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CANBERRA - One of Australia's outback icons, and possibly the country's most famous watering hole, is for sale.
The owners of the Birdsville Hotel, on the edge of the Simpson Desert in far western Queensland, have put the premises on the market for the first time since 1979.
Part-owner Jo Fort confirmed the sale today, saying she and her husband Kym were planning to return to Adelaide after 27 years in the outback.
"Sometimes you've got to know when enough's enough," she told AAP.
"You just have to know when you've done your bit."
The pub, which dates from 1884, has become synonymous with the Australian outback and is a popular rest stop for travellers tackling the Birdsville Track.
Mrs Fort said there had been considerable interest in the sale, given the hotel's legendary status.
"People who don't even drink beer have a beer in the front bar here," she said.
But she had only a vague idea what price it might attract, given a suburban pub in Adelaide sold recently for A$18 million ($20.77 million).
There has been anxiety among Birdsville's 100 residents about the future of their only watering hole. The next closest hotel is 200km away.
"There's a little bit of anxiety because it's their pub, their image, their icon, and a lot of (the locals) have grown up with us," Mrs Fort said.
She hopes the hotel will be bought by someone with a passion for the outback.
"It's a big responsibility there to make sure that the image of the outback is retained," she said.
"I really hope it's an Australian with the enthusiasm and energy and the guts -- because they'll need them -- to take on this challenge."
She warned prospective buyers not to be under any illusions as to what they'd be taking on.
Asked to nominate the demands of living and working in Birdsville, Mrs Fort said: "Its extremes -- the heat, the cold, the distance. Nothing ever happens in half measures here. We had a day that was 49 degrees here last week.
"Obviously you don't just live in Birdsville -- it takes over your life."
Birdsville is one of Australia's most remote towns, being almost 1600km from Brisbane and Adelaide.
Mrs Fort said she and her husband, along with co-owners David and Nell Brook, would probably lease the pub if they could not sell the business.
She said the family had fond memories of Birdsville over the years, and of memorable occasions in the hotel's front bar.
"Most of the time you just had to be here," she said.
The hotel, which includes 27 motel rooms and two residences, is being sold by tender through Melbourne and Adelaide broking firms.
Expressions of interest close on Thursday.
- AAP
