Pub Crawl

Clockwise from top left: Cunnamulla, Southwest Queensland; Daylesford, Victoria; Castlemaine, Victoria; Adelaide, South Australia.

2007-2008.Ajr.

When Australian chef and brewer, Scott Watkins-Sully decided to embark on a journey around Australia, travelling from pub to pub, everyone he knew threatened to quit their jobs and join him. Watkins-Sully had hit upon the dream job. He shut down his own brewing operation and hit the road with his wife and two young kids. Over “25,000 kilometres, 300 counter meals and 200 tantrums” later, he could be forgiven for having imbibed more than his share of cold beers. He should also be applauded for producing “The Australian Crawl” (Piccadilly Books), a comprehensive guide to Australia’s regional pubs that shows the Aussies love nothing better than a few cold beers and a good yarn down at the pub. From an architectural and sociological point of view the grand old Aussie pub is about as iconic as it gets. I love them and every time I go to Australia I add to my collection of photos. The embellished corner establishments (and they’re almost always on corners), have been written into Australian culture and whether you’re roaming the sun-baked outback, cruising through small-town Australia or city suburbs, you’ll find a pub with a great story.