Operating a pub is no mean feat, but try doing it while running a farm at the same time.
That is exactly what farmers Karen and Rowan Alcock have done in their town of Bemboka on the New South Wales far south coast.
The local pub, based nearly 500 kilometres south of Sydney, spent nearly six months on the market without a buyer.
Rowan Alcock says the pub has not been this busy in 30 years. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)
Bemboka has about 600 residents, with the next closest pub in Bega, 35km away.
Locals fears their pub would not reopen, until the Alcocks decided to take it on.
“This community needs this. Do we need it? Probably not. But let’s just give it a crack and see how we go,” Ms Alcock said.
“What’s a town without a pub?”
Loading…Having a crack
The Alcocks run a 526-hectare beef cattle farm, just 10 minutes from the pub.
Their workload has significantly increased as they continue to juggle jobs on the farm.
“There’s a lot of catching up to do because that pub has eaten a hell of a lot of time,” Mr Alcock said.
“Over the last three months, we’ve spent very little time here on the property,” Ms Alcock said.
“Absolute essential things only.”
Work on the family farm has taken a back seat since Karen and Rowan Alcock bought the pub. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
A primary motivator for the Alcocks in taking on the pub was to ensure there was a place for locals to gather.
Many businesses in Bemboka’s main street have closed over the years, including petrol stations, cafes, a grocer and a bank.
The Bemboka pie shop and post office remain open, but many locals have to drive to Bega to do their shopping.
“The town used to be really booming,” Mr Alcock said.
“It had a lot of shops, had service stations, had a grocery store, but over time, things have just gone backward.”
Bemboka and the surrounding area have also experienced back-to-back bushfires.
The Yankees Gap bushfire swept through the region in 2018, burning along the Alcocks’ boundary.
The Yankees Gap bushfire in 2018 was followed by Black Summer in 2019. (Supplied: Rachel Helmreich)
Then came Black Summer in late 2019, which burnt all but 4 hectares of the Alcocks’ property, costing $1.3 million in damages.
The disasters have given the Alcocks further motivation to ensure the pub stays open as a place for locals to feel connection and find support.
“Some of the fellas that come in of an afternoon, they just want to talk about anything,” Ms Alcock said.
“Whether it be a disaster, or how dry it is or how wet it is or what the footy’s doing.
“They don’t have to spend a fortune, but they have a coffee, or a beer, a glass of water and a yak.”
Two bushfires swept through the Alcocks’ property in two years. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
A family affair
Their daughters, Tash and Jacinta, have even come home to help.
Tash, a 27-year-old agronomist, and her fiance Sam are back in Bemboka full-time to lend a hand both on the farm and at the pub.
They recall how their mother Karen first raised the idea to buy the pub.
Tash Alcock has returned to Bemboka to help on the family farm and at the pub. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)
“Mum always came up with the crazy idea that we’d buy a cafe or something in town and we all had the skids on,” Tash said.
“We were like, ‘No, we’re not doing that. It’s a terrible idea.’ But when it all came down to it, we thought we really should do this.
“Sometimes I wonder whether we’ve lost the plot.”
This is echoed by Karen and Rowan, but they say the work gets easier everyday.
“We probably should have done it 10 years ago when we were a bit younger,” Rowan said.
“We’re in the groove a little bit more every day,” Karen said.
The Alcocks have opened a cafe at the pub. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
Their other daughter, Jacinta, flew home from Darwin to help with opening night.
The 29-year-old said she was proud of her parents for taking on the pub to support the town’s social life and help combat loneliness.
“We’re 40 minutes from Bega, but it can feel a lot further away then that,”
Jacinta said.
“You can very easily get isolated, very easily.
“Especially since COVID and during the bushfires, places like the pub were just integral.”
Jacinta Alcock, 29, flew home from Darwin to help with the pub’s opening night. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
To the rescue
The pub has stood in the town for decades, but the Alcocks decided to renovate the building and make it a cafe as well.
The pub is a long-standing business in the town. (Supplied: Noel Butlin Archives, ANU)
Locals, such as Jenny Anderson, said this provided more options for residents in the area and tourists passing through.
“Communities like this need to have somewhere to gather,” she said.
Like many locals in Bemboka, Jenny Anderson is thankful the pub has reopened and includes a cafe. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
“You don’t need to be a drinker, you might enjoy a good meal, you might enjoy a cup a coffee.
“And to be able to have that choice is really important in a community like this.
“To have a local farming community come in and rescue us all has been really great.”
The pub has been described by some locals as feeling like “home”. (ABC South East NSW: Floss Adams)
Another resident, Julie Ringland, said the pub’s reopening had been a lifesaver for the town.
“We’ve all missed it, and [were] waiting for this day to come,” she said.
“It’s just got a beautiful vibe. If you walk into it, it’s home.”
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