Royal Hotel Manilla
The next stop on the Royal Tour was our northernmost venture to date (which really isn’t all that far north): the Royal Hotel Manilla. I had been through Manilla a couple of times over the years for work, but never really spent much time there. We got into town a bit early for a beer so we wandered around, scoped out an antique shop, and had a coffee. And I’ve gotta say, Manilla is a really nice little town.
That impression certainly did not change when we headed into the Royal Hotel around 11am. We weren’t entirely sure it was open, but the tell-tale clack of pool balls ringing out from inside led us to the unlocked door. The first thing you notice when walking in is the Parramatta shrine directly above the bar.
Given he has a Parramatta shrine in his pub, it’ll come as no surprise that publican Thomas is a Parramatta tragic and likely counting the days til the grand final this weekend. While it’s a Parramatta shrine in general, more specifically it’s a shrine to Neville Glover who played on the wing for the Eels and Australia and is a close friend of Thomas’. Over a couple of beers, we discovered that the Neville Glover Sportsman Bar was, in fact, named and dedicated by none other than Neville Glover. Named after and dedicated to himself. In someone else’s pub. Well played Neville.
The Royal Hotel Manilla was also the first pub in which we disclosed that we were on a Royal Tour. And the enthusiasm and positivity we were met with redoubled our commitment to the cause. Thomas and his daughter Amber were as excited as we were (and still are) about the task ahead of us.
Both John and I are very enthusiastic about the years-long journey we’ve still got to go. But I do recognise that the Royal Tour has the potential to seem a little silly to some. Maybe even a bit pointless (primarily if you’re a bit fun-adverse). So to have a chance to sit with a beer and chat about the tour with someone who was just as excited for us as we are was awesome.
The “Unique Award” category below in the Royal Stats section is usually reserved for something humorous or slightly tongue-in-cheek or just plain unusual. And while this one is “Keenest for a Parramatta Premiership”. It could’ve just as easily been “Friendliest Royal” or “Most Supportive of Royal Tour”. If we didn’t have three more Royal Hotels and 300km of driving still ahead of us, we could have easily and quite happily spent the majority of the day at the Royal Hotel Manilla. I can guarantee I’ll be stopping in for another beer and chat next time I find myself in Manilla.
Royal Stats
- Town/Suburb: Manilla
- Population: 2,550
- Date Visited: Sunday, August 14, 2022
- Visited By: Cory & John
- Beer Sponsorship on Sign: Toohey’s New
- Beer Consumed at Pub: Toohey’s New
- Price of Schooner of Said Beer: $6.00
- Unique Award: Keenest for a Parramatta Premiership
- Tour Progress: 4.38% (6/137)*
*Prior to embarking on our day’s journey we discovered that there was no longer a Royal Hotel in Quirindi. We did our due diligence with a drive through of Quirindi and confirmed that there were no Royals. The overall numbers on the Tour Progress have been updated to reflect this.