Fire, floods, drought and thirsty bushrangers figure prominently in the rich folklore of this Victorian goldrush era bush pub.
Story Ged Bulmer Photos Bill Bachman
The Hilton family made their name establishing luxury hotels. But among the nearly 600 Hilton hotels and resorts dotted around the globe, one stands out as being a little off-brand. The Kevington Hilton is a rustic bush pub set in a remote river valley in north-eastern Victoria. Its isolated location and original goldrush era architecture are about as far from a typical Hilton hotel as you can get.
Publican Wayne Poole explains why locals and visitors refer to his historic bush pub as the ‘Kevington Hilton’. “Back in the early sixties, when my grandparents owned the hotel, one of the Hilton family (which was building a hotel in Melbourne at the time) ended up spending a weekend at the Kevington Hotel, and got on famously with my grandfather. They had a great time and when he left on the Sunday, he christened it the ‘Kevington Hilton’.”
This story excerpt is from Issue #128
Outback Magazine: Dec/Jan 2020
