"It was the social value of the Carrington that was so very important to the community. Now it has given the whole town a sense of pride." Barbara Hickson

The Carrington Hotel during work to reinstate the original envelope of the building.
Photograph by Barbara Hickson

Many heritage projects include elements of drama but few can equal the story of the Carrington Hotel in Peak Hill. When the only remaining historic hotel in the small Central Western town was gutted by fire in 1997, the local community was left facing the prospect of demolition and a gaping hole in their main street. The story of the Carrington Hotel shows what a proactive community can achieve.

Built around 1913, the Carrington Hotel was the type of building that is characteristic of many of our country towns: a simple two-storey hotel with a generous verandah. The devastating fire started on the ground floor of the hotel and spread quickly to the upper storey.

The prospects were not positive when a group of local citizens met with heritage advisor, Barbara Hickson and Parkes Shire Council members to inspect the burnt-out hotel. The building had been substantially damaged, the owner had sold the liquor license in order to obtain a return on his investment and council had approved the demolition of the hotel in two weeks time. For the townspeople it meant the loss of a family hotel that had been the central cultural institution in the town for over 80 years.

"Tradition in Peak Hill was the Carrington", said Jill Byrne, local resident and descendant of a past publican of the Carrington.

"Meetings, dinners, parties, parades, BBQs - the Carrington was Peak Hill's favourite and comfortable solution to the inadequacies of social life in the bush."

The people of Peak Hill were anxious not to have another hole in their main street and with Jill Byrne's energetic influence, the Carrington project quickly received popular support.

Public meetings, letters to the editor and a petition of 300 signatures demonstrated the groundswell of support in the small community for the conservation of the Carrington Hotel.

"It was absolutely overwhelming," says Mrs Byrne. "When you consider our population is only about 1 000, it was a huge response from the community. Most people recognized the importance of the Carrington to the streetscape."

The comments of local businessman, Peter Angus, were typical of the feeling within the community:

"This hotel was the centre of town, from football and cricket, to farmers coming in to hire a shearer - they all came to the pub for information."

The owner was prepared to donate the burnt-out building to the community but it was still not clear if plans to restore the hotel were feasible. Heritage Advisor, Barbara Hickson, provided advice to the community on how a future use for the building might be achieved. Heritage Officer, Dennis McManus, visited Peak Hill to discuss possibilities for the hotel with the Parkes Shire Council and the Mayor.

The turning point in the battle to save the Carrington was a grant of $100,000 under the NSW Heritage 2001 program.

With funding assured various options for the conservation of the Carrington were discussed including reinstating only the ground floor. In April 1999 a public meeting agreed to restore the full envelope.

On the 28th March of this year the completion of Carrington Project (Stage 1) was officially celebrated. The Mayor of Parkes, Councillor Robert Wilson OAM, officiated. Entertainer, Slim Dusty, opened Stage One in front of an audience of residents, businesspeople, visitors, schoolchildren and teachers.

Carrington Association President, Anthony Dunn, thanked the community for their support.

"I am very proud of the building behind me, but I am even more proud of the way the town has rallied together to make it happen," said Mr Dunn.

"There is a saying that you 'create the dream and invent the how' and I feel this is a good example of that."

Today the Carrington is once again the most impressive and prominent building in the main street. With the original envelope of the building replaced, the way is now clear for the hotel to begin its new life as an interpretative centre with cafe and shops. The Peak Hill Carrington Association will be involved in its future management.

The successful collaboration between the community, local government and State Government that turned this project into reality was recognised last year when Peak Hill was highly commended in the Government Partnerships division of the Tidy Towns awards.

The saving of the Carrington Hotel has also had other spin-offs. The community is united in its support of the project, other projects inspired by its success are underway and the heritage committee is strong and active.