OUTBACK PUBS
Where Matilda first waltzed
Winton's North Gregory Hotel is one of the outback's famous pubs and plays a central role in the town's history.
Story John Dunn Photos Peter Knowles
History and humour combine in the colourful background of the North Gregory Hotel at Winton in western Queensland. The North Gregory was, and is becoming again, one of the great traditional hotels of rural Australia, ranking right up there with Corones of Charleville, Qld, Romanos, at Wagga, NSW, and the top Victorian pair, the Shamrock in Bendigo and Craigs at Ballarat. Now in its 125th year, and its fourth incarnation, it is being lovingly restored by two long-time identities of the district, David and Prue Strang, and their family. They are steadily bringing the hotel back to the sort of standard it had attained last century when silver service, fine dining, bellhops, and meticulous maids who rose at four in the morning to shine the parquetry flooring made it a first-rate establishment.
Full story Issue 30 Aug/Sept 2003
