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00:05Apparently the Australian dream is to own your own home, but I beg to differ
00:10because whenever I ask someone in Australia they all seem to say the same
00:13thing. Oh, own your own pub mate. And I reckon they're right, so I'm about to find
00:20out if that is the great Australian dream or in fact an absolute nightmare.
00:25Because a mate of mine, Dean Murphy, who's a movie director that I've worked with
00:29quite a lot, convinced me to buy a pub. What's the pub like I hear you say? Well
00:36that's the interesting thing. I have absolutely no idea because I've never
00:40actually seen the pub other than the real estate ad online. Yeah, I'm that stupid.
00:47It's his fault. It is your fault. Well, Dean and I have worked together on three
00:54films together. Couple of musicals or plays. Yes, and about three or so TV shows.
01:01Yep. So to say we're mates would be a fair statement. Well, I think we're mates. I'm pretty
01:07sure we are. We were emailing each other about a project we were working on and at
01:12the bottom of the email, Dean wrote, oh by the way, have you ever thought about buying
01:16a pub? I hit send and as I hit send the phone rang and it's you going, pub?
01:23Well, what I said was, Dean Murphy, what the hell are you talking about? Buying a pub, probably
01:28worth noting that Dean's never had a drink of alcohol in your life, have you? No.
01:33And you said, I'll never forget it. Well, it's not just any pub, it's the Datorang Hotel.
01:38So, where's Datorang you ask? Well, it's nestled in a valley roughly halfway between Melbourne
01:44and Canberra, surrounded by stunning mountains and lush farmland. Why the Datorang Hotel?
01:51I'll leave that to Dean to explain. Hmm. Kai grew up 15 minutes from here and had come
01:57to this pub since I was a kid and had seen how important it is to the community and we
02:01heard that it had been on the market for about a year and that Dave, the owner, had been basically
02:06knocking back offers because they're either coming from overseas companies or the big
02:11companies in Australia that he didn't feel had a connection to the community. That's when
02:16I said to Shane, you know, got a pub I think we might have to buy. Spent about 10 minutes
02:21explaining why it's important and you said, all right, let's do it.
02:26I'm about to find out if I've made a good decision. What could possibly go wrong?
02:36Here she is and ain't she a beauty. I'm meeting the guy who runs and owns the pub, Dave McKnight.
02:45He's a ripper bloke, but I've only actually spoken to him on the phone, so I have no idea
02:49what he looks like. I'm pretty sure that's not him there. Hopefully I can just ask some
02:56of the patrons to point him out. It's nearly lunchtime, so there should be a good crowd
03:00in here by now.
03:07Hello?
03:09You there, Dave?
03:13So if this is what everybody loving the pub looks like,
03:16hello, I'd hate to see what it'd look like if they didn't.
03:20You there, Dave?
03:22Well, the place certainly has a ton of character. It's one of those places where you instantly
03:28feel at home.
03:31Dave?
03:32I mean, I've only been here for 30 seconds and I already feel like a beer.
03:36You there, Dave?
03:38But where are all the people?
03:41Maybe they want to surprise me and they're all out the back.
03:44Hello?
03:45I think I've found the manager's quarters, as well as some guest rooms. Quite a lot of
03:50guest rooms. Man, this place is like a maze.
03:57Heading out the back, I've made another exciting discovery. This place is massive.
04:03Got cabins.
04:04But still, not a soul to be seen. Maybe the cows know where everyone is. If only they could
04:10talk. Maybe the cow knows the owner.
04:13What have you heard? Get it? Heard.
04:16Nah.
04:17This is not a good start to my pub ownership journey.
04:22In the key was something bright ahead
04:29Always open to me and all my friends
04:34Harmony, oh harmony
04:39Now we're home in the country
04:48So I'd never heard of the pub, never seen the pub, never heard of Datorang.
