If you’re after old-school service, country character and a few rough diamonds, make your way to the Mumby Pub in Western Australia.
Story By Fleur Bainger
Like many in his trade, Leigh Edwards acquired quite a taste for country pubs during his 28 years as a shearer. Always an obliging patron, he eventually decided he’d better take his hobby a bit more seriously. “All shearers do is go to the pub at night, and I always wanted to be a yardie [also known as a glassie or busboy]. I thought the only way I could do that is buy a pub,” he says, with an ever-so-subtle twinkle in his eye.
The Mumby Pub is the main attraction in Mumballup, a tiny hamlet in Western Australia’s south-west. There’s little around aside from dairies, sheep farms, orchards and forests, but no matter: it’s a destination in itself.
This story excerpt is from Issue #90
Outback Magazine: Aug/Sept 2013
