Nothing but the Pub

Back in the 1890’s the various colonies of the antipodes got together and drew up a joint constitution. After a few referenda they’d all decided to live together as one. Being old school, they sought parental permission and the Poms passed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act for us in 1900 and the whole thing was consummated on January 1 st , 1901. It’s article 44 of this constitution that’s been forcing the dual national parliamentarians out of their offices and back to reality, but let’s get onto another part. Further down, Article 125 of the Constitution mandated the creation of a national capital somewhere within NSW but more than 100 miles from Sydney. It took ‘em nine years to get their shit together and actually settle on the Yass-Canberra. But before this was finally chosen, a few other towns went real, I mean really real, close to getting the gig. One of these ‘Coulda been Capitals’, one of the very last to slip off the list was Dalgety. A bu...

(I wrote this for my column in Australian Motorcyclist Magazine a couple of years back. From being a damn fine pub then, it's only got better. If you're a traveller this is a good place to visit, if you're a publican it's a must visit  to see just how good a country pub can be!) When a publican recommends another pub to me, I listen. When three in a row tell me I simply must drop into a certain place, there’s no chance I’m going to miss it. Mark at Yeoval had told me make sure I visited, and then Theo at Mendooran had underlined that I must not head straight up to Coonabarabran but to detour to the Royal at Binnaway. After leaving Mendooran I dropped in at the stud farm of a part owner of Protectionist, winner of the Melbourne Cup in 2014 and John and Julie tell me I just have to catch up with Sean and Kylie at the Binnaway Royal So I head north out from their place and take the eastern turn for some very sweet riding into this town. The mid-morning s...