04:52And while I'm looking on the computer going, oh yeah, my wife walked in and saw this and
04:58said, what's all this about? And I said, oh, it's Murph on the phone. Hi Murph, how are you?
05:02He's talking about us buying this pub. And I'm thinking, no partner's going to go, alright, let's buy a pub
05:07at a whim.
05:07And while I'm talking to Dean, she's got the mouse and she's flicking through the photos.
05:12And about six photos in, she said, I love it. And I said, are we buying a pub? She said,
05:18it looks like it.
05:20You there Dave?
05:22But I'm not sure she's going to love it when I tell her it has no customers.
05:26The first day I got here, I was expecting to see a pretty busy pub. When I walked in, there
05:30was no one here.
05:32And so I got a little bit nervous.
05:35The Datorang Hotel, a stalwart of the Kiwa Valley for over 150 years.
05:40You there Dave?
05:41Known for its fiercely loyal patrons.
05:44Dave?
05:45But maybe that's due to their love for the publican, Dave McKnight.
05:49Most loved person I've ever met, like genuinely loved, not just adored as a celebrity or whatever, but never heard
05:56a bad word about him, ever.
05:58People have said they're hard shoes to fill, if not impossible.
06:03Did they find out the pub's got a new owner and hightail it out of here?
06:08If only I could find Dave.
06:13Jane, how are you mate?
06:16Dave?
06:16Hey mate, how are you doing?
06:17Good Jane, how are you going?
06:18I'm great.
06:19Mate, this has taken a while.
06:21We've been talking for ages, but here we are.
06:23I know, I've heard so much about you and of course seen you doing a few movies.
06:27Don't believe what they say.
06:28No.
06:28I've actually had a walk through the place, I couldn't find you.
06:32It's bigger than I thought, as in I know you've shown me the plans and I've looked at it online,
06:38but it's every room you go to leads to another room, it's like a TARDIS.
06:42There's rooms everywhere.
06:43There is, it's surprising what, when you're in the bar you don't know how big it is at the back
06:47of you.
06:47Yeah.
06:48And mate, the location, again I've seen photos of it and I've looked online, but we are surrounded by the
06:56mountains.
06:56They're stunning.
06:57They are, yeah.
06:58They're incredible.
06:59It is, it is.
07:00And winter, we can get snow on the hills up above us and it's a great, what a great place
07:06to live.
07:07And the snow, is it like another world?
07:09Is it almost like being in Switzerland I imagine?
07:11It is, yeah.
07:12It's a beautiful spot.
07:13It is, it is.
07:13And you've been here 35 years.
07:16Has it been, has it been the best way to live a life?
07:18It has been, it has been, yeah.
07:19A great place to live and great community.
07:22I couldn't have asked for a better, the last 35 years.
07:25The place is better than I'd imagine.
07:29As I said, the location is out of this world.
07:30But there is, there is one question which is, where's all the people?
07:35Well, we've got a fair bit of competition at the moment.
07:37We've got competition.
07:38We have, yeah.
07:39Whereabouts?
07:40It's just up the road, you just, you want to go up and have a look if you like.
07:43Alright, well I'll, I'll go and look at the competition and I'll be back.
07:46Okay.
07:47Alright.
07:47A K up that way.
07:48One kilometre.
07:49Alright mate, I'll be back soon.
07:50On your chain.
07:51Alright mate.
07:53About a K.
07:54About a K.
07:56Competition?
07:57Dean never mentioned we had competition.
08:01Uh oh.
08:03That's Fliss, my wife, wanting an update.
08:06Hey Dale.
08:07You're good.
08:08Good, good, good.
08:09Yeah, yeah.
08:10Yeah, I'm here.
08:11Yeah, I've just been, just been through the pub.
08:14It's, it's better than, it's better than the pictures to be honest.
08:18What's that?
08:21Uh, including me and Dave?
08:23Uh, there, then there would have been, uh, two.
08:28No, that's, that was including me and Dave.
08:31Yeah, not a soul.
