Royal Hotel Mirrool

So we departed Grong Grong and forged ahead into the next 50 Royals on the list. And the first Royal of that next 50? The Royal Hotel Mirrool.

Mirrool is a tiny town of less than 250 people, but with an awesome claim to fame. But I’ll get to that in a sec. Now up front I will concede that the pub in Mirrool is referred to as the Mirrool Hotel as well. But we were there and it had a big sign that said Royal Hotel on the outside so we’re counting it.

And it turns out the Royal Hotel Mirrool is a pretty damn good Royal. The front bar area where most of the locals were hanging out was pretty standard but still a good place to hang out for a beer. There were some additional rooms around the back as well that were empty and kind of closed off.

After a quick walk around, we decided to set up shop on the front deck with some schooners. From that front deck we had a great view of the grain silos across the road from the pub. And here’s where that cool claim to fame comes in.

As the story goes, in the early 90’s AFL great Billy Brownless was travelling through on the way to a wedding and stopped in at the Royal Hotel Mirrool. Upon seeing an old AFL ball behind the bar, he made a bet with the barman. If Billy was able to kick that ball over the grain silos across the street, he would get free beer all night. The barman accepted, Billy promptly walked across the street, booted the ball straight over the silos, and got stuck into his free beer.

Probably worth noting that I found several variations of this story. I’m willing to bet each of those locals in the front bar would’ve had a different version of it if I’d asked them.

But the one thing that is for sure is that for every year since that initial Billy Brownless kick in 1992, they’ve commemorated it with the annual Mirrool Silo Kick. It happens the second Saturday of every October and punters (pun intended) come from far and wide to have a crack. I’m guessing those closed off rooms in the pub are absolutely packed on that weekend each year.

And for the record, those silos are 34m high. So we’re talking like an eleven story building. That’s a fair kick. So it’s no wonder that the winner for several years is listed as “Silos”.

So we sat there with our schooners. Sitting on the front deck gazing up at the silos. Dreaming of how we might be able to coax our dad-bods into one mighty boot for eternal glory.

Now don’t get me wrong, as cool as the story and event of Mirrool is, the pub is a good one in its own right. It’s one of those Grand Ole Royals with the two levels and a veranda. Our criteria to separate a great Royal from a good one is whether, when it’s time to leave, you wish you could stay all day. The Royal Hotel Mirrool most definitely ticked that box.

This is my favourite part of doing this ridiculous and awesome Tour. As much fun as having beers in a bunch of country pubs is, it’s finding these little corners of the country and their stories that really makes the Tour worthwhile. So rest assured that it was decided then and there that The Tour will be back to Mirrool. Next time it will be during the second weekend of October.

Royal Stats

• Town/Suburb: Mirrool, NSW
• Population: 237
• Date Visited: Friday, February 9, 2024
• Visited By: Cory, John, Jase, and Bert
• Beer Sponsorship on Sign: None
• Beer Consumed at Pub: Carlton Draught
• Price of Schooner of Said Beer: $7.00
• Unique Award: Best Semi-Sporting Competition/Tradition
• Tour Progress: 38.1% (51/134)