’s Gap Road to Many Peaks. Not sure if he would make it due to the extensive flood damage of the roads in the area, Scott was delighted to see the … Continue readingGrand Day Out

The Home of Rum

Scott arrived in Bundaberg yesterday afternoon after touring Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast. Speaking engagements today at Bundaberg Library, and then Gin Gin Library before heading to Calliope Library. There are many opportunities to hear Scott talk in person about the history of the Railway … Continue readingThe Home of Rum

Media Frenzy and it’s Hot Hot Hot!

Fresh from conducting an interview with Zara Margolis from ABC radio North West at Mount Isa on Friday 6th October, Scott was back in the studios on Wednesday, recording an interview with Angus Peacocke, the morning presenter on ABC Capricornia, which covers the Rockhampton, Gladstone and … Continue readingMedia Frenzy and it’s Hot Hot Hot!

A warm welcome from Mount Isa.

Another interesting day on the tour starting this morning at Mount Isa where I did an interview with Zara from ABC radio. That was followed by an interview with Esther from the North West Star, the local Mt Isa newspaper. Then it was off to … Continue readingA warm welcome from Mount Isa.

Western Queensland Tours: Rissoles, Views, and the Ravenswood Railway Hotel.

I am midway through another tour of Western Queensland conducting a series of Author’s talks. A small but enthusiastic crowd greeted me at Charters Towers, Hughenden and Winton libraries over the past couple of days. Thanks to Lia, Mim and Amada for hosting. Travelling around … Continue readingWestern Queensland Tours: Rissoles, Views, and the Ravenswood Railway Hotel.