A history of bad publicans, greedy landlords and the increased cost of living have been identified as the reasons for the downward spiral in Corowa’s pub scene, and locals feel that unless something changes soon that trend will continue.
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John Elmore spent time as publican at all of Corowa’s pubs, except the Star Hotel, across five decades from 1973 to 2018, and he said there’s no such thing as a bad pub, just bad publicans.
“When I first came to Corowa in 1973, every night was like what Friday night is like now,” John said.
“Back then we had good crowds every night of the week with two, sometimes three bar maids behind the bar.
“Now you can't go to the pub without spending easily 100 bucks, it’s just too expensive.”
Corowa’s pub scene has been in freefall for more than 10 years; the only venue with a 3am license sits abandoned, another is at the heart of safety concerns, while a third has stalled amidst renovations.
Of the remaining three, only one opens past 10pm.
Locals are trying to return some vibrancy to Sanger St, the town’s civic spine, but with half of hotels in the heart of town lying dormant, and in desperate need of restoration, it’s proving to be an uphill battle.
Only two of Sanger St’s five hotels are operating, and a sixth, the Newmarket on Honour Ave, is the only one open past 10pm.
The Globe and Star hotels are derelict, and the Royal Hotel, while occupied, has been undergoing renovations with no clear opening date in sight.
“When we started, it was only the husband that worked, and the wife was home looking after everything,” John said.
“Everything was built on a one income family; you can’t do that now, it’s so hard with the cost of living.
“I’m 80 next year; if I could take 10 years off that, I would be in the Royal Hotel quick because it's a good pub in a beautiful location.
“I inspected it a couple of months ago and was astonished at the work that had been done, particularly in the kitchen.”
New beginnings
Brett Hughes, the Royal Hotel’s latest publican, said he’s still in negotiations with the building owner and was unable to comment further on the pub’s position until an agreement was reached.
Luke Adamson took over Hotel Australia last August and has been busy with ongoing renovations to bring the building back to life and offer more to the town.
He said he’d like to do something different and has a few new ideas to implement and breathe a sense of freshness and flavour back into Corowa.
“The Aussie is a beautiful building with fantastic history, but the previous owners didn’t spend much money on it,” Luke said.
“It's been a battle trying to refurbish the hotel, modernise things, make it more comfortable for the clientele.
“We now have a dedicated Filipino meal night on Mondays; our new chefs are Argentinian and bringing a new flavour to Corowa.”
The focus at the Aussie over the past six months has been on accommodation and establishing a more social bias, rather than just beer and pub meals.
Renovations on some rooms are complete with others yet to be finished.
An annual winter camp cook-off is on the cards, and a new beer garden and billiards competition to go with the existing Texas Hold ‘em Poker and Tuesday trivia.
Darkie Collins and the boys from CDHBU Football Club gather regularly at the Newmarket Hotel, which is one of the club’s sponsors.
Before the amalgamation of the football clubs, players from Coreen would meet at the Star Hotel and when that closed, they moved on to The Globe.
With both of those pubs now closed they are running out of places to meet for a beer.
“The pub scene in Corowa at the moment is disappointing,” Darkie said.
“Three pubs are closed now; it’s a worry with the tax on beer making it so expensive to go out and have a drink.
“Council needs to get the caravan park going again and put some money into tourism if they want things to improve.”
Alan Mansell’s band ‘The Bigs’ have a monthly residency playing country, blues and rock ‘n roll at the Aussie.
He said it’s a great place to play, and on band night the pub patronage swells to about four times what it would normally see on a Sunday evening.
Karen Ford has been a business owner in Corowa for 18 years, and said the landlords were greedy, with business owners having to pay building insurance, rates and other outgoings on top of rent.
“Rents are huge; it makes it hard for businesses to survive in this town.”
Luke and Trudy Emonson at Corowa Hotel have been improving their beer garden, with new live-edge timber tables, an open fireplace, and improved cover and wine barrels dotted throughout the space lifting its aesthetic.
Luke said business had picked up since they took over in 2023, but they needed more local support to get through the weekdays and winter periods.
“We have a good group of regulars, but other than that it’s pretty quiet this time of year,” Luke said.
“Weekdays can be miserable and no one comes out to see the bands unless it’s a long weekend and there are people up from Melbourne.
“So, we do what we can to improve the place: we’ve added big screen TV’s, we’ve got the open fire, we’re family and dog friendly.
“We’re the only pub in town with TAB and Keno; that’s a big thing, and we have a good reputation for our meals.”
A unique place in history
In one of the more poignant stories in Australian pub history, the Globe Hotel lays claim to being the birthplace of federation.
It was the venue where, in 1893, Mrs Mary Chenhall served dinner to 74 conference delegates as they held discussions that led to Australia’s first parliament in 1901.
The original Globe Hotel was an eight-room weatherboard building erected in 1860.
It was later demolished and a new two-storey brick building with verandah and balcony was built along the length of the upper storey, with work completed before the Federation Conference in July 1893.
Although locals have fond memories of the hotel, the Globe closed in 2014 and has fallen into disrepair.
Current owners Dan and Natalie Casey bought the Globe in 2023 with a vision to restore the pub and its iconic verandah and balcony with a modern flavour, taking advantage of the town’s only 3am liquor license.
Setbacks along the way, however, led them to put it back on the market last November.
Steff Mannix from CRE Brokers said there had been a lot of interest in the Globe since landing on the market last year, and more than 120 people turned out to November’s auction, although with most being ‘sticky-beaks’ they weren’t able to find a serious buyer on the day.
“We still have a good relationship the owners, so if someone comes along who’s serious, we’ll give them a call,” Ms Mannix said.
“But for now we’ve pulled the advertising down to give it a break for a while.”
Star of the past
The Star Hotel has an equally checkered past, with recent council intervention in the name of public safety after emergency orders were not acted upon by the owners and a greater need for protection was identified.
A heritage listed hotel, the Star’s predicament first came to the attention of Federation Council in early 2024 with news of structural decline and falling debris.
An emergency order was issued in March 2024, with a subsequent order issued the following December after no action was taken by the owner and the building continued to deteriorate.
In May 2025 Council initiated legal proceedings in the Land and Environment Court against the owner for non-compliance, and by November they were forced to spend $200,000 to install protective boarding and tunnelling along the footpath to protect pedestrians.
But the Star hasn’t always looked so forlornly.
It was the place to go in Corowa before closing in 2010.
Jan Maree remembers growing up in Corowa and going to the Star “where all the cool kids used to hang out”.
“There were lock-ins by candlelight, dining on the balcony; it was the only place you’d want to go,” Jan said.
“It’s a disgrace the state it’s in now….it breaks my heart every time I go home and look at it.
“It brings the whole vibe of the township down.”
John Elmore said publicans need to be involved with the community if their pubs are to succeed.
“I was always the worst cricketer on the team, but the first picked every week, because I was the one with the FJ Holden ute who brought the keg of beer,” he said.
“People want to see their publican out in the community, then they’ll go into his pub for a chat with him over a beer.”
Recent investment in hotels shows there is hope that Corowa’s pub scene can thrive once again.
And with Federation Council’s work to reinvigorate Ball Park Caravan Park, there’s a feeling around town that a full caravan park at the bottom of Sanger St will again drive tourists up the main street and into the shops and pubs.
CAP: Roger Hicks loves going to the Aussie; he said it’s an old-style pub where you can walk in, put your phone down and talk.