Tucked away in the Avon Valley, about 95km east of Perth, one of WA’s most historically significant pubs will celebrate a major milestone this weekend with live music, food and reminiscing.
The Spencers Brook Tavern will host Back to the Brook from November 16-18 to celebrate the pub’s 140th birthday, and is inviting former residents, Muresk Agricultural College graduates, and anyone else who has frequented the tavern over the decades to return for the special occasion.
Originally named the Brookton Hotel, the tavern has been a central meeting point for the town since it was built in 1884 by prominent politician and pastoralist Thomas Wilding.
Mr Wilding had grand plans to transform Brookton, as it was then known, into a bustling hub and lobbied hard for the Perth to Newcastle (Toodyay) rail line to bypass Northam and terminate in the township instead.
His proposed development did not come to pass and Northam’s growth soon outpaced that of Brookton.
However, the township continued to hold a significant place in WA’s history, becoming an important storage and distribution site for the Australian Army during World War II.
With the establishment of the nearby Muresk Agricultural College in the 1960s, the pub became a popular watering hole for students, with thousands pouring through its doors over the decades until the State Government withdrew funding for the Bachelor of Agricultural Management degree in 2017.
The bones of the two-storey brick building have not changed much since the 1880s, though it now boasts one of the nicest beer gardens in regional WA and has been beautifully refurbished thanks to the efforts of Pat Lummis, the tavern’s longest-serving publican.
Ms Lummis, who grew up in Perth, said she was proud of the work she had done since she bought the pub 34 years ago.
“I’ve kept it in pretty much the condition that it should have been in,” she said. “Most of the furniture and everything is pretty much how it should be.”
Although the tiny town of about 80 residents has changed over the decades, Ms Lummis said it retained its country charm.
“I call it my little sleepy hollow,” she said.
Over the last couple of years, Ms Lummis’ daughter Amanda — who runs Cupid Catering in Subiaco — has stepped in and revitalised the menu, which regularly draws a crowd with its popular roasts and homey pub fare.
Amanda Lummis said the refurbishments, improved menu, new staff members, a refreshed local progress association and the influx of post-COVID tree-changers to Northam had given the pub a new lease on life.
“The possibility is endless,” she said. “There are so many things that we could do here. The potential is huge . . . I think it’s going to get busier and busier.”
Some of the regulars have been coming to the pub since they were children, like Mr Wilding’s great-great-grandchildren Maria Weibel-Wilding, Blair Wilding and Mark Wilding, who still work the surrounding land.
“It’s important to any WA town to have a social outlet, the footy club, the pub, whatever,” Blair Wilding said. “I’m glad it’s still standing.”
“And hopefully it does continue to run as a pub and really stay that social place . . . we had a mental health event (recently), really really important, and if we didn’t have the pub here, we’d have never run the event,” Ms Weibel-Wilding said.
The Lummis family are looking forward to welcoming current and former patrons to the tavern for a weekend of reminiscing.
“There is no other pub like it,” Amanda Lummis said.
The event is free to attend, and camping is available at $20 per site.
More information is available on the Spencers Brook Tavern Facebook page.
