Royal Hotel Herberton
After departing Ingham, we headed further into the north of Queensland. And after a few stops along the way, we rolled into the little mountain town of Herberton and the Royal Hotel Herberton.
But it was closed…
This put us in a bit of a quandary as we were staying in the nearby town of Atherton, but had a 6 hour drive ahead of us to get to the next Royal in Hughenden the following day. So we wouldn’t be able to wait until the Royal in Herberton opened again on Monday.
So we headed back to Atherton and had dinner at the very good Billycart Brewing while figuring out what we were going to do.
In the end we decided to drive by in the morning and have one last crack at it.
So that’s what we did. And, unsurprisingly, the pub was still closed. Just as we were taking a final picture out the front, John heard a rustling inside the pub. After some persistent knocking and some expert through-the-glass-negotiations, the door opened and we were greeted by publican Rick. After a bit of further explaining about the Tour and the travel we had ahead of us that day, he very kindly let us in to show us around.
It was still too early for him to be able to pour us a beer, but he was still happy to show us around and have a yarn about the history of both Herberton in general and the Royal itself.
At its peak, Herberton had something like 17 pubs! But now the Royal is the last one in operation. But Rick had some big plans for it. The front bar was pretty standard for what you’d expect in this type of pub. Plenty of places to sit by the fire (being up in the mountains, Herberton can actually get a bit chilly for town in Far North Queensland) and a stage for music nights.
But the beer garden in the back is where the Royal Hotel Herberton really shined. It’s a big space with tons of places to relax and a great pool table. The whole place had a genuine, relaxed, rustic vibe. And it definitely wasn’t one of those confected rustic vibes where everything feels like it was selected out of a ‘Rustic Pub Accessories’ catalogue. This was the real deal. This was a beer garden we could’ve easily settled into for a session on another day.
Further out the back was a grass area and that’s where some of Rick’s big plans come into play. He’s envisaging a built-up area out the back with a petting zoo and an area specifically to highlight his very impressive, homemade smoker.
And I’m not gonna lie, the idea of sinking a few schooners in the beer garden with the smell of slow cooking brisket wafting through was pretty appealing. And if the kids did happen to be around, they could be occupied with sheep and stuff while I enjoy my beer and meat aromas.
So this is a bit of a work-in-progress Royal. But that’s saying more about the lofty end goal and vision than it is about the current status. Because in all fairness, this is a pretty darn good Royal right now. It’s got a big stone fireplace, awesome beer garden, and local(ish) Cairns beer on tap. Even if this is a work in progress, it certainly has the right building blocks in place.
For a Royal that we almost missed, the Royal Hotel Herberton ended up being a pretty good one. Even if we were too early to get a beer there, it was still really good to have a wander around and hear about Rick’s plans and the history of the area. Yet another Royal we could’ve easily settled into for a bit of a session. But unfortunately we did still have that 6 hour drive down to Hughenden ahead of us. So we piled back into the car and headed out of the mountains and into the outback.
Royal Stats
- Town/Suburb: Herberton, QLD
- Population: 895
- Date Visited: Monday, August 31, 2026
- Visited By: Cory, John, and Rod
- Beer Sponsorship on Sign: N/A
- Beer Consumed at Pub: Golden Duck Session Pale Ale (Billycart Brewing)
- Price of Schooner of Said Beer: $
- Unique Award: Best Royal Smoker
- Tour Progress: 86.9% (113/130)