White Cliffs Hotel has been named Best Bush Pub by the Australian Hotels Association, NSW.
Story + Photos Stuart Walmsley
At the end of a 35°C day, a truck pulls up outside the White Cliffs Hotel, and a group of Filipinos wearing hi-vis pile out looking like they’ve been dropped on the moon. “They’ve only been in the country about a week,” publican Sarah Ker says. “They’re here doing work on our Telstra network, so they’re getting a true outback experience.”
Whether you’re a bemused Filipino, or from anywhere else in the world, outback experiences don’t get much more authentic than White Cliffs. It’s a place where Australian eccentricity meets ingenuity, all in the name of opal fever.
Due to the extreme heat and mining skillset, many of the 150 or so residents live underground in dugouts, and the desert landscape is pockmarked by around 50,000 disused diggings. In such an inhospitable environment, hospitality is very important, and no-one appreciates this more than Sarah. The 51-year-old grew up near here on Tarella station, which her grandfather purchased in the 1950s, and where her brother Jack still runs a few thousand sheep.
“There’s something about this place, I just really love it,” she says, as a group of guineafowl stroll up Keraro Road. “It’ll always be home.”
This story excerpt is from Issue #156
Outback Magazine: August/September 2024
