Historic Bethungra Hotel in the NSW Riverina to be given away
A historic 16-bedroom pub in country NSW is set to be given away for the grand sum of $100.
The owners plan to make a gift of the two-storey Victorian building to whoever can come up with the best future use of it that will be of most benefit to the local community.
“We’ve been trying to think completely out of the box,” said Robyn Cox, proprietor of the 1886 Bethungra Hotel, 24 kilometres south-west of Cootamundra and 70 kilometres from Wagga Wagga. “We hope many people will write to us, telling us of their hopes and dreams for the property.
“Then we’ll find a neutral person to judge who has the best, and most practical, plan and we’ll pay their stamp duty and solicitor’s fees and the property will be theirs. We’re hoping at least 20,000 people will apply.”
Former West Australian postie Robyn, 46, and her husband, fellow postie Allan, 57, bought the old hotel with its iron-lace period verandas, sight unseen over the internet in 2014 for $470,000.
The pub’s owners, Robyn and Allan Cox. Photo: Robyn Cox
Until recently it was being run by managers as a BnB and wedding venue, but when they quit to move to another property, and a number of Australia Post contracts were axed, the Coxes decided to move over for their first trip outside their own state.
They’d imagined the old pub would make a wonderful family home for them and their three sons, Jordan, 24, Cameron, 23, and Hamish, 20, and set about restoring it to its former glory.
But then when they met the locals, they realised how treasured the building was and what a central role it had always played in community affairs.
“Everybody we met was so nice, and they all had so many memories of the pub,” said Ms Cox. “They’d all been there for many years and were very passionate about everything it represented. We discovered this place is a big deal for the Riverina.
“So we felt that as much as we loved the building and its stunning gardens, and despite all the money and time we’ve invested in the beautiful old girl and putting her petticoats back on, so to speak, it would be selfish for us to use it just as a family home.
The hotel was until recently was a popular BnB and wedding venue. Photo: Facebook
“We need to give it back to the community in some way, so everyone has access to it once again and allow other people to take this iconic building to the next level into the future.”
So instead of merely putting ‘The Shirley’ – as it’s known locally after the surname of a former owner – up for sale, she decided the fairest way would be to give the pub away to the person with the best idea to use it in the future.
It will be offered with 80 per cent of its current furnishings and fittings, too, as well as with the stamp duty, fees and tax paid on the transaction.
Those who want the pub have to outline their plans and pay a $100 ”application fee”. Photo: Facebook
All applicants need to pay is a $100 application fee and then outline their scheme for the pub, how they plan to put it into practice, their experience and their own story, and the winner will be judged in three months’ time.
Daryl Sedgwick, managing principal of Cootamundra’s Ron Loiterton Real Estate, who has handled the last two sales of the Bethungra Hotel – including to the Coxes – said he was not familiar with this way of passing on property.
“They’re very nice people and they are the genuine owners but we understand they’re now trying to what we might call ‘lotterise’ the property,” he said.
About 80 per cent of the pub’s furniture is included. Photo: Facebook
“Cootamundra is a very strong rural community but our population base is obviously limited and they’re looking to move in a non-traditional way. We wish them well.”
Meanwhile, Robyn Cox imagines that more than 20,000 people will apply which, for $100 per person, would enable the family to recoup their costs, their original outlay on the pub, its appreciation in value in the intervening years and the furnishings plus the duty, taxes and fees.
“Someone may have a wonderful idea but I don’t want them to be crushed by the cost of a property and the difficulty of getting a bank loan,” Ms Cox said. “I want them to be able to have a fresh, debt-free start.
“We’ve already had letters from people who are foster parents to a lot of kids and think it would be a good home for them, and from people wanting to turn it into a therapy centre. The process is being conducted in a completely transparent way over Facebook and hopefully it will catch people’s imagination.
“I know it’s an unusual idea, but I’m hoping a lot of people will understand it and decide to run with it.”
