History of the Austral Inn
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Quorn is a small rural town located in South Australia’s central Flinders Ranges, with a population of 1500.
The site for the township was chosen by railway surveyors who wanted a point roughly in line with Perth and Sydney, and north of Peterborough on the north-south railway which would become the headquarters of a nation-spanning railway system.
In its heyday there were up to 30 train arrivals or departures each day - one of the reasons for the establishment of the four hotels that remain today.
The first licensed premises was the Pinkington Hotel, which was built in 1878, the year the town was surveyed. Originally a single storey building, it had a second storey added in 1922 when the name was changed to the Austral Hotel. In 1972, the guest horse stables at the rear of the hotel were demolished and replaced by five motel units. The name was again changed, and it became the Austral Hotel Motel.
In 2003, the name was again changed to the Austral Inn/B&B, with a plan put into place to develop the site as a country-proud and friendly hotel with city refinements and dining. Our story is of this beautiful building.
Over the years the hotel had been added
to as different owners put their imagination and thoughts into the property. The result was that the hotel had lost the original owner’s vision, and it was our intention to look to the past, to the original architecture, the style and “feel” then rebuild.
Research commenced through consultation with the locals, many of whom had clear memories of the building going back 50 years. The areas to be renovated were then stripped back to “bare.” Floor joists and boards were replaced, along with electrical wiring and plumbing.
The cellar was cleared of broken down pumps, compressors, and white ant-riddled timbers. The original keg chute and stairs to the exterior were reopened and a new
cement floor and cold room built to house the kegs and new glycol system. It was at this stage we discovered age old slate shelving, enough to build our bar top.
What a find!
Colours were vital to the
redevelopment so Solver Paints were consulted to help come
up with an internal and external colour scheme that reflected the Flinders Ranges and
Outback. The result was a
combination of colours like
reminiscent of desert clay, chilli bean and mid biscuit.
The project was now underway in earnest.
One of the negative aspects of the hotel was the absence of natural light inside. Remedying this was relatively easy as three windows had been blocked from providing light, being used to house weather wall air conditioning units. These were removed and modern split units installed.
Unfortunately, the three windows had been ruined by the installation of the weather walls, and the original windows were impossible to duplicate.
However, luck was on our side again as the owners of the local tip, Jeff and Paula Roberts, had the vision to retain many old timbers and architraves
removed from old buildings in the area. Work was soon underway on rebuilding the windows.
The beautiful old skirting boards were hand stripped of one hundred years of paint to
reveal the golden colours of Baltic pine.
Floor boards in the bar passage ways and guest lounge were stripped back to bare
timbers and polished. Old furniture in various areas was rebuilt and re-polished to enable
the warmth of timber to be present throughout. An original Baltic pine fire surround to the guest lounge fireplace was uncovered and renovated to provide a tasteful, old worldly
setting.
The gaming room and the dining room floors
were carpeted to provide added warmth and
reduce noise.
We believe that in any hotel premises appropriate lighting is most important. We achieved a great result with adjustable down lighting in the bar, gaming lounge and dining areas and pendant lighting in the passage ways and guest lounge.
Some years before our renovation, the exterior
of the hotel had been painted in a combination
of green and white. We felt that the style and
era of the building, and its location in a famous Upper North township, required an exterior finish that reflected the era and earthy colours of the surrounding countryside.
We wanted any timber work to be painted a timber colour, stone to be stone coloured and quoins to be finished in natural earthy colours.
To achieve this result, all timbers were painted Solver mid earth; the quoins quarter mid earth; and iron and lacework charcoal. The stone sections of the exterior were then stripped by high pressure water treatment, re-pointed and left natural.
Finally came the big decision - when to reopen, what the menu should encompass, what wines to stock and how to achieve an ambience that would best suit the needs of tourists and locals alike?
Our overall aims were to provide good service
first and foremost, as well as quality food at an
affordable price, with wine and beer choices that were selective, price competitive and of high
quality.
Our vision for the future is that Quorn becomes a Hahndorf in terms of tourism numbers with the romance of the historic Pichi Richi narrow gauge railway as a bonus.
The transformation has been astonishing, the results worthy of the effort. Not only would our town prosper from this development but our state.
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