Dargo Hotel owners selling famous pub in tiny Victorian town

The Dargo Hotel, at 108-110 Lind Ave, Dargo, is for sale – and the next publican could hail from anywhere across Australia.

One of Victoria’s most iconic pubs, the Dargo Hotel, has buyers frothing after hitting the market.

Located in a country town with a population of about 105 residents, the circa-1898 hotel sits at the Alpine National Park’s gateway 321km from Melbourne.

The historic watering hole is popular with adventurers including 4WD drivers and motorbike touring groups.

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It has hosted events as diverse as weddings, taxidermy demonstrations and annual New Year’s Eve celebrations for 400 guests.

Publicans Helen and Steven Hall have put the Lind Ave hotel and nearby 11-room Dargo Motor Inn with a family residence on the market as a package deal, after almost 17 years’ ownership all up.

They first bought in the 1990s before selling up in 2004 and then repurchased the venue when their children had grown up, more than a decade later.

Stubby holders, clothing, a jukebox, hats and other objects decorate the hotel’s distinctive interior.

The Dargo Hotel is about a two-hour drive from Gippsland.

One of the pub’s owners, Helen Hall, who runs the hotel with her husband Steven. Picture: Dannika Bonser.

After a 2022 deal to sell the hotel fell through at the last minute, they decided to stick around for a few more years.

Ms Hall said she and her husband were “very sad” to be parting with the hotel but were hanging up their hats now they were getting a bit older.

“We’ve done a lot here, a lot of blood, sweat and tears, so it is very personal to us,” she said.

Publican Steven Hall outside the hotel. Picture: Jason Edwards

The Dargo Motor Inn, at 95 Lind Ave, is also for sale.

Apart from its bar, bistro, outdoor dining area, commercial kitchen, bunkhouse and four cabins which Mr Hall built using local timber, the pub’s character-filled interior is decorated with a stubby holder collection, sports memorabilia, baseball caps, a jukebox and motorbike hanging from the ceiling in memory of a deceased man who organised motorcycle trips through the area.

Mr Hall also crafted bench seats which look like the back of a ute with tailgates that light up, which have been covered in stickers from passing 4WD clubs and businesses.

The main bar includes an area with bellows and other equipment that’s a tribute to local blacksmith and farrier Kevin Worcester who died in 2019, with his hat and a photo.

Pictures of recently-departed young people who loved visiting the pub are on display too, at the request of friends who want to come in and toast their absent mates.

The hotel has hosted several music acts across the years including the country rock band the Silverstring Outlaws who have played there about 15 times.

Mr Hall built four cabins at the hotel site which serve as accommodation.

A 2018 survey by Australia’s largest manufacturer and distributor of 4×4 accessories ARB Corporation ranked the Dargo Hotel as one of the nation’s most famous watering holes along with Queensland’s Birdsville Pub.

Ms Hall said running the hotel and motor inn was a great lifestyle.

“You’re certainly never bored, you meet so many new people,” she said.

Ms Hall said that she and her husband loved Dargo and were not planning on going too far once the pub has sold – and will even be on hand to give the new owners advice, if needed.

“We’ve just built a new house next door to the hotel,” Ms Hall said.

Drover Lyric Anderson brings her mob of cattle past the Dargo Hotel, on the way to the high plains, in 2016. Picture: Stuart McEvoy.

Ms Hall says the hotel has plenty of regular patrons and visitors.

King & Heath Commercial’s Alison Radford said there had been unprecedented interest in the hotel since Boxing Day with queries pouring in from across Australia, ranging from corporate hospitality organisations to mums and dads looking for a lifestyle change.

“Demand had been outstanding with inquiry well above expectations,” Ms Radford said.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire the pub, that might not appear again for another 40 years – it’s one of the most iconic pubs in Victoria, if not Australia.”

The hotel and motel are for sale via expressions of interest.

While the asking range has not been made public, Ms Radford said they were “priced to sell”.

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