The History of The Dululu Hotel

The Dululu Hotel was originally constructed in Mount Morgan in 1928 and began life as Mrs. Thompson's Railway Boarding House but was razed to the ground by fire in July 1934.

At the time of the fire, the hotel was owned by Jospeh McMullen, but by April 1935 Sophia and James Duthie bought the land and erected a temporary bar on the site. Later that same year, Mrs Duthie was instructed by the Mount Morgan Licensing Court to construct a proper premises “for the benefit of travellers” and to shop trading as a “grog shop”.

In September 1935, James and Sophia Ruthie moved the building from Mount Morgan to Dululu and brought the pub back to life. With Sophia holding the hotel licence, it quickly became the heart of the local community, serving as a gathering place for residents and travellers alike. Sophia ran the hotel until her death in December 1949, when the licence transferred to her daughter and the Dululu stayed in the Duthie family for the next few decades, after which it was operated by a variety of owners. 

Floods and Fires

Over the years, The Dululu Hotel faced numerous challenges, including natural disasters. 

In January 2011, the timber and tin pub remained open during severe floods thanks to the functional design feature of being elevated on timber stumps. The floodwaters flowed beneath the building, without inundating its interior and became a welcome refuge for locals and travellers, highlighting its importance to the community. 

The owners of the pub at the time, Des and Sharon Catlin helped by their family, explained in one interview that this pub is more than just drinks, meals and beds. "We run a small grocery service for the locals and surrounding farms. We do the post office duties, ANZ Bank agency, freight depot, and provide a bus stop for interstate coach services and are the co-ordination contact for emergency services." 

At the time, the L-shaped timber-topped counter front was made from vertical sheets of galvanised iron. The walls are covered in a cluttered montage of old pub signs and posters, photos of champion Brahman bulls and nasty looking circular saw blades featuring colourful country scenes and the ubiquitous pool table and dart board.

The hotel suffered another major fire in September 2015 with a blaze igniting around midday. Despite the efforts of four fire crews, the building was extensively damaged, leaving the community devastated and the pub closed, until now. 

Rebuilding

Purchased in 2023 , by Nicole Newman and Rob Johnston, The Dululu Hotel has undergone extensive renovations, aiming to preserve the hotel's heritage while modernizing its facilities.

“To be frank, it was in a pretty poor state, not only did it have fire damage, but there was also a lot of water damage. Once you start a project like this, you have to realise that the engineering of 2024 is quite different to that of 1935.” Nicole said.

“There was a lot of work required initially, we had to rip up the floorboard, tear the walls down and rebrace everything to make it structurally sound. We tried to retain the original scope of what the building was. We’ve literally stripped it back to its bones and given it a new body.”

While the Dululu Hotel isn’t heritage listed, Nicole and Rob are conscious of its importance in the Dululu community and aimed to maintain some authenticity with it.