Angus Brodie and Jo Cranney outside the Walkabout Creek Hotel with their two children. Image: supplied
Iconic Crocodile Dundee pub in outback Queensland has been snapped up by a young family who also own a cattle station across the road from the 125-year-old watering hole.
This week Angus Brodie and Jo Cranney from Wolseley Downs cattle station became the new owners of the Walkabout Creek Hotel.
The couple, who have two children and a third on the way, thought owning the only pub in the small town of McKinlay was a good investment.
“It was a good opportunity for us to diversify so we don’t have to be so dependent on rain and cattle prices,” Mr Brodie said.
“And it’s a vital part of our community, so we wanted to make sure it keeps going as well as ever.”
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Paul Hogan in a bar scene from the film ‘Crocodile Dundee’, 1986. Photo: Paramount/Getty Images
Props used in Crocodile Dundee at Walkabout Creek Hotel. Photo: Evan Morgan
Mr Brodie said it was not an easy decision to take on the pub while running a 36,000 acre cattle station, but it felt right.
“It will be a big change, it has already been a hectic time, but it is exciting for us because of the opportunities it creates,” he said.
“We currently have a paddock-to-plate business, Horizon Grazing, (so) our beef will one day be on the menu and for sale in the pub.”
Located about an hour from Cloncurry and eight hours west of Townsville, the pub started life in 1900 as the Federal Hotel.
Following the success of Crocodile Dundee in 1986, the fine establishment was renamed the Walkabout Creek Hotel, after the fictional NT watering hole the pub portrayed in the film.
The original film set, where Paul Hogan brought Mick Dundee to life, is located in the pub’s beer garden and the Never Never Safari truck is parked out front.
However, the nearest living crocodile is about four hours away.
Inside Walkabout Creek Hotel. Image: realestate.com.au
Angus Brodie and Jo Cranney outside the Walkabout Creek Hotel in 2018. Photo: Supplied
“I grew up locally and the pub is the meeting center for the town and all the surrounding properties,” Mr Brodie said.
“I’ve been coming there since I was a child.
“And to be honest, I probably bought my first beer here when I turned 18.”
Mr Brodie said the place attracted a fair amount of tourists just because it was a ‘cool little country pub’ on the motorway, and the Crocodile Dundee connection was an added bonus.
“The number of customers grows from not everyone being busy at this time of year, we might get 20 or 30 people, to easily 100 people in the tourist season,” he said.
The Walkabout Creek Hotel in McKinlay.
Walkabout Creek Hotel when it was located on Middleton St in McKinlay, before being moved to its current location.
The couple have begun to settle into life as both graziers and publicans, already pouring beer and serving food while their children explore their second ‘home’.
“It’s cool that we can say it’s ours now,” Mr. Brodie said.
“We have been overwhelmed by the response to our purchases, especially from locals.
“Everyone has been enthusiastic.
“The media attention was also crazy.
“Our first main event will be a New Year’s party and next year we will do something for the 40th anniversary of the Crocodile Dundee film.”
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