Women take centre stage at Barcaldine’s Shakey Pub.
Story + Photos Mandy McKeesick
On the walls of Barcaldine’s Hotel Shakespeare there is a black and white photo showing a crowded bar of men. The only women to be seen are 3 barmaids. Today, beneath the photo, the tables have turned, a group of ladies are on the drinking side of the bar and the ‘Shakey’ is unapologetically a pub with a strong feminine focus.
“Locals call it the posh pub,” owner and licensee Sharon Broughton says. “I’ve had some men come in the main door, complain there are too many women and walk straight out the other door. It’s hilarious, but the tourists love it. It’s quiet, there are no unruly drunks, we have a range of wines, pub experience rooms, lots of history and good food. Over my dead body will there be a parmy in my pub.”
Sharon is the latest in a long line of indomitable women at the helm of the Shakey, which started life at Pine Hill, Qld, between Emerald and Alpha. When the rail line from Rockhampton moved further west, so did the pub. Original owners George Paige and Emma Jane Shakspeare pulled it down and rebuilt the 2-storied establishment in Barcaldine in 1886. Acting as a Cobb & Co station, it fed and watered travellers. Sometime before 1889 ownership passed solely to Emma, it acquired an extra ‘e’ and became the Hotel Shakespeare.
This story excerpt is from Issue #157
Outback Magazine: October/November 2024
