Retired couple reopen Beltana's Royal Victoria Hotel pub in SA after decades
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Wander around the remote Flinders Ranges township of Beltana in the early hours and "ghost town" comes to mind.
But when Jan Ferguson walks out of the 1870s Royal Victoria Hotel with an "open" sign, it's clear this town isn't ready to be consigned to history.
"We really struggle with the words abandoned, ghost, deserted," she said.
"There are 30 people who live here. If everybody was here in their holiday houses, that would grow to 65.
"It's managed to survive, you know, where a lot of towns like this haven't."
Jan and her husband Chris Ferguson are at the centre of Beltana's latest revival story, the South Australian town which lies 540 kilometres north of Adelaide.
"We've always had a passion for the hotel," Ms Ferguson said.
"When it did come on the market, we had a conversation about how old we were and decided, 'Oh, you know, we'll do it anyway.'"
While the hotel was used as a home in the 1990s, it still took two and a half years to bring the main rooms back to their former glory and install modern amenities.
"We didn't realise it at the start, but every door was a different width or height, every architrave was a different width, and every skirting was a different width," former teacher Mr Ferguson said.
"We've done seven of the 17 rooms, so there's a lot to go, and we had to open it up as a hotel to bring some money back in," Ms Ferguson said.
While being behind the bar is a change for Ms Ferguson, who has worked as a public servant and union employee, it's certainly not her first renovation job.
Ms Ferguson's worked on eight Beltana buildings, including the police station, which was her first home after she was married and includes a unique backyard shed.
"It's the cells of the police station. We stored things in them because it was the only shed," she said.
"It was a rations station for Aboriginal people when they were taken off their land, so the history is not all great, but it's a beautifully restored example of cells at that time."
Beltana's past and its traditional owners
Long before the township was established in 1873, the land was home to the Adnyamathanha people for centuries, and still is.
Like her grandfather, Kuyani-Adnyamathanha elder Beverley Patterson grew up here.
"When we were away from here, it felt like a loneliness living in the towns, and I think the children felt it too, and my grandchildren," Ms Patterson said.
"We love this place and we're not going anywhere."
While European settlers changed many things for traditional owners, the town holds mostly good memories for Ms Patterson.
She remembers attending the tiny primary school, which had one teacher for all the different year levels.
"This little school up there was full of kids," Ms Patterson said.
"I can picture everything in this place. Everybody lived together. There was no separation, you know, we were all friends."
Beltana was established to service the pastoral and mining industries, with its population peaking at about 400.
At one stage, it was at the end of the railway that opened up the north of the state.
Railway days, roadhouses and keeping history alive
When the rail line was shifted away from Beltana, the station became a bustling general store and gathering spot.
"Friday nights were big," said railway station owner Ron Tarr.
"It was a dirt road, one of the worst dirt roads in Australia, and if you didn't stop here, you're an idiot, you know."
Mr Tarr and his wife Jan, moved to Beltana from Adelaide in the early 1980s to run and live in the general store.
"It was a bit rustic, but it was just an adventure … it was great," Ms Tarr said.
When a new road bypassed Beltana, the Tarrs built the roadhouse, setting up a new gathering spot, which they ran until they retired in 2013.
But their passion for the railway station and preserving the state-heritage-listed town continues.
"You owe it to the building. You can't let them fall apart," Mr Tarr said.
"We've got it up to a reasonable standard and probably got another 100 years in it."
With the reopening of the pub, Beltana people have a place to gather once again.
"Beltana's story needs to be told," Ms Ferguson said.
"And unless you have a business and a meeting point, you don't have a place to actually meet and share all of that history."
And to the surprise and delight of the new publicans, it's not just visitors popping in, with locals from surrounding properties starting a Friday afternoon get-together at the Royal Victoria Hotel.
The sessions are unlikely to get too out of hand, though, with the hotel's owners sticking to the traditional early closing time.
"It's quite fun to say 'six o'clock closing, we're not serving anymore,'" Ms Ferguson said.
"I don't reckon it would have ever closed at six; however, that was the law at the time," she said.
"This is a lifestyle business for us. We want to have some fun, as well as the people who walk through the door having some fun."
By Kerry Staight
But when Jan Ferguson walks out of the 1870s Royal Victoria Hotel with an "open" sign, it's clear this town isn't ready to be consigned to history.
