Historic Cloncurry pub lists for $1.7m as region enters new copper boom
The historic Post Office Hotel in Cloncurry – or curry to the locals – has been listed for sale for $1.7 million, offering buyers a rare opportunity to take over the taps at a long-standing outback pub in a region on the brink of a major copper boom.
With a classic regional waterhole experience on offer – accommodation, meals, cold beer and gaming – about 800 kilometres from Townsville, buyers can leverage the site’s “strong local reputation”, its storied past and the expected uplift as new mining investment flows into the North West Minerals Province.
The site dates back to the early 1900s, home to a single-storey building known as The Union, which was renamed the Post Office Hotel in 1901.
The pub’s history took a dramatic turn in January 1932, when a pre-dawn blaze ripped through the timber structure, destroying it completely.
The fire was the biggest seen in Cloncurry in years, drawing much of the town’s population into the street to watch the flames, a newspaper reported at the time.
The blaze left little salvageable. Staff and boarders – 17 people in all – narrowly escaped, reportedly saving only the clothes on their backs.
The fire marked the end of the original single-storey building, but from its ashes arose the two-storey structure that remains today, anchoring a region shaped by mining, contractors, pastoral work and transport.
The freehold going concern is being marketed by ResortBrokers, featuring 33 accommodation rooms, a public bar, restaurant and eight gaming machines on a prominent 2649-square-metre corner site.
The sale follows several whirlwind years for current owner and first-time publican, Ben Lowmow, who stepped into the role during the uncertain post-pandemic period in 2022 and set about reviving the ageing hotel with a focus on food, service and amenity.
“Yeah, well, it was definitely a first for me,” Lowmow says.
“We came from Townsville … we got let loose after COVID, and thought we’d give this a crack, and do something for ourselves, and it turned out bigger and better than what we ever thought it would be,” he says.
“Coming out of COVID, everyone was wanting to get back to the pubs and go out for dinners and stuff again, so we definitely have that nice influx of people coming in at the start, and we’ve just seen really good growth since.”
Lowmow brought a hospitality background to the role, having worked as a chef and in resort operations before taking over the pub with his fiancee, who drew from her cafe experience.
Their focus since arriving has been on continual upgrades, including refurbishing the kitchen, refreshing the dining room, improving the gaming area and installing an 80kW solar panel system.
“When we come out here, we didn’t even have a commercial dishwasher,” he says. “We gutted the whole kitchen and redid the floors, put in chargrills, put in new freezers and bench spaces … the list goes on.”
The well-established pub – offered to the market as tenanted – can continue to operate with local management and staff, including backpackers with hospitality experience, to deliver “strong, reliable income” across three income streams.
“It makes it so much easier now that we can just do a post on Facebook and get so many backpackers that already have this experience,” he adds, reflecting on how this wasn’t the case when they started.
For Lowmow, the real reward of life behind the bar has been the people who call Cloncurry home.
“Getting to know everybody, like you get people that come through all the time, but the local community here is just, you can’t beat it,” he says.
After welcoming their first child, the couple have decided to return to the east coast to be closer to family. “But the reason for the sale is we just had a little girl,” Lowmow says.
The sale comes as Cloncurry sits on the cusp of a major economic boom, after the Eva Copper Mine Project – located just 75 kilometres from town – received final approval this week.
The mine is forecast to become Queensland’s largest copper operation and contribute up to $17 billion to the state’s economy, generating around 3000 jobs a year and $24 million in annual regional spending – an economic uplift expected to flow directly through local hospitality and accommodation businesses.
The green light follows a $600 million federal and state rescue package for mining giant Glencore, set to keep copper processing facilities operational after struggling to keep its Mount Isa smelter open, stabilising the region’s jobs for now, and remaining competitive with China and the US.
“Cloncurry is a key regional hub for outback Queensland and remains consistently busy in terms of occupancy amid a scarcity of accommodation,” says listing agent Leah Bursztynowicz of ResortBrokers’ North Queensland.
“Well-run properties like the Post Office Hotel are thriving in these circumstances.”
Bursztynowicz describes the opportunity, which boasts accommodation expansion potential, as a rare chance to secure an iconic hotel “for the price of an average metro house”.
Co-agent David Faiers agrees, saying the housing affordability crisis has seen buyers increasingly drawn to “a home-plus-business combination” in regional locations.
“Regional accommodation properties for sale are not lasting long in the current market. Buyers are snapping them up very quickly,” he says.
“Savvy vendors are making the most of prevailing market conditions, and purchasers are acquiring businesses that offer much greater returns than their counterparts in metro areas.”