08:35After ten minutes on the farm with my wife trying to convince me to keep the faith and
08:39maybe breathe a little, the truth was, I was still holding my breath, but at least
08:44until I could see what was going on down the road.
08:46Competition he reckons.
08:49Is this it?
08:50Let's go, Goose.
08:52When Dave said there was a fair bit of competition, man, he wasn't kidding.
08:59Yep, that's competition alright.
09:09With Dave's words, we've got competition still ringing in my ears.
09:14I find myself driving towards an ever increasing crowd.
09:17No wonder.
09:18No wonder, there's no one at the top.
09:20I don't think Victoria's here.
09:22Hi mate, how you going?
09:24How you going?
09:25How you going?
09:25Yeah.
09:26So, uh, looks like there's a bit of an event on here.
09:28There is, a bit of a race day here.
09:31How often is it?
09:31Are you a betting man?
09:33Uh, I bet I can guess what kind of race it is.
09:36Is it a horse race?
09:36It is.
09:37There we go.
09:38So you're on the money.
09:38I'm going alright aren't I?
09:40I actually thought I was going to go up the road and see another pub.
09:43So I get up there and there's thousands of people at the Datorang Race Track.
09:47For those that don't know, because I now know the Datorang races happen but once a year.
09:53And let me tell you, it's quite a day.
09:56In and out of the trees, they head along the back straight here at Datorang in race number three.
10:01And as they come back into view, it's right now and still in front.
10:04Half length in front of permission, second placing it.
10:07Oh, there's a lot of people here.
10:13The locals tell me this is the 160th anniversary of the Datorang Cup.
10:17As it was first run back in 1865 on the private property of William Steele.
10:22Who built the track with the help of local settlers.
10:25All because of his love for horse racing.
10:37Held once a year, people come from miles around to enjoy this fantastic day out.
10:43The atmosphere is amazing and everyone seems to be having a good time.
10:47And spirits are high to say the very least.
10:57So while everyone's feeling the love, this might be the best opportunity to break the news that Datorang has a
11:03new owner.
11:04Hey mate, hand over.
11:06I was terrified because, again, it goes back to how incredibly loved Dave McKnight is in this area as the
11:13existing and long-time publican.
11:15And I thought, gosh, what if they go, oh, not that idiot actor from Melbourne and not that guy from
11:23the shit flick.
11:23So, a little bit of a special announcement.
11:26As many people will know, Dave's been trying to sell the pub for a few years now.
11:31And we have a special guest at the races who might have a little bit of news for us on
11:38that.
11:38It's either going to be cheers and beers or it's going to be pitchforks and watching this fat fella break
11:44the course record as I run for my life.
11:47How we doing?
11:49So, yeah, I do have a bit of an announcement.
11:51Today's been a bit of a first for me.
11:53This is the first time I've been to Datorang and the place is fantastic.
11:57Am I right?
11:58Yeah.
11:59Unbelievable.
12:00It's also the first time I've ever been to the Datorang races.
12:04What a great day.
12:05Am I right?
12:06Yes.
12:07But there's one more first and that is the first time that I get to announce to you I just
12:12brought the Datorang pub.
12:20You got up and said we brought a pub.
12:23I did.
12:26But we bought a pub and on that day we brought it to their attention.
12:30Yeah.
12:31I got it right, didn't I?
12:32See?
12:33See, I'm learning.
12:34Aren't you impressed?
12:36Well, that went down better than I expected.
12:38You'll be pleased to know it's not just a guy from the city coming up here trying to have a
12:42crack at it.
12:42There's locals involved.
12:44So a mate of mine, Dean Murphy, his family has been in the area for a very long while and
12:49he was the one that rang me and said,
12:51Have you ever been interested in buying a pub?
12:52And I said, I've only ever been interested in buying a pub.
12:56He said, have you heard of Datorang?
12:57I said, it's funny you should say that.
12:59No.
13:00So I said, where the hell's that?
