Get into the Grove
Just off the Stuart Hwy lies a piece of Territory history that’s changed little in more than 80 years. The only indication such a gem lies hidden in the dust is a brown heritage sign — blink and you might miss it. But pull off the highway and be rewarded
TWO hours out of Darwin city, down a rough gravel path and surrounded by the shells of rusted vintage vehicles is a small pub that promises “the coldest beer” your lips will ever touch.
Grove Hill Heritage Hotel proprietor Stan Haeusler, 83, is responsible for that guarantee and swears his beer is colder than anywhere else.
“I run the fridge at five degrees below … which is a bit too cold for beer, but when you’re opening and closing that door all day it’s just right,” he said.
Grove Hill is just as much a museum as it is a pub, proudly displaying relics of the gold rush era.
Rusted shovels are hung by the bar and old photographs line one wall — full of memories tracing back to 1934, when the hotel was first built using materials abandoned at mining sites.
In the 1930s, the Stuart Hwy passed right by the door of the hotel, which was a halfway point for thirsty gold miners after a hot day of work.
The Stuart Hwy is now almost 20km away, but not much else has changed in the 80 years since the hotel first opened its doors. It still has a tin roof and corrugated iron walls, although now there is airconditioned accommodation and ablutions blocks too.
Curious visitors can snake their way behind the bar and see what life was like in the gold rush.
One bedroom contains twin iron bedsteads from another era, mattresses and blankets covered in dust, along with old books, a rusted typewriter, and the bathtub used by the pub’s original owner.
The floor is a zigzag of smashed concrete, which Stan says is pieced together from whatever the hell builders could find.
About 200 full, but dusty, beer bottles from all around the world are carefully displayed behind the bar.
A mannequin’s head sits in the jaws of a crocodile on one fridge, and a giant gold nugget resides outside — a drawcard for tourists keen to experience some selfie action.
Stan and first wife Mary purchased the historical pub in 2000 after a short hunt for a bush hotel of their own.
Before he moved to the bush, Stan had a house in Rapid Creek.
“Ever since I could remember I’ve always wanted a pub — so I got a pub,” he said. “I should have gone on a pension … I left it a little too late, we’ve had some good times, but if I had my time again I’d do it earlier.”
Stan almost closed the pub for good at the end of last year after failing to sell the watering hole to new owners. But late last month he reopened the doors — much to the delight of locals.
“We’ve got a licence to serve them at 6am until 2am,” he said.
“It’s a bloody good licence … that’s why I opened up again — because it was only three days left until it expired, and I didn’t want to lose it.”
Grove Hill is still on the market and Stan is hoping to sell to someone who will keep the character of the remote pub, located around 185km from Darwin, intact.
“They buy ‘em and they do ‘em up, and they mess ‘em up — progress they call it,” he said. “I don’t want to see it wrecked.”
Stan said tourists often tried to buy some of the display items off him, but he wouldn’t part with them.
“If people buy ‘em — where would they put ‘em?” he said. “It’s a museum, it belongs here.” With the capacity to sleep 54 people, Stan said the place always books out on BBQ night.
BBQ night, he explained, is when he cooks up a feast for anyone who comes.
“We’re all booked up for the next BBQ at the end of April,” he said. “The last BBQ we had when we were closing we had 300 people.”
There’s dancing, live music, and the opportunity for people to sing if they have enough Dutch courage.
Stan’s second wife, Felipa (Mary passed away), is also keen to retire. She doesn’t drink, serving thirsty patrons from behind the bar while her charismatic husband floats around with a bottle of rum and his infectious laugh.
“I like it here because it’s so quiet,” she said. “But it’s no good to stay longer here — it’s far from everything.”
Felipa said Stan’s health worried her, and she wanted to be closer to town as her jovial husband aged.
Stan admitted their bush life had its challenges. “The roads aren’t good — we’ve gotta rely on the tourists now,” he said. “The only thing you make money out of is accommodation. It’s marvellous the amount of people who walk through the doorway and say ‘I haven’t seen you in 10 years’.” He has high hopes the pub will be picked up by someone who wants to live life out bush.
“Hayes Creek was sold — and if someone bought that one, someone will buy this,” he laughed.
Hayes Creek Wayside Inn changed hands late last year. New owner Robyn Edge said they made the move from Melbourne in search of a lifestyle change.
“Melbourne was getting a little bit busy, a little bit hectic ... people in the NT lead a more relaxed lifestyle,” she said. “We’ve been looking in this sort
of area for a few years.”
Ms Edge said the remote roadhouse was set on 52 acres and had its own post office.
“There’s scope to improve,” she said. “That appealed to us — we could see a potential to make things better for the locals. Tourism is a great thing at the moment, hopefully we can boost the tourism numbers.”
Ms Edge said they had only been open a few weeks, but “everyone” was happy the local watering hole was serving again.
Territory Rural manager Steve Liebelt said the appeal of a remote Territory pub was “normally” a higher return on investment.
“There is an old adage ‘coast for show, bush for dough’. This is applicable to regional/remote properties and businesses that can show, through their financial documentation, an asking price which has been brought about by an expert providing to an investor an acceptable (higher) return on investment,” he said.
“There are always the few groups of people who are looking for an alternative way of life and these people/investors are normally drawn to the smaller types of operations.”
Mr Liebelt said one trend he saw was potential buyers “becoming fussier”.
“Their expectations and the expectations of their financier are well-presented financials, properties in good condition and a raft of other considerations undertaken through due diligence,” he said.
Largely in its original condition, Grove Hill might not fit the mould entirely, but it sure is one of a kind.