Dubbo’s other Royal history

THERE is not much that Dubbo doesn’t have.

We boast a state-of-the-art theatre and convention centre, a world-class zoo, a heritage-listed gaol, many famous ex-pats, two Mcdonalds restaurants and extensive sporting facilities – and we’ve hosted royal visits over the years from the Queen to Prince Harry.

But Dubbo doesn’t have a Royal Hotel, the most popular name for a pub in the state according to data from Liquor and Gaming NSW.

With 88 Royal Hotels across NSW, 79 (or 90 per cent) of those are located in regional areas; but not in Dubbo.

Towns from Binnaway to Brewarrina and Wee Waa to Wyong all house majestic drinking holes.

Even Narromine has a Royal Hotel.

But not Dubbo.

The regal fad of dubbing a pub Royal boomed during the 20th Century, reflecting Australia’s strong cultural ties to the Mother Country.

In fact, between 1958 and 1960, a whopping 43 Royal Hotels were licensed.

Apparently, owners gave their hotels the Royal name to give it a sense of prestige, with many of them now serving up historic insights into a town’s past.

And while Dubbo doesn’t have a Royal Hotel anymore, it once did.

Located on the corner of Wingewarra and Macquarie Streets, the pub opened in 1863 and served thirsty locals for more than a century before finally closing its doors in 1985.

Coaches taking people to Bourke, presumably from Sydney, stopped at the pub every

Wednesday and Saturday before continuing further west.

Archives describe the hotel as offering “welcome respite” and being “a sanctuary for weary travellers on the coach to Bourke”, until 1886 when steam trains replaced buses.

Originally a two-storey stone building, it wasn’t long before the popularity of the hotel took hold and there was need to expand.

First, the Royal Hotel bought the two small shops next door before later adding a third storey.

According to a news report shared by the Macquarie Regional Library, the first licensee of the Royal Hotel was Thomas Purvis before Jim Yeo took over in 1865.

Following Yeo, the hotel went through several hands before being bought and redeveloped in the 1920s by the Joyton Smith Management Trust.

At the time, one Sir Frank