"We really struggle with the words abandoned, ghost, deserted," she said.
"There are 30 people who live here. If everybody was here in their holiday houses, that would grow to 65.
Publicans Chris and Jan Ferguson outside the Royal Victoria Hotel with their dog after reopening the pub. (ABC Landline: Carl Saville)
"It's managed to survive, you know, where a lot of towns like this haven't."
Jan and her husband Chris Ferguson are at the centre of Beltana's latest revival story, the South Australian town which lies 540 kilometres north of Adelaide.
Couple's decades-long connection to pub
More than 65 years after the Royal Victoria Hotel served last drinks, it's reopened its doors after the retired couple, who met in Beltana in the 1970s, bought and revived the pub with the help of family."We've always had a passion for the hotel," Ms Ferguson said.
"When it did come on the market, we had a conversation about how old we were and decided, 'Oh, you know, we'll do it anyway.'"
While the hotel was used as a home in the 1990s, it still took two and a half years to bring the main rooms back to their former glory and install modern amenities.
"We didn't realise it at the start, but every door was a different width or height, every architrave was a different width, and every skirting was a different width," former teacher Mr Ferguson said.
"We've done seven of the 17 rooms, so there's a lot to go, and we had to open it up as a hotel to bring some money back in," Ms Ferguson said.
Ms Ferguson serves patrons inside the newly reopened Royal Victoria Hotel in Beltana. (ABC Landline: Kerry Staight)
While being behind the bar is a change for Ms Ferguson, who has worked as a public servant and union employee, it's certainly not her first renovation job.
Ms Ferguson's worked on eight Beltana buildings, including the police station, which was her first home after she was married and includes a unique backyard shed.
"It's the cells of the police station. We stored things in them because it was the only shed," she said.
"It was a rations station for Aboriginal people when they were taken off their land, so the history is not all great, but it's a beautifully restored example of cells at that time."
Long before the township was established in 1873, the land was home to the Adnyamathanha people for centuries, and still is.
Like her grandfather, Kuyani-Adnyamathanha elder Beverley Patterson grew up here.
The Fergusons are behind the recently restored bar at the Royal Victoria Hotel. (ABC Landline: Carl Saville)
"When we were away from here, it felt like a loneliness living in the towns, and I think the children felt it too, and my grandchildren," Ms Patterson said.
"We love this place and we're not going anywhere."
While European settlers changed many things for traditional owners, the town holds mostly good memories for Ms Patterson.
"This little school up there was full of kids," Ms Patterson said.
"I can picture everything in this place. Everybody lived together. There was no separation, you know, we were all friends."
Beltana was established to service the pastoral and mining industries, with its population peaking at about 400.
At one stage, it was at the end of the railway that opened up the north of the state.
When the rail line was shifted away from Beltana, the station became a bustling general store and gathering spot.
"Friday nights were big," said railway station owner Ron Tarr.
"It was a dirt road, one of the worst dirt roads in Australia, and if you didn't stop here, you're an idiot, you know."
Mr Tarr and his wife Jan, moved to Beltana from Adelaide in the early 1980s to run and live in the general store.
"It was a bit rustic, but it was just an adventure … it was great," Ms Tarr said.
But their passion for the railway station and preserving the state-heritage-listed town continues.
"You owe it to the building. You can't let them fall apart," Mr Tarr said.
"We've got it up to a reasonable standard and probably got another 100 years in it."
With the reopening of the pub, Beltana people have a place to gather once again.
"Beltana's story needs to be told," Ms Ferguson said.
"And unless you have a business and a meeting point, you don't have a place to actually meet and share all of that history."
And to the surprise and delight of the new publicans, it's not just visitors popping in, with locals from surrounding properties starting a Friday afternoon get-together at the Royal Victoria Hotel.
The sessions are unlikely to get too out of hand, though, with the hotel's owners sticking to the traditional early closing time.
"It's quite fun to say 'six o'clock closing, we're not serving anymore,'" Ms Ferguson said.
"I don't reckon it would have ever closed at six; however, that was the law at the time," she said.
"This is a lifestyle business for us. We want to have some fun, as well as the people who walk through the door having some fun."
By Kerry Staight
