Rockhampton hotel closed for six years could be about to get a new lease of life
A well-known Rockhampton pub that was forced to close following the 2011 floods has been listed on the market, with hopes that a new owner could transform it back to its former glory.
The timber and iron building strikes a distinctly Queensland outline in the suburb of Port Curtis. And although it has no heritage order over it, the Archer Hotel has long history in the town.
It was constructed “80 or 90” years ago, according to Keir Kreis of LJ Hooker Commercial Brisbane, and had operated as a pub up until its closure.
The downstairs section of the two-storey building houses a bar, commercial kitchen and beer garden, while upstairs there are five accommodation rooms.
In its heyday the Archer was a popular haunt for workers at the Hastings Deering plant on the adjacent site, with a mechanical bull and rodeo events among its attractions.
“The whole trading of the pub was largely driven by Hastings Deering,” Mr Kreis said.
The hotel is in need of some work to bring it back to its former glory. Photo: Supplied
The 3640-square-metre site is being sold as an opportunity to “restore the property to its former glory or demolish it and start again”.
The Rockhampton floods struck in January 2011, and had a significant impact on many local businesses.
The hotel was being sold for “significantly less than replacement value”, said Mr Kreis, but any new owner would need to do a reasonable amount of work to bring the building up to scratch.
The hotel was last sold in 2007 for $510,000, according to PriceFinder data.
Mr Kreis said reopening the pub would be a big event for the area – which had suffered from a downturn in coal prices since the start of the decade.
But a rebound in coal prices to “boom time” levels was good news for the Rockhampton region which, he predicted, would become a hub for fly-in-fly-out workers should the Adani mine get up and running.
“I think certainly Rockhampton was affected by a downturn in the coal industry, but with the level of investment back up, Rockhampton is in the firing line to benefit from Adani in particular,” he said.
Last week concrete sleeper manufacturer Austrak was awarded a contract to supply concrete sleepers from its Rockhampton factory for the Adani rail project.
However, Adani’s $16 billion Carmichael coal mine – to become the largest in Australia if it goes ahead – has been controversial.
The federal and Queensland governments have been supporters of the project, but environmental groups say the mine would have a devastating impact on the Great Barrier Reef, as well as on the local environment, including the Belyando River and surrounding water table.
They also said last week’s announcement by Adani, giving the mine the ”green light”, was a smoke screen as financing for the mine was not yet in place.
Stop Adani Alliance spokesman Geoff Cousins told Fairfax Media that without this financing the mine could not go ahead.
“Adani is yet to lure any financial institutions willing to bankroll the project, which is proving hugely unpopular with the Australian public,” he said.
The license for the Archer has been forfeited, but Mr Kreis said “given its zoning” and the fact it’s been a pub since it was first constructed, regaining a license should not be difficult.
This story was updated on July 12 to include extra information on opposition to the Adani mine.
