{"id":490324,"date":"2026-01-03T21:45:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/490324\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T21:45:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:45:18","slug":"historic-gippsland-pub-shut-for-summer-for-the-first-time-in-almost-140-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/490324\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic Gippsland pub shut for summer for the first time in almost 140 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

For almost 140 years, there has been a cold drink waiting at one of Gippsland’s most iconic watering holes.<\/p>\n

But this summer, for the first time in living memory, the taps have run dry.<\/p>\n

The Royal Standard Hotel in Toora, a small town about 2.5 hours south-east of Melbourne, has been closed since February 2025.<\/p>\n

It has left the town’s residents without a place to gather, celebrate or stop for a drink after a long drive for the first time since 1889.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

A historic photo of the Royal Standard Hotel (pictured right) next to its counterpart the Railway Hotel (pictured left). (ABC News: Rachael Lucas)<\/p>\n

“It makes me feel sick for the town,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

pub freehold owner Adrian Darby said.<\/p>\n

Mr Darby has been involved with the pub for about 15 years, and said the venue’s recent setback came after the previous publican was forced to liquidate the business.<\/p>\n

“It makes me feel helpless that I haven’t been able to do anything because my hands have been tied by a lot of different government and private entities,” Mr Darby said.<\/p>\n

It marked the first time in the pub’s history that drinks were not served during the Christmas and New Year period.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

While Toora and its other businesses thrive on Stanley Street, its pub does not, leading to a different feel for many. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)<\/p>\n

A difficult road<\/p>\n

Mr Darby owns the pub building and the land it sits on and leases the venue to the publican.<\/p>\n

But after the pub’s most recent closure, Mr Darby said he lost about $50,000 worth of stock, with the venue remaining empty ever since.<\/p>\n

The pub has been beset by problems in recent years, including a severe storm in September 2024 that ripped bricks from the top of the building and damaged the balcony.<\/p>\n

In mid-2025, a council inspection deemed it unsafe to reopen.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Toora Pub suffered severe storm damage in September 2024, where the roof and balconies were affected, resulting in council deeming the building unsafe. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)<\/p>\n

Mr Darby said insurance disputes were ongoing, with repair costs proving a major sticking point.<\/p>\n

“It’s the busy season, which is crazy that it’s shut; I was hoping it would’ve been opened months ago,” Mr Darby said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Toora man Morgan Cripps says he is shocked his local pub still stands in the dark. (ABC News: Rachael Lucas)<\/p>\n

Local impact<\/p>\n

For Toora residents like Morgan Cripps, the closure cuts deep, both personally and historically.<\/p>\n

“You come down a nice street and at the end you’ve got a big jail around the pub; it’s a bit of a shock,” he said of the restrictive temporary fencing surrounding the building.<\/p>\n

“Takes it to heart a bit \u2026 it’s a bit of an eyesore; it would be nice to get it back on track.”<\/p>\n

“It just used to be good, being able to knock off after a hot day’s work and come somewhere local and have a beer.”<\/p>\n

Mr Cripps’s grandparents once owned the hotel.<\/p>\n

“They’d be turning in their graves knowing that it’s closed,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s definitely affected the town, definitely a lot of the locals are kicking up a stink about it.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Long-time Toora resident Trevor Mack says the pub is more than just somewhere to grab a drink.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Toora local Trevor Mack says the pub has been more than just a watering hole to the community. (ABC News: Rachael Lucas)<\/p>\n

“It’s not just a watering hole. It’s our restaurant, our accommodation, our entertainment venue,” Mr Mack said.<\/p>\n

“It’s the heart of our town and it hasn’t been open for some time now, so the town suffers because of that.<\/p>\n

“Especially this time of year, the pub is alive. Sometimes even locals have to book to get a table.”<\/p>\n

Where’s the beer and bread?<\/p>\n

Anne Roussac-Hoyne, who owns the local bakery, said the pub’s closure came as a surprise.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Business owner Anne Roussac-Hoyne says the pub’s closure “came out of the blue”. (ABC News: Rachael Lucas)<\/p>\n

“I think everyone understands how important a pub is to a town’s life,” she said.<\/p>\n

Ms Roussac-Hoyne has invested significant funds in the bakery but has been unable to find anyone to steer the business for her.<\/p>\n

Like the pub, the bakery has been part of the town for generations \u2014 two long-standing fixtures now sitting quiet at the same time.<\/p>\n

“With no bread and no beer, we’re missing some pretty key ingredients,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ms Roussac-Hoyne said.\"A<\/p>\n

Toora woman Jennifer Marchington says every town needs a country pub. (ABC News: Rachael Lucas)<\/p>\n

Toora woman Jennifer Marchington said she missed going to the pub dearly.<\/p>\n

“You couldn’t ask for a better little place than a country pub; every town needs a country pub,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

she said.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges, many locals remain hopeful the pub will reopen, restored and repaired.<\/p>\n

For now, the Toora pub waits: locked up, fenced off and silent, while the town waits eagerly along with it.<\/p>\n

“I had to ask somebody what was going on, and they said to me ‘the pub’s closed’, and I couldn’t fathom why,” Ms Marchington said.<\/p>\n

“It’s gone now, are they going to open again? You will see people come out in absolute hordes of support in getting it back open again.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Australian Hotels Association Victoria general manager of corporate and public affairs Matt Dawson said it was important to note that a pub’s value within the community wasn’t just confined to what goes on inside it.<\/p>\n

“From sporting clubs to schools, Victoria\u2019s pubs donate nearly $30 million a year to community groups each year,” Mr Dawson said.<\/p>\n

“Our <\/strong>patron survey revealed that nearly 85 per cent of Victorians considered their pub to be ‘very important’ to their social life.<\/p>\n

“If a pub closes its door, it’s not just a business lost, but an integral piece of the town gone.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For almost 140 years, there has been a cold drink waiting at one of Gippsland’s most iconic watering…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":490325,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2106,4740,7738,990,24580,152630,50,221161,65512,221159,221160,22645,221158,9963],"class_list":{"0":"post-490324","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-alcohol","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-beer","11":"tag-food","12":"tag-hotel","13":"tag-liquidation","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-pub-closure","16":"tag-regional-victoria","17":"tag-royal-standard-hotel","18":"tag-south-gippsland","19":"tag-spirits","20":"tag-toora-pub","21":"tag-wine"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115833361386316571","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}