13:02And he explained where the rang it was.
13:04It's the meeting place.
13:05It's where people share their stories.
13:06They might share a tear, need a shoulder, need an ear, or want to tell a yarn.
13:10So it'll be that place forever, I assure you.
13:14It was Dave who said to us, can you please let everyone know because the locals were panicking that the
13:18pub was going to shut down.
13:19And he was saying to them, yeah, I've had enough.
13:22I'm just going to shut the doors.
13:23And they're going, no, you can't do that.
13:25And they're all starting to really panic.
13:27He was joking, of course.
13:28But we were already contracting and the whole process was underway and he was just not letting them know.
13:34I hope to be at the ranger with you and share a beer.
13:36Take care, look after yourselves here.
13:40Turns out yours truly has made a bit of a name for myself up here, thanks to a certain plumber
13:45mate of mine.
13:46Hey, Kenny.
13:48Hey mate, how you going?
13:49Good to see you.
13:50Kenny, you're a legend.
13:51I love you.
13:52We've fitted one inch plumbing and someone having a two inch arsehole or something like that.
13:56He does it better than I do.
13:58It was an incredibly warm response, which was a good start.
14:02And then once we heard that, we went, oh damn, now we've got to keep them happy.
14:06And that was the hard bit to make sure we didn't let them down.
14:08Like this pub is like our family's lifeline.
14:11Ditarang is a very special place.
14:14We love everything you do.
14:16Thank you very much.
14:17Love what you're doing.
14:18Drinking and gambling.
14:20You can tell by the reaction of the locals that the Ditarang Hotel is so much more than just a
14:24great place to get good beers and a palmer.
14:26And Dave and Wendy have done so much more than just serve drinks.
14:29He's done such a great job.
14:31It's their hard shoes to fill.
14:33Yeah, yeah.
14:34You won't fill them.
14:35No.
14:35No.
14:36It's so exciting.
14:38I'll see you there.
14:39Are you staying locally here?
14:40Oh yeah.
14:40We always stay at Dave's Place at the back of the Ditarang Hotel.
14:43You're staying at the back of the Ditarang Hotel?
14:45Every year.
14:46Fantastic.
14:47Everyone seems excited about the prospects for the pub.
14:51And they're not backwards in coming forwards about their ideas and potential events they'd like to see there.
14:56You're going to get married here and you want your reception at the Ditarang pub?
14:59Yeah, we're right at the Rangar.
15:00As you may have just heard, I may know someone that owns the pub.
15:05How can I say no?
15:07I hope I'm the promising more than I can deliver.
15:10I have a feeling I'm about to get my first taste of a big night at the Rangar.
15:15I have a feeling a few of these people end up at the pub, is that fair to say?
15:18Uh, yep.
15:20Woo!
15:26With the last race of the Ditarang Cup done, now it's a race to the pub.
15:31So the first night I was here was the night of the Ditarang races.
15:36And for those that don't know, the Ditarang races only happen one and a half clicks up the road.
15:40And I said to Merff, do many of those people come down to the pub?
15:42He said, yeah.
15:43He said, yeah, a few of those people head down to the pub.
15:46When I got to the pub that night, he was right.
15:48Uh, quite a few people come to the pub.
15:54What was an empty shell only a few hours ago is now a throbbing throng of about 500 people.
16:01It's standing room only and the staff are run off their feet.
16:06Yeah, race night at the pub.
16:08I mean, don't get me wrong, I've been to busy pubs in my life and been to nightclubs when I
16:12was younger.
16:13But I'm not sure anything prepared me for what it's like here at the Ditarang Hotel on the night of
16:19the races.
16:22People were happy for Dave that he'd finally sold it.
16:25But then they bailed us up and said, great, congratulations.
16:30And then started telling us what we had to do, basically.
16:35And it was, don't change a thing.
16:37And we'd go, yep, and I'd go, seriously, don't change a thing.
16:41Leave it exactly the way it is.
