Than to stand in the bar of the pub with no beer.
Great words!
Actually, the original line was "…nothing on earth half as lonely or drear…", penned in 1943 by sugar cane farmer Dan Sheahan, after he arrived at his local in the Queensland town of Ingham, to find American soldiers had drunk the bar dry of the amber liquid.
Not to be confused with the Pub With No Beer at Taylors Arm in NSW, which I visited a few years ago - Gordon Parsons reworked the words into the song that in 1957 Slim Dusty made famous, and his local was at Taylor's Arm.
The Day Dawn Hotel in Ingham, Queensland (now known as Lees Hotel) is the pub that inspired Sheahan's poem.
And that's where we stayed on the first night of our little trip to F.N.Q.
Queensland from the sky…
We landed in Townsville and drove to Ingham, arriving for a late chicken and sweet corn soup at the local Chinese
before bedding down at the utilitarian Lees
The kids had their own beds and their own room. The beds were comfortable, and consideration was given to all sensible things such as extra blankets and somewhere to hang your towels. It was cheap and clean, but sadly lacked charm (except fro the gecko in the bathroom – I love geckos).
Charm could still be found, however, in other parts of the hotel. The Day Dawn was demolished and rebuilt as Lee's in 1960, and there's some great 60's features scattered around such as in the dining room. Shame more features weren't retained in the rooms, but it is functional as a stopover.
The night air was so mild – I love a warm winter!
Oddly, the street smelled of caramelised carrots. Not chicken.
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