The owner of a closed but heritage-listed hotel in south-east Queensland has faced court and been penalised for failing to inform council it had done the work demanded in an enforcement notice.
The two-storey Post Office Hotel was built in 1889, sporting a Georgian parapet and second floor wrap-around balcony, on an arterial corner in Maryborough.
After some patchy years, it closed in 2018. Two years later, in 2020, it was reopened by friends of the owner, Samantha George and her daughter, Caitlin Harwood.
Late 2021 the pub was ignominiously listed for sale on Gumtree, but it traded on until closing its doors again in June 2023.
At the end of 2023 it was purchased by the current owner, who had intentions to redevelop the site in accordance with its heritage status.
In January last year a cast iron awning post fell from the veranda onto the footpath and road below, prompting a member of the public to complain to Fraser Coast Regional Council. Subsequent inspections of the 137-year-old structure, carried out with a representative of the Queensland Fire Department, discovered rot in the timber.
Concerned about the veranda’s structural integrity and for public safety, council officers took the precaution of cordoning off the affected area and installing safety measures that were “temporary in nature” to prevent public access.
The following day, 24 January, council issued an enforcement notice requiring installation of traffic and pedestrian control at the site, to replace the temporary bollards and plastic barrier. This required an application to council and approval to conduct works on a council road, typically taking up to 10 days to be processed.
The property owner was given until 6 February to complete the works, which were not done by the date specified.
The temporary measures installed by council went on to stay outside the hotel until mid-December, said to have cost council close to $17k to maintain.
However, the owner had engaged a registered structural engineer to undertake the works in March. Work was done to address the problem that had cause the fallen post and to prevent further failures of the veranda. Regrettably, council was not informed this work had been done until November of 2025.
This month the parties faced off in Maryborough Magistrates Court.
The defence presented evidence from the civil engineer, which demonstrated fairly prompt steps had been taken to mitigate public risk, stated to have been completed by 4 March and that there was no further risk to the public.
The hotel’s counsel also raised concerns about what was seen as an “unrealistic” timeframe to comply, with the initial enforcement notice allowing only eight days.
Magistrate John Milburn noted the fact the work done had not been drawn to council’s attention, furthering a “sustained” period of noncompliance that cost the council a considerable amount.
The Hotel pleaded guilty to contravening an enforcement notice.
Magistrate Milburn ordered they pay the council’s legal costs and a $5k fine, as well as $19,996 in compensation.
