A Beer In Every Pub

In my opinion one of the biggest losses from Cyclone Larry was the almost total destruction of the brilliant Peeramon Hotel. Rob and I had the oppurtunity to get away for a few hours so we decided to head up to the tablelands and visit a couple of pubs. This was my first visit to Peeramon since 2006 and it was interesting to see how the reconstruction effort, a slow process due to lack of funds, had changed this iconic north Queensland pub.

Peeramon is an old timber town on the Atherton Tablelands, not far from Lake Eacham. The trip off the road to Malanda is a nice drive through some remnant rainforest that opens out into gently rolling farmland, a perfect vista on a sunny day. We arrived at the pub and my initial impressions were that they’d done a pretty good job of rebuliding while preserving the look of the original hotel. The two storey section (front bar downstairs, residence? upstairs), although new, looked much like I remembered it.

I was a little disappointed that the front bar was closed but we made our way into the bar around the side and ordered a couple of beers. The side bar has obviously new a not quite finished. A number of large LCD TVs adorned the galvo walls and bits of wiring were hanging out of the ceiling and walls waiting for some sort of fitting. While I waited for the bloke behind the bar to go and find change for my $50 Rob went and found a table on the veranda and I had a little wander into the front bar. The front bar and dining room appear to be the only parts of the pub that survived the cyclone intact. I was very happy to see the telephone collection and motorbike still adorning the walls and the old fridge mounted taps still in use.

I joined Rob once my change arrived and we sat enjoying the view and mix of music that included some 80s one hit wonders, including “Wild Wild West” by the Escape Club and Australian pub rock classics, Cold Chisel of course. I must say I was surprised that Khe San was on the play list before midday. 😉 The couple of locals who were there were friendly and the lunch menu looked good. It was a pity that we had to be on our way. I’m alreay looking forward to my next visit to the Peeramon.

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How to get there:

Peeramon Hotel
Anderson Rd
Peeramon QLD 4885, Australia