O'brien's Hotel

O'brien's Hotel - Narooma

Illawarra Mercury

Monday December 31, 2001

A few years ago a tourist promotion campaign was launched using car bumper stickers that posed the question: ``Where the hell is Narooma?"

It was a rhetorical question because the pretty seaside resort area has been a holiday playground for people from Victoria and Canberra for many years.

About an hour's drive along the Princes Hwy south from Batemans Bay, Narooma's delights are being increasingly discovered by Sydney holidaymakers.

In the 1860s, gold discoveries at Mt Dromedary and the Gulph field saw the area's population explode - the perfect catalyst for starting a pub.

There are two hotels almost side by side in Narooma - Lynch's and O'Brien's.

O'Brien's started life as the Narooma Hotel in 1886 and today its renovated balcony provides drinkers and diners with a spectacular view over the entrance to Wagonga Inlet and the infamous Narooma Bar.

In 1911, John Patrick and Dora Hyland took over the licence of the Tilba Tilba Hotel and prospered before Dora followed a hunch and bought the Narooma Hotel in 1918.

At the time it was a gracious one-storey weatherboard structure with the best view in town.

There were sweeping stairs up from the water, but only three bedrooms for guests.

By 1932 Hyland's, as it was then known, was a sprawling hotel with a second storey facing the Princes Hwy and shops and a billiard saloon on the ground floor.

There was a dining room that could sit up to 100, all formally attired for dinner.

Before the start of the ``season" each year, John or Dora would go to Sydney to check out the latest in catering at the big hotels.

Hyland's was renowned for its excellent table and guests would be offered a complimentary dozen oysters before sitting down to the fine fare.

Interestingly enough, Imelda Lynch, the owner of the opposition establishment, was a teetotaller and made a pact with brother-in-law John Patrick Hyland that if they were both going to run hotels, neither would drink.

The old hotel building was demolished in 1982 and replaced with a modern tavern-style hotel, but its traditional warm welcome remains.

One of the real joys on a visit to O'Brien's Hotel on a perfect summer day is to spend a quiet few hours on the balcony drinking in the magnificent view.

This is a pub that comes alive during the Christmas holiday period and has a well-deserved reputation for being family-oriented.

There are monthly karaoke nights, where the kids are actively encouraged to get up and join in the fun.

The Raw Prawn bistro offers a huge range of meals, from seafood to steaks at moderate prices and is usually packed out during the holidays.

Paul O'Brien and his family took over the hotel three years ago and have gone to great lengths to keep the family-oriented atmosphere.

O'Brien's is a must stopover for anyone travelling through the town, the view a tonic for the long road ahead.

O'BRIENS HOTEL - NAROOMA

BUILT: 1886.

BEST FEATURE: The magnificent view from the bistro bar balcony.

BEERS ON TAP: Tooheys Old and New, Maxim, VB, Reschs, Guinness, Kent Brown, Carlton Draught and Hahn Light.

FOOD: A large bistro with a comprehensive range of meals for lunch and dinner open seven days a week.

BEER GARDEN: Yes.

FAMILY FRIENDLY: This hotel has a reputation for catering especially for families.