Buying the local hotel as an outlet for his quality beef has allowed packaging magnate Charles Hanna to oversee a successful paddock-to-plate production.
Story By Kirsty McKenzie
Local lore around the village of Willow Tree in the Liverpool Plains region of north-western New South Wales has it that packaging magnate Charles Hanna was so determined to get a decent steak that he bought the pub. Charles himself says it wasn’t quite like that, but admits that when he and his wife, Cheryl, bought Colly Creek station on the outskirts of Willow Tree in 2005, all inquiries about good local dining drew blanks.
“Our family is pretty passionate about food,” he says. “So when we started visiting Colly Creek frequently it was natural that we hoped for a good nearby restaurant. Locals told us that there was no such thing, but that they would patronise one if it did exist. So when the Willow Tree Inn came on the market in 2010 we bought it.”
This story excerpt is from Issue #94
Outback Magazine: Apr/May 2014
