In the very north-western corner of New South Wales, in an area aptly named Corner Country, is a place that seems to tick all the boxes of the classic, quintessentially Australian outback town—Tibooburra. Its tiny main drag features a ‘Corner Country’ store and servo, two pubs whose front beer gardens look out onto one another, and a drive-in cinema with three rusty old chairs sitting silently in front of the big screen. If you’re not a four-wheel-driver or fossicker, the chances of you passing through Tibooburra are pretty slim as it’s really on it’s way to nowhere, yet the town and people within it are interesting enough for it to hold up as an outback destination all on it’s own; albeit a very unique one.
I travelled three hundred kilometres up the Silver City Highway from Broken Hill simply to find out what goes on in Tibooburra. The road-trip there was already an adventure as I spotted endless emus, feral goats and sheep, kangaroos, wedge-tailed eagles, lizards and more within the relatively short (four hours is nothing to folks out here) drive. En route I popped into Milparinka, about thirty minutes south of Tibooburra, for an instant coffee at the visitor information centre, and toured the ruins of the old town. Milparinka was once a bustling gold mining town with more than three thousand residents, but nowadays it’s a ghost town save for a pub and visitor centre. The preservation effort to keep the ruins of the old building intact have been a worthwhile investment as the town now sees many tourists—mostly of the grey nomad variety—stop in while passing through on their way south to the Silver City or north up into outback Queensland.
Another forty kilometres up the road I reach Tibooburra. The main drag sits on the Silver City Highway itself and spans a few hundred metres at most, so once you’re in town you’ll see everything the town has to offer fairly quickly. I parked at the drive-in and wandered up to The Family Hotel, which is a local legend in the far-west, thanks to its distinctive murals. As the story goes, back in the 1960s many artists from the city would visit the outback for extended periods of time to paint, and when the ‘Big Wet’ of 1969 came and flooded much of the area, painter Clifton Pugh became stranded in Tibooburra. Pugh, a prolific artist and three-time Archibald prize winner, began painting murals on the walls of The Family Hotel, and over time other artists added to his work. Possibly the most famous mural he painted on the walls was of a devil, who is rumoured to either be of the hotel’s publican at the time, or his ex-wife’s new boyfriend. There’s also two nude women depicted, which were later revealed to be the publican’s daughters. The murals have been preserved and can be viewed freely while you stop in for a beer by the fire.
Right across the road from The Family Hotel is the only other pub in town, the Tibooburra Hotel, or as the locals call it, ‘The Two Storey‘. The Two Storey was built from locally quarried sandstone in 1882, making it the oldest of the two pubs. Unfortunately, while publican Tracey was visiting Broken Hill back in 2021, the pub suspiciously caught alight. Many locals came down to assist in putting out the fire, which helped to save parts of the original building. The rebuild has taken years to get to where it is now, but Tracey says there’s still other significant challenges in running a pub like The Two Storey. “Government restrictions have taken the personal side away—it used to be a lot more relaxed. People around here are more relaxed too, yet we still have the same rules that apply to a city pub. I’d love to run it like my grandfather used to run it.” To encourage this laid-back, community-focused atmosphere, Tracy offers free bar snacks on Fridays, and a happy hour, so that the locals have a reason to come in. “I don’t see it as a pub, I see it as a hub for community. It’s about the atmosphere and sharing stories. We have a fire out front—where else can you go and have the experience of a campfire, a beer and a chat, but within a pub atmosphere?” As part of her desire to foster a sense of community she donates part of the funds raised over the bar to help fund the local health centre in Tibooburra, which is a small building staffed by a nurse, and for any serious health issues, is used by the Royal Flying Doctor’s Service.
It’s Friday when I visit which means The Two Storey is packed because the fire’s roaring and the bar snacks are free. I drink a beer by the campfire out front and share yarns with other pub-goers. A group of semi-retired couples flew in for the night in their light planes, and are off to explore more of the outback by air tomorrow. A local musterer tells me tales of Tibooburra back in the ‘good old days’; he says back when the main drag was dirt and cars were a rarity around here, dirt-bike groups would ride into town and set up their swags right out the front of the Two Storey, on the main road. I’m surprised to learn this was as recent as the 80s, but he assures me even in the 80s the main form of transport around here was still on horseback. A grey-nomad tells me about the gold his mates have found in the area, and says a group of blokes who gold prospect for a hobby have been coming here on an annual pilgrimage for over forty years.
Most of the visitors in Tibooburra are either heading into the surrounding national parks to see the birdlife and native desert wildflowers, or to gold-prospect. The town is home to only eighty people, but during the winter months which is peak tourism season in the outback, the numbers in town can swell into the hundreds. As for the locals, most work on stations (I asked a local if most people around Tibooburra live on farms, to which he laughed and said “we call them stations love, they’re a fair bit bigger than a farm in these parts.”)
Tibooburra’s name is derived from one of the many Aboriginal languages of the region, and translates loosely to ‘heap of rocks’, which makes a lot of sense when viewing the surrounding landscape. Out at Dead Horse Gully Campground you can watch the sun set over the rocky boulders and set up camp for the night. There’s also plenty of accomodation options in town; the Granites Caravan park and motel are just off the main drag and you can book a night in Tibooburra Hotel’s brand new motel rooms, or at The Family Hotel. If you’re four-wheel-driving there’s numerous campsites in the surrounding national parks to choose from. It’s best to visit the region in the Winter months, as Tibooburra is the hottest town in all of New South Wales and the heat can become unbearable in the summertime for the unacclimatised city-slicker. Luckily you can cool down with a cold beer at one of the two pubs anytime of the year, and if you stick around long enough you’re bound to hear some classic outback yarns from the friendly residents of Tibooburra.