Old Canberra Inn in Canberra, Canberra, Australia | Inn

Welcome to the Old Canberra Inn, Canberra, Australia. The Old Canberra Inn was built in 1857. It is constructed with round timber poles and framing, clad with handmade vertical timber slabs and roofed with corrugated iron. The original roofing was split shingles.  The detached kitchen and out houses at the back of the Inn are of vertical slab construction. The Googong stables, which were erected nearby after relocation from the Googong Dam site (in the late 70s), are of interest for their slab wall construction.

Classified by the National Trust of Australia, the buildings provide excellent examples of vertical slab cladded pole construction, techniques characteristic of the pioneer era. The use of the building as a bar and restaurant is compatible with the historical aspects of the building and will ensure its preservation. National Trust of Australia (ACT)  The Canberra Inn - 1887 : John Read with his wife Ellen and son First licenced in 1876, the Canberra Inn was the property of Joseph Shumack. He bought the land in 1854 and built his slab house in 1857. The Queanbeyan Age of May 10 1876 reported that Mr A.J. Cunningham and Mr W. Davis raised objections in the licensing court, but Mr Byrne, a magistrate hearing the application said, “no protest had been filed by the local inhabitants” and “the applicant,” Mr Shumack, “was a very respectable person.”

When the licence expired in 1887, the property was used to grow wheat and cereal crops by Shumack's nephew, John Read. “The Pines,” as it became known, remained the Read family's home until 1974, when the Commonwealth Government resumed the lease. Yass- Queanbeyan Mail Coach 1910:  The Old Canberra Inn became a regular stopping place for the Queanbeyan-Yass mail coach. Welcome refreshments were served to weary travellers. A visitor in 1878 reported that the Inn was “deserving of wide renown for its excellent beer" and described the fare as “first class.”

Hearty meals included soups and roasted meats, fresh homegrown fruit and vegetables, homemade bread, pastries and preserves. They were prepared in the separate kitchen, which is still in use today.

Detached kitchens were a feature of early homesteads as they reduced smoke, odours and fire risks posed by cooking over open hearths.