Ettamogah Pub

After leaving Mt Lofty and the beautiful Adelaide Hills, we head East and back through Bordertown and on to the New South Wales / Victorian Border towns of Albury and Wadonga. Just north of Albury is Table Top, and the town of Ettamogah, which , apart from having one of the first modern road/rail intermodal hubs in the country, is home to a classic cartoon icon, the "Ettamogah Pub". Now if you're 40 or older, chances are you'll remember the "Australasian Post" magazine, a weekly affair with all sorts of stories from all over Australia, mainly country based and always a bit cheeky and sometimes not 100% factual!! The magazine can be traced back to the mid 1800's and became a national favourite in the 60's and 70's , and in 1958, former policeman and cartoonist, Ken Maynard, began a weekly cartoon strip featuring the locals from the fictitious "Pub"!

      In 1987, businessman Lindsay Cooper decided that the cartoon pub was too good to be left on paper, so had the "Ettamogah Pub" built as a tourist attraction and a real pub to boot! Like in Ken's drawings , there isn't a straight wall in the place, so Lindsay sought the skills of a skilful yacht  builder to  handle all the curves!! The result is a full steel structure with timber cladding, very strong and not ready to fall down as the shape suggests! It features a truck on the roof, washed up from a flood, a crashed plane and many other bits you'll see in the cartoons.

It's recently been taken over by new lessee's , and they have some terrific plans for this great piece of Aussie history, so if you're in the area and wan't to be in a classic cartoon for a while, drop in for a drink and a great meal ......and don't forget to read all the cartoons on the walls!!

Hooroo for now,
Gregg.