Dwellingup Community Hotel

It’s a unique place – Dwellingup. In 1961 bushfires destroyed six towns in the Murray region but Dwellingup was the only town to be rebuilt.

The Dwellingup Community Hotel was one of the few buildings to survive the devastating blaze. Built in 1911, the Hotel is the only remaining community owned hotel in Western Australia and is currently operated under contract, with funds applied to the community.

With a population of just over 900 at the last census, Dwellingup locals see the hotel as a haven and visitors love it.

During a recent, three-day visit to Dwellingup, we decided to have dinner at the ‘Dwelly Pub’. A good choice – the hotel had a cosy fire set up, which helped to offset the winter weather and the warm welcome from staff and locals was a huge contrast to visiting pubs in Perth.

The hotel has a large beer garden, two separate dining areas, a pool table, front outside area with its own misting system and a very popular Chop the Log contest, held on a Thursday. Contrary to expectations no logs are harmed in this variation of Chase the Ace!

The menu was the usual pub food of burgers, steaks, fish and pizza with a few international offerings including curries.

Eight of us enjoyed extremely generous ‘country sized’ portions of food. We ordered Chicken schnitzel ($28), Nasi Goreng ($25), Steak sandwich ($28), Beef burger ($26), Caesar salad ($20) and Skin-on salmon ($27).

I had the Chicken schnitzel – two huge chicken breasts, crumbed and cooked to perfection served with chips and salad. Chips were mass produced and not great but the chicken was excellent. Apart from the Nasi Goreng that seemed to have the odd addition of chutney, all the meals were good.

Staff members were happy to chat to us about the pub’s history and show us the memorabilia, currently being restored including historical photos. There is also a photo wall dedicated to the fire service.

The Dwellingup Community Hotel also offers comfortable accommodation for travellers. Rooms are accessible, air-conditioned and have free wifi.

If you are in the area enjoying the many walking trails, taking a trip on the heritage train or just enjoying a relaxing break, make the Dwellingup Community Hotel a must-stop place and enjoy its country hospitality.

Address: 11 Marinup Street, Dwellingup, WA 6213

Phone: 08 9538 1000

Reservations: Yes

Opening hours: Kitchen open daily 11:30- 2:30, 5:30-7:15 (Kitchen closes at 8:30 pm on Saturdays). The pub shuts at 10pm

Gluten-free options: Yes

Vegetarian options: Yes

Restrooms: Clean and accessible

Parking: Large car park opposite the hotel.

Website: www.dwellinguphotel.com.au

About the Author
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About Hazel Broomhead

My name is Hazel and I am a Perth senior!

Originally from Edinburgh in Scotland, my husband and I moved to New Zealand with our children in 1974. As my husband is in the oil business, we moved to several other countries including the Sultanate of Oman, the Netherlands, Singapore, the Philippines, the USA, Russia and Kazakhstan during the next 36 years before retiring to Perth.

We have six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who live in different parts of the globe – New Zealand, Scotland and Colombia - which makes a great excuse for us to travel and visit.

My career background is in radio and print journalism in Scotland and New Zealand as well as public relations in various other countries.

We love to eat out, walk, travel and enjoy the wonderful lifestyle here in Western Australia.