It is not often that a roadside ruin looks like a business opportunity, but for two Gold Coast couples Nigel and Karen Sheiles and Wendy and Greg White, that is exactly what has happened when the Quamby Pub re-opened for business last week.
Nigel and Karen were on their way to the Gulf in 2021, when they passed the old pub ruins and Nigel had a brain snap idea.
"All I could see was a potential business opportunity," Nigel said.
It didn't take too much to convince Karen and our best friends Wendy and Greg there was an opportunity right there for a business."
The Quamby Pub was originally built as a customs house in the 1860's and converted to a hotel in 1916 where it was used as a staging post for the Cobb & Co stage coaches who required fresh horse teams every 10-30 miles.
The pub, situated 40kms north of Cloncurry on the Burke Development Road, closed its doors in 2013, when the then owners abandoned the business leaving the place a ghost town.
The partners bought the ruins for $110,000 giving them the freehold deeds, 12 months ago.
Since then, through sweat and hard work, they have rebuilt the pub to its former glory spending a further $410,000.
Nigel is a builder, so he was the brains behind the rebuild, while Karen and Wendy were his apprentices.
"Greg was useless, but he might have learned something, as he is an aeronautical engineer by trade, " Greg laughed.
Before leaving the Gold Coast, the couples packed a 40 foot container with the items such as fridges, freezers and microwaves and everything else they though they would need.
They kept the front wall and the side deck of the original pub as it was worth salvaging.
"We tried to keep the theme and used recycled weatherboard from the McKinlay Homestead, as the owners were going to bulldoze it down," Nigel said
"All the doors and windows came from other station outbuildings, as we used all recycled timber where possible.
Any other building supplies were bought from Bunnings in Mt Isa.
The couple have the caravan sites up and running, added four dongas, and will have three self contained units finished shortly.
They are all thrilled with the response since opening.
We are open from 10am to midnight and offer lunch and dinner.
The name Quamby is derived from the aboriginal language meaning "stop rest awhile."
Helen Walker
Helen is the Toowoomba-based journalist who loves nothing better than covering anything horse sport related, however she covers all commodities and personality yarns. Over the years she has lived in Brisbane, Rockhampton, Longreach and Roma filing stories for the 'bible of the bush'. Contact 0459 827414.
Helen is the Toowoomba-based journalist who loves nothing better than covering anything horse sport related, however she covers all commodities and personality yarns. Over the years she has lived in Brisbane, Rockhampton, Longreach and Roma filing stories for the 'bible of the bush'. Contact 0459 827414.
