Gascoyne Junction Pub & Tourist Park officially reopens for business after six-month dry spell

The beer is once again flowing and pub grub is back on the menu in one of WA’s most remote communities.

In Gascoyne Junction, about 640km north-east of Geraldton, there has been a six-month dry spell that locals are delighted is over.

Previous landlords of the Gascoyne Junction Pub & Tourist Park Ken and Diane Kempton bid farewell late last year and over the next six months residents faced a 350km round trip for a cold beer.

“It’s about 176km each way for us to IGA or Woolies in Carnarvon so if you’ve got a craving on a Saturday afternoon for salt and vinegar chips it was a little far to go,“ Upper Gascoyne tourism and community development officer Ainsley Hardie said.

Now the pub and tourist park is officially back in business, with Daniel Bond moving back to the region from Canada with partner Evangelitsa Cartwright to reopen the popular watering hole.

The current pub opened in 2014, after the original was demolished four years earlier following a flood. The Kemptons took over the lease in 2021 and brought the outback pub back to life, incorporating the rich history of the area and creating display cases filled with local gems, rocks and historical artefacts from stations.

The pub provides several services to the town, hosts Anzac Day, sporting events and is a central hub during the Junction races and Kennedy Range Campdraft.

“It’s everything — it’s our roadhouse, coffee shop, takeaway and grocery store,” Ms Hardie said.

“It’s where we meet for lunch and dinner — it’s the social centre of town, so the reopening was a blessing for locals and for visitors to enjoy what a great place Gascoyne Junction is and pull up for a few days.

“On Saturday we had our June music in the park, then most of the crowd headed to the pub for dinner, so it’s really lovely to see people coming together, chatting with visitors again and making them feel welcome in our town.

“I’ve been loving their burgers. There are quite a few fans of the chicken burger.

“I’m really loving their beef burger and garlic chicken pasta.”