The Cordalba Commercial Hotel, a rural pub 13 kilometres north-west of Childers, Queensland, reopened this week after almost a decade in the dark.
On 22 November locals converged on the much-missed Queen Street pub to celebrate its much-needed return.
Previous pub stalwarts were happy to share stories of their beloved local from back in the 1970s with anyone who would listen.
While The Cordalba still sports its original golden, glass chandeliers and black-and-white photographs, it has received a fresh coat of paint and new furniture.
Surrounded by sugar cane plantations, the pub was first built in 1895 and has been owned over the years by a list of colourful characters, including Maude Sheehan, who doubled as a nude model and whose portrait still keeps watch over the bar.
Sheehan was known for her “ample build” and “fiery red hair, which matched an easily aroused temper”, according to the Bundaberg Regional Heritage Group.
The town of Cordalba was once home to seven pubs, but following a string of fires was reduced to only one.
RPData shows the pub was bought in 1999 for $391,000, in 2002 for $500,000 and a year later sold for $635,000.
It last transacted in 2016 for an undisclosed amount.
PubTIC was unable to make contact with the management prior to publication.
