HISTORIC Tibooburra pub, The Family Hotel, is for sale for the first time in eleven years.
Situated 332km north of Broken Hill in Outback NSW, the hotel has been continuously trading since it was built in 1882.
It features accommodation in the motel across the road or six air-conditioned pub rooms, each with televisions plus a common kitchenette.
The pub, one of only two in Tibooburra, is famous for its murals covering the walls of the bar, painted by prolific artists including Clifton Pugh and Russell Drysdale.
As the story goes, during the Big Wet of 1969, artists who’d been painting in the surrounding Outback became trapped in Tibooburra.
Pugh, a three-time Archibald prize winner (including for a depiction of Gough Whitlam that now hangs in Parliament House,) killed time by painting murals on the pub’s walls.
His works feature a naked devil, which was said to bare an uncanny resemblance to then publican Barney Davie, as well as several female nudes, which were said to have been inspired by Davie’s daughters.
Other artists including Russell Drysdale, Eric Minchin and Rich Armor have added to the walls.
In its early days, the hotel was a base for the Cobb & Co network, an independent coach business.
Tibooburra, known for being the hottest town in New South Wales, sits on the edge of Sturt National Park, bordering South Australia and Queensland.
The town sees travellers seeking to gold prospect, four-wheel drivers, tourists in search of native desert wildflowers and birdlife in the spring as well as motorcycle groups.
The town also draws tourists to its twice yearly Gymkhana, Bikekhana and Rodeo.
As of the 2021 census, the town was home to 95 people.
The hotel is being sold through Shipway Hotel Motel Brokers. Managing director Glen Shipway can be contacted at gshipway@gmail.com or on 0417 801 659.
