With its heady brew of bushrangers and things that go bump in the night, the Overland Corner Hotel on the Murray River, SA, has always been fertile ground for a good yarn.
Story + Photos Sarah Harris
In 1867 the proprietor of the Overland Corner Hotel in SA was reported to have unearthed from his garden a “monster turnip which weighs 34½ lbs [almost 16kg] and measures 3 feet 4 inches [over a metre] in circumference”. Whether this is truth or just one of the many legends associated with the pub, today it’s the Flowers family who are flourishing here. Previously from Sydney, the family of four have restored the OC, as locals know it, to its rightful place at the heart of the Riverland community.
Since taking over the lease on the National Trust-owned hotel, Brad and Nicole Flowers, with their two children Indi, 11, and six-year-old Jax, have helped put the OC back on travellers’ maps. “We in the community are very, very glad they are here,” says Bob Cornwell, the secretary of the Overland Corner branch of National Trust SA. “We’ve embraced them and they have embraced us.”
Even though “only 25 people and four dogs” live in the immediate vicinity, 150 folk from properties up and down the river turned up for welcoming drinks when the pub reopened in February this year. Its beautifully restored floor is made of aged blocks of red gum, and its burnished bar and white-washed walls are complete with the record 1956 flood level, showing waters near the top of the window frames.
This story excerpt is from Issue #139
Outback Magazine: October/November 2021
