UNDIES, thongs and socks sit jauntily on indignant hunting trophies at the Currajah Hotel, pig, deer, goat - no animal is left undressed.

Mementos of past bucks and hens nights, the displaced clothing hints at naughty booze-ups that have probably helped many bored housewives get through years of marriage.

"We have had a few wild nights here," owner Paul Buzolich said with a laugh.

"The men you can control, but you get a bus load of women on a hens night and they run wild. There is nothing you can do!"

Paul took over the Currajah Hotel at Wangan 10 years ago and he has been doing it up ever since.

"I grew up here, roamed the world aimlessly and figured out the best place to be is here, at home," he said.

"When it came up for sale, I couldn’t resist."

The chippie has done an impressive job renovating the pub made of silky oak.

The toilets with mosaic walls are so impressive people drive out just for a nosy.

"They normally end up staying for a cold one and a wood fired pizza," says Paul.

(Cheap) Tuesdays also attract the crowds – $13 will get you dinner and dessert and the regular quiz nights get the place going. "The Jah", as she is known, turned 100 on New Year’s Day and if walls could talk, this building would spill some beans.

The hotel has come through cyclones, including Larry and Yasi, and a massive fire which destroyed the second storey in 1931.

Former underage drinker Mel Yelaska, now over 60, used to bottle up beer with the owner’s son when he was 15. "We used to pipe it in so the men could have take-aways," he said.

"Of course, we always had one or two ourselves.

"When the train would pull up, the barmaids would have five seven ounce beers ready for each man.

"They would skull back three and take two with them to the train knocking back those before they boarded.

"The barmaids had to run over to collect the bottles that got thrown in the long grass. Back then, you couldn’t get in here for canecutters and labourers. I have seen all sorts in here, including a pig and a guy on a motorbike.

"No ghosts, though, not as far as I know, anyway."

One man who haunts the place is "shareholder" Stephan Rangi. The former Kiwi comes for "one too many much too many times".

"I used to drink heavy but I was getting a bit long in the tooth for that so now I am on the lights, " he says.

"I just drink twice as much. It’s good fun here and you have to have a laugh, that’s the best part of life and what keeps me coming back."

Share this article