MULGA MAGIC

OUT ON THE LONG STRETCH BETWEEN NYNGAN AND BOURKE, ONE PUB STANDS ALONE: THE MULGA CREEK HOTEL, WHERE COLD BEER AND WARM HOSPITALITY NEVER RUN DRY

- WORDS AND PHOTOS GLENN MARSHALL

If you look at a map of western New South Wales, you'll find Byrock marked neatly between Nyngan and Bourke on the Mitchell Highway. But search for the town itself and you'll be hard-pressed to find much more than a single landmark: the Mulga Creek Hotel. In truth, Byrock and the pub are one and the same. This humble watering hole is the last surviving reminder of a once-busy staging post, and today it stands proudly as a beacon of hospitality in a harsh but beautiful landscape.

Back in the late 1800s, Byrock was alive with movement and noise. Cobb & Co coaches rattled through on their way between Bourke, Brewarrina and Cobar. The settlement boasted three pubs, a police station, a telegraph office and, later, a railway siding. Drovers, shearers, stockmen and coach passengers all stopped here for a meal, a bed or a stiff drink before pressing on into the outback.

But like many country towns, Byrock began to fade when the coaches stopped running and transport routes shifted. People moved away, the buildings closed and the town all but disappeared. Today, only the Mulga Creek Hotel remains - a solitary building that carries the spirit of Byrock forward. It’s both pub and caravan park, dining room and history lesson, and a reminder of how important these outposts have always been for those travelling the long, lonely roads of western NSW.