16:43Hey, mate.
16:43Bridget, quickly, get in, get in.
16:44Hey, man.
16:45Bridget, get in.
16:45Come on.
16:48To think this morning, I was worried there wasn't going to be enough people.
16:51Now I think we're going to have to make the pub bigger.
16:54Oohly Dooley.
17:09By the time all the contracting was completed, a thick fog had descended over the valley.
17:15Race day was merely a distant memory now, as peace and tranquility takes over.
17:21It's time to discuss what we need to do to bring the wrangor into the 21st century.
17:28So the idea at the front here, what I was thinking.
17:32Dean already has a pretty clear vision of what needs to be done.
17:35Because he knew the pub so well and had been here so often, you had a real idea, a vision
17:41in your head early.
17:42And to be honest, we agree pretty quickly on most things.
17:47The problem is, when we don't agree, Dean somehow has a way of talking me into stuff.
17:52See here how I'm running from an angry bull?
17:54This was Dean's idea.
17:56As was nearly getting killed in a very small plane with Hoges and Roy Billing.
18:00That was a bit of fun.
18:03Insulting a legend.
18:04Some people say Paul Hogan can't act.
18:08I'm sorry, I've misread that.
18:10Everyone says Paul Hogan can't act.
18:14Insult another legend.
18:16He's an icon.
18:17He's barely alive, so we'd better get on with it.
18:20Please welcome the one and only John Cleese.
18:24And he loves getting me singing and dancing.
18:28Every morning I sit upon my throne and think about all the land I own.
18:33Yep, fair to say he can talk me into all kinds of stuff.
18:36But here's the thing.
18:38He hardly ever actually talks.
18:41The hardest part to tell is, if Dean doesn't agree, Dean doesn't say no, he goes, eh.
18:47Is that fair to say?
18:49Eh.
18:51I'm wondering whether we move this shed.
18:54And he's at it again.
18:56The shipping container's going.
18:58Now that he is talking, I think I preferred it when he was quiet.
19:02Just move it that way three metres.
19:05I thought we were just going to give the place a spit and polish.
19:07But Dean has other plans.
19:09Do you want to get rid of it?
19:11Can it go somewhere on the back of the block somewhere?
19:13Before you know it, our colleague Matt has turned up and he's also making expensive suggestions.
19:17These doors are four panels, so two either side.
19:20So you get two opening in the middle.
19:21This toilet goes.
19:22Of course, the first issue.
19:24Yep, you guessed it.
19:26The toilet plumbing.
19:27Well, when it got put in, Dave said it was for 300 or 400, I think, capacity.
19:33But apparently they now judge it on pans, how many pans you have.
19:36Yes.
19:37It would surprise me that we have the same size system here that I've got in my own home.
19:41Based on the individual owner?
19:43It's me.
19:43They had a look at me and went, Jesus.
19:46Well, these tent pans.
19:47Commercial.
19:48Commercial one for Shane.
19:49I thought I knew enough about septic tanks.
19:53Turns out I had so much more to learn.
19:57Then we had our builder Andrew and draftsman Peter turn up.
20:00You sent us the nasty soil test that said we've got a very reactive soil here.
20:05And I don't think their ideas sound cheap either.
20:09Under here.
20:10So you're getting a learning on plumbing here from Kenny, aren't you?
20:13I know a little bit about it.
20:15I know more than I care to admit.
20:17But it was too late to back out now.
20:19The sheeting is asbestos.
20:22Oh, boy.
20:23Something tells me we're in for one hell of a ride.
20:28We bought a pub.
20:29What could possibly go wrong?
20:30Salad bar is a bit of a healthy ship.
20:32The floorboard's been laid on dirt.
20:34You know, sort of the whole thing out and start again.
20:36Has he bitten off more than he can chew?
20:39New Oops, I bought a pub.
20:42Next Saturday.
20:42Today.
20:43.
20:43.
20:43.
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