Oldest and Longest Serving
3 March 2015
question:
oldest: ie: A publican at the age of 102, being in the business for 53 years
Billi Pub Listing
longest? ie: being a publican for a really loong time, like 74 years, in the case of Kath Byyr
Notting Hill Listing
Gaz Pope
Cheers Gaz exactly right. Good idea to list these outstanding achievements together.
We list Ma Ring MBE as Australias oldest Publican who was licensee at the Billi Pub until her death in 1983 aged 101. Ma was Publican for 54 years
Kath Byer as Australias longest serving Publican. Kath was Publican from 1936 untill her passing in 2010 at age 92. A total of 74 years.
I think there may be more to be told on these records. If you travel the South Burnett Pubs in Qld you may hear the locals repeating the story of a lass who in the early to mid 1800's, as a (young) teenager, obtained a Hotel license and lived a colourfull and pioneering life as a licensee of Hotels in the area untill a ripe old age.
Stories of young ladies running Pubs around that time aren't uncommon. But if anyone knows the name and some details of this particular Australian we may be talking about and can share with us, that would be great. Her first name may have been Elizabeth. Ed