Lees Hotel in

Ingham, Queensland Ingham is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia. It is named after William Bairstow Ingham and is the administrative centre for the Shire of Hinchinbrook. In the , th ...

, a Queensland icon, is recognised as the standing on the site of official ''Pub with No Beer'' made famous by

Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon, referred to universally as Australia's Ki ...

's song "

A Pub with No Beer "A Pub with No Beer" is the title of a humorous country song made famous by country singers Slim Dusty (in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and Bobbejaan Schoepen (in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria). Gordon Pa ...

".National Trust, Queensland Icons, ''The Pub with No Beer'', Page 7ABC, ''The pub with no beer'', Jan 15, 2009, by Winsome Denyer, http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/01/21/2467012.htm''Dan Sheahan, bush balladist (the pub without beer)'', by Irene Maskell, 1988, ASIN B0007C4714 The 1957 song, which became Australia's first international hit, was based on the poem ''A Pub Without Beer'' written by Ingham sugarcane farmer and poet Dan Sheahan in the Day Dawn Hotel, in Ingham in 1943.The Cairns Post, ''Fresh look for icon'', Nov 14, 2012, page 30, by Nick DaltonRACQ, ''Bring back the Queensland Road Trip'', page 3, http://tourism.racq.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/54199/Townsville-to-Ingham.pdf

History

In December 1943, American servicemen from the 22nd Bomb Group passed through Ingham en route to

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

, stopped at the Day Dawn Hotel overnight and drank all the beer. The following day Dan Sheahan rode his horse 30 kilometres to the hotel only to learn there was no beer. He had a glass of wine instead, sat in the pub and wrote the poem.Voices of the North, ''Ingham’s history comes alive'', by Tanya Snelling, page 9 The poem was published in ''The North Queensland Register'' in early 1944 and was rewritten in 1956 by Gordon Parsons, who set it to music for

. Parsons said he did not know where the original poem came from, but when

visited Ingham, he met Dan Sheahan and was shown the original poem, which Slim acknowledged as being the origin of the song.Australian Screen, National Film and Sound Archive, ''Slim’s visit to Ingham'', by Paul Byrnes, http://aso.gov.au/titles/music/a-pub-with-no-beer/notes/ Dan Sheahan didn't want any royalties for the song, only recognition. He went on to write three other songs for Slim.News.com.au, Nov 27, 2007, ''Slim poured a legend'', http://www.news.com.au/news/slim-poured-a-legend/story-fna7dq6e-1111114967360 The Day Dawn Hotel replaced the Telegraph Hotel, which was built on the site in the late 1800s. In 1960 Lees Hotel was built on the site of the demolished Day Dawn Hotel which had ceased trading years earlier.

Recognition

Controversy surrounded the identity of the hotel when a pub in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

claimed to be the original pub where the song was created, but in his autobiography ''Walk a Country Mile'', Slim Dusty confirmed the original poem was created in the Day Dawn Hotel in Ingham.The pub with no beer, Jan 15, 2009, by Winsome Denyer, http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/01/21/2467012.htm In 1986, The Australian Bicentennial Heritage and Environment Program gave recognition to the site of the old Day Dawn Hotel as the location of the official ''Pub with No Beer'' and acknowledged Dan Sheahan as the author of the poem. A

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Government committee visited Ingham and erected a plaque of recognition on Lannercost St.Townsville North Queensland, ''Lees Hotel The Original Pub With No Beer'', http://www.townsvillenorthqueensland.com.au/where-to-stay/lees-hotel-the-original-pub-with-no-beer-9157991

Festival

A Pub with No Beer Festival was held in April 2013 at Lees to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the event.The Cairns Post, ''Festival re-enactment plan will bring pub with no beer back to life'', March 14, 2013, page 9, by Nick Dalton

2012 refurbishment

Lees Hotel underwent a million-dollar refurbishment in 2012 and now includes artifacts, photographic history and memorabilia of Ingham's early days as well as a tribute to Dan Sheahan and

References

External links

Lees Hotel websiteSlim Dusty, 1957, A Pub with No Beer
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