The Playhouse Hotel, Barraba, NSW
A country hotel with an 80-seat cinema/theatre
October 2020 (3 min read)
My friend Mary raved about the Playhouse Hotel and the man who owns it. He has become the reason people want to visit Barraba, a tiny rather nondescript town an hour’s drive north of Tamworth (six hours from Sydney). It’s the kind of mild celebrity this former theatre actor is used to, though these days it’s Andrew Sharp himself people want to see. Well, Andrew and the 80-seat cinema/theatre he has added to the hotel.
When I ring to book a couple of rooms for my family, we talk at length about our itinerary. Can we fit the spectacular volcanic Mount Kaputar National Park in to our trip? It turns out we can’t, because the dirt road that links Barraba to the back of Mount Kaputar is closed on account of the recent fire damage.
The long chat is typical of Andrew, who genuinely wants to ensure that our stay is the best it can be. We also debate which film we might view during our stay and agree that La Dolce Vita is a sophisticated choice for my 16-year-old daughter who is studying Italian. I feel as if I’ve known Andrew for years by the time we actually arrive on a hot October afternoon.
“We’ve decided to try Casablanca instead”, I tell him. It’s such a Classic.
Andrew doesn’t miss a beat: “Marvellous choice”, he enthuses.
Before dinner, we drive out to the Horton Falls. The actual Falls drop 83 metres and there is a large swimming pool at the bottom. But, in spite of Andrew’s detailed driving instructions, we end up in the swimming hole at the top. The gorge is beautiful. The sage green pool is in a bowl of rugged, lichen-stained rocks. Casuarinas line the sandy edge of the freezing water.
Two of the kids swim and one goes in halfway and runs out again. It is so tranquil and pretty we are almost delirious with delight. Strange how nature works on the psyche. Devices suddenly seem superfluous. We see water monitors and listen to the hum of cicadas and native bees. You can walk down from here to the bottom pool, but it’s an arduous track and difficult to find. A nearby camper tells us he tried twice and failed.
Pool at the top of Horton Falls
Vast cattle stations surround Barraba and we pass close to huge black and brown beasts on the journey home. Andrew’s grandfather once owned Warabah Station out on Woodsreef Road, so in a way he has come full circle. “Perhaps it was meant to be”, he says, wistfully. It’s a tough business, at times, being the sole proprietor of a remote hotel.
Dinner is either moussaka or slow-cooked beef. Both are delicious. There is a chef (currently off on sick leave), but the moussaka comes from the Greek lady who runs the catering equipment next door. Barraba is that kind of place. It’s this “community spirit” that attracted Andrew and made him sink his life savings in to restoring the hotel. “That larrikin Aussie attitude exists only out here in the bush”, he says.
Breakfast in the dining room of the Playhouse hotel
The world within in the Playhouse Hotel is one of genteel refinement. My daughter senses it strongly. “I feel very grand here”, she says. Even the 9-year-old does. He sits through Casablanca without fidgeting, without even an ice cream, having devoured 2 helpings of casserole.
The white and cream dining room is radiant in the sunshine of the morning. Red, yellow and pink roses droop in their glass vases. We linger over our eggs and bacon, reluctant to leave Andrew’s genial company. If anyone has a spare 350 grand out there, and wants a change from the Big Smoke, do give Barraba some thought. Andrew Sharp could do with a business partner.
Several weeks later, my friend Mary tells me that the Playhouse Hotel is up for auction on December 18. I guess I’ll add a postscript.
EXTRA
Our family room for 5 cost $200 per night including a cooked breakfast. Dinner is $35 pp. Wine is available by the glass or bottle.
Let Andrew know you’d like to watch a film while you’re there. There is a small fee.
The Polkadot Coffee Room is a cute café a few doors down. Open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. They also run a small shop with local ceramics, jewellery and other bits and bobs.
The day we visited the stalls at the Saturday morning market were limited, possibly due to Covid restrictions.
Horton Falls are about an hour’s drive from Barraba. Lovely for a picnic. The surrounds are a “birdwatchers’ paradise”; look out for the endangered emerald green Swifts Parrot and the Regent Honeyeater.
You can stay overnight in cabins at the summit of Mount Kaputar. Check the website for details https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/mount-kaputar-national-park
Look out for the painted silos on the edge of town.
READ
Homestead on the River is set in Tamworth and follows the lives of a family of Irish emigrants up to the 1970s. Author Rosie Mackenzie, while not a local, visits Tamworth regularly.
To get a sense of the remoteness of life in outback Australia, try these authors: Thea Astley, Jessica Anderson, Jane Harpur and Carrie Tiffany, whose Mateship with Birds is wonderful but set in Victoria. If you have the stamina, read Voss by Patrick White, the novel about the effects of the harsh Australian interior on the white pysche in the 19th century.