Vale Trebonne Hotel

Trebonne Hotel has served many locals and visitors over the years. Photo credit: Bingley Hall

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Contributed with thanks by Dr Bianka Vidonja Balanzategui

On the night of Friday 29^th May 2026 the Trebonne Hotel served its last customers.  

It is with deep regret that the licensee Gavin Bacchiella has put the hotel up for sale. Gavin was the licensee from 2005 to 2026 and has held the license of Trebonne Hotel the longest in its history. Others who held the license for over a decade were Adelina Rotondo (1946-1954), Guiseppe Sartoresi (1955-1965) and Beverly Kay Somers (1980-1990).  

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The sadness felt by the Trebonne and district residents in attendance on the last night was palatable, as generations of the same families shared so many memories. Hotels are more than sellers of alcohol. Alongside schools and churches, hotels were amongst the first buildings in any new settlement.  

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The Trebonne State School which opened its doors on 7^th November 1906 preceded the Trebonne Hotel, which opened on 15^th September 1926, its first publican named George Fraser. A church didn’t come until the Canossian Daughters of Charity opened a school on 5^th February 1951. They acquired the Trebonne Hall where dances were held and it became a school on weekdays and church on the weekend.

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The first hotel building, a wooden two-story, burned down at midnight on 22^nd March 1931 from a kitchen fire. It was still owned by Fraser but now the publican was Abramo Ganza. While a new hotel was being built Ganza conducted a temporary bar in the adjoining premises.  A new, more substantial building with a brick lower storey was built. The new hotel opened on 31^st January 1932 only to lose its roof eight years later in the cyclone of February 1940.

Though the licensees were invariably men it was their wives like Celia Ganza or Josephine Sartoresi who did the hard work cooking, cleaning, serving food and drinks, and often being the face of the hotel. Over the years Trebonne Hotel has provided accommodation for a countless assortment of people including footballers, musicians and workmen, in rooms in the upper storey. It has hosted wakes, weddings, school barbecues, fundraisers, farmer’s meetings and at one time in the 1990s conducted as a restaurant.  

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If the walls could talk, they’d have seen it all. They’d have seen publicans bribed or fined for selling liquor in prohibited hours or selling illicit spirits. They’d have witnessed brawls, a stabbing, dud cheques handed over the counter and windows smashed by disgruntled customers.  

Sir Arthur Fadden (a former Prime Minister) bought two farms near Trebonne known as Sugarlands, and it is recorded that when he drove up to see the farms in his Rolls Royce, he called into the Trebonne Hotel for a chat with the locals.

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The hotel even saw a change of name for a short time, when it was renamed Threeways Hotel by Clifford Stallan, the licensee (1999-2004). It was called Threeways because the hotel sits on the corner of Abergowrie Road; which leads to Ingham in one direction, Abergowrie in the other, and off to Stone River Road.

The liveliest days for Trebonne Hotel were the manual cane cutting days when cane cutters would gather at the hotel to socialize and drink, play cards and bocce. An outside dance area and a bocce court area were built alongside the hotel. Not only dances, but school fetes were held at the hotel especially after Guiseppe Sartoresi had a Fronton built on land adjoining the hotel in 1959.  

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This was a court for the many Basque cane cutters in the district at the time to play many memorable competitive games of Pelota Mano – a handball game. It was not unknown for up to 200 people to gather to watch a Pelota Mano game, especially if there were dancing and a barbecue organised. The Hotel did a roaring trade on those occasions.

Now the handball court stands silent, the hotel doors are closed, the kitchen stove cold, the beer taps turned off. The roaring days are over and we recall them with the fondest of memories.

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Last Call As Locals Say Farewell To Trebonne Hotel

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“It's the end of an era, and it's a great loss to our small little community, but we'll send it off with us. Yeah, we're sending it off tonight. There're a lot of people turning in here to show you how great this place was.” - Local family group sharing stories in the beer garden.

“It's a little bit devastating, honestly. This was the local for so many years and it's got a lot of history.” - Local enjoying the last night’s performance.

“It's sad. A lot of beers and good times had you over the years. It's good to see a few people come out tonight and wish it off well. But yeah, it's sad to see another local watering hole close up.” - musician Michael Copeland, performing on the final night.

“Everyone needs somewhere to go that's close to home, within walking distance, after they finish work, and I think it's a bit sad, and it's a family pub.” - A local worker reminiscing on growing up with the Hotel.

“Everyone’s kids come here, and they're growing up together. So the next generation won't get this wholesome feeling of ending the week and coming to see all the people that you probably hardly ever see. Life gets so busy, and then you can come here (to Trebonne Hotel), have your moment, catch up, and it's been that place for people.” - a local mother whose family will miss the community of the Hotel.

“I live across the road, my farm's across the road, and so I'll be very sad to see it go. My father used to drink here, and we’ve come to celebrate, with a touch of sadness.” - Local farmer sending of the Hotel with a few rounds.

“It's a loss of the friendships that you build with all the customers. The community that it's supported and the people that would come here.” - A bartender serving the last drinks of the night.

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