'It is what it is' – Woods Point hotel wins Best Bush Pub

NESTLED between a dirt road and the winding Goulburn River lies The Commercial Hotel, Woods Point’s only pub. The historic establishment is home to hearty meals and rustic memorabilia, with a pool table and stain-glass hanging lights. But the remote hotel also boasts an impressive new accolade - Best Bush Pub from the Australian Hotels Association Excellence Awards. "We have to find a special place to show this guy off,” Commercial Hotel owner Carley Burdon said while holding up a giant gold trophy. “We definitely didn’t expect it to be this big.” Carley and her husband Luke travelled to Melbourne on May 20 this year to attend the prestigious hospitality awards ceremony. The duo were thrilled to be finalists and said they had no expectation of winning the award. "Honestly, we were just thrilled to be there so when they actually announced our names… I mean, we couldn’t believe it,” Carley said. The AHA judges said small pubs in the bush face innumerable challenges, but those obstacles were “multiplied by 10” for Woods Point. “Those challenges don’t daunt husband and wife team Carley and Luke Burdon and their two teenage boys,” the judges said. “The Commercial has home-cooked pub-style food, including all the expected offerings and a kid’s menu, with beer through two draught taps, not forgetting their own local brew “Tear Arse Gully Port”. The eclectic hotel has survived an exhaustive and ongoing list of power outages, bushfires, earthquakes and a pandemic. They operate using a cash register due to the limited internet and their trading hours focus on later in the week and weekends. Carley believed the hotel’s ongoing lifespan and charm was due to its location. “I think remoteness has a certain uniqueness to it,” she said. “There’s a fantastic community and staff at the heart of our hotel." So, what else makes the Commercial Hotel the best bush pub in Victoria? “Oh, it is what it is,” Carley laughed. “No airs or graces, it’s just Woods Point.”