30/01/2026
🍻 NOW & THEN – The Great Western Hotel Motel Cobar
Built in 1898 alongside its grand neighbour, the Great Western quickly became one of Cobar’s most iconic pubs. Originally just the corner block, it was expanded in 1903 with extra rooms, a larger dining room, and what’s believed to be the longest pub balcony in the Southern Hemisphere. That balcony wasn’t just for show, it hosted band nights, political rallies, kids racing butter-box boats in floodwater, and even the odd 100-yard sprint.
The Great Western’s story is also about people. Publican Alicia Smiles was remembered for her kindness during tough mining years, while her successor, the legendary “Big Paddy” Condon, became one of Cobar’s most colourful characters, mayor, businessman, larrikin, and community champion rolled into one. Under his watch (and sometimes under police watch), the pub cemented its place in local folklore.
Fires, dust storms and wild weather knocked the old girl around over the decades, and modernisation in the 1960s reshaped much of the building, but the spirit survived.
Today, the Great Western remains a cornerstone of Cobar life. Step through those corner doors, grab a cold one, share a yarn with the locals, and soak up more than a century of outback pub history, still standing, still welcoming, still part of the Cobar community.
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