THE ROYALS “IT WAS PRETTY REMARKABLE IN THOSE EARLY DAYS FOR A WOMAN TO RUN A PUB, BECAUSE WOMEN WEREN’T ALLOWED IN HOTELS; AND ISN’T FUNNY THAT THE TOWN OF HARRISVILLE IS DOMINATED BY WOMEN IN BUSINESS, THERE ARE LOTS OF LITTLE BUSINESSES UP THE ROAD RUN BY WOMEN,” MONIKA EXPLAINED. <strong>QHA</strong> REVIEW | 50 Unperturbed by the alleged paranormal activity, and over a cup of tea, the current owners decided to dive head first into the hospitality industry. Following in the footsteps of its original licensee, the Royal Hotel’s publican is another woman, Monika Patrick, who together with her husband Steve, have owned the hotel for the past 10 years. “We accidentally fell into the place,” Monika said. “Over a cup of tea I said to Steve, ‘maybe we should make an offer’, and never in a million years did I think they would accept the offer, and then we had to get finance. “So that’s how it all started, and when we bought the hotel, it didn’t have a licence and was shut down for a couple of years, but it was one of the oldest pubs in the area. “It was pretty remarkable in those early days for a woman to run a pub, because women weren’t allowed in hotels; and isn’t funny that the town of Harrisville is dominated by women in business, there are lots of little businesses up the road run by women,” Monika explained. The Royal Hotel is an old timber building with traditional Queenslander features such as wraparound verandahs and French doors adding to its character and historical charm. Set amongst a quaint country village, the Royal Hotel is a destination pub perfect for weary travellers. “It’s a small little village, and back in the day it was a thriving town which had a train line running through it. It’s actually quite pretty,” Monika explained. “We have a camel farm out here as well as camel milk and facial products. We have a hydroponic farm for herbs too - so it’s a country atmosphere out here. “We’re on 1.6 acres and we back on to a lovely creek so we get people coming to camp. They can go to the creek, they can kayak for a bit. So people come for a trip out, so it’s definitely a destination pub.” Focusing on the history of the town, the Patricks purchased three train carriages which have attracted the interest of film production companies. “We bought three red rattler train carriages and we managed to renovate the middle one and turn it into accommodation, but we haven’t been able to do the other two. Production teams come out to inspect the train carriages, which are beautiful, and the two end carriages still have their seats intact and are in good condition. One lady came in the other week who was also from a production company, and she wanted to use the trains for a horror show,” Monika said. As a destination pub, the Royal Hotel offers not only a beautiful backdrop in a country setting, it also offers plentiful servings of delicious food and good old-fashioned country service with a smile. “The setting is gorgeous, all our staff are amazing. I’ve had them for eight years and they offer a really nice welcome for our customers. We greet them with a smile on our faces and we have great food. We offer a great package and we’ve developed a really good reputation here at the Royal Hotel.”
THE ROYALS <strong>QHA</strong> REVIEW | 51