Goway Travel founder Bruce Hodge is the foremost authority I know on Australia (and is not too shabby when it comes to pubs either), so it is with supreme confidence that I defer to his recommendation that the place to sip one’s suds in Sydney is The Fortune of War.
Located at 137 George St. in the city’s vibrant historic entertainment district, The Rocks, the Fortune of War claims to be the oldest continuously licensed pub in the city (dating to 1828), and may in fact be the oldest drinking establishment as well, license or not (some debate exists amongst both historians and barflies).
Either way, the public hotel’s colourful history has been intertwined with the city for close to 200 years, and today attracts an organic mix of both locals and tourists. It is also still a popular haunt for Australian military veterans, particularly on Anzac Day, built on the pub’s historic reputation as the “first and last stop ashore” for sailors and soldiers heading to or returning from war.
“People come in from all over the world to see the pub’s history all over the walls,” FOW owner Steven Speed recently told the Sydney Morning Herald, adding that part of the lure for visitors is to find a “small country pub in the middle of the city.”
Hodge says he’s had a pint or two in the famously friendly and cozy establishment over the years and particularly touts the pub’s peerless location, overlooking the city’s famous Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House and across from the ferries at Circular Quay.
Serving over a dozen beers on tap, plus an extensive wine and cocktail list, as well as bar counter meals and pub grub at the First Fleet Bistro in the back, the bar also features live music performances from Wednesday to Sundays and a host of special events and activities.
As one patron succinctly put it, FOW is simply “a fun old bar with a lot of history.”
“Pub Crawl,” is an ongoing series in which we reveal some of our favourite public houses, both at home and abroad – and, in the spirit of the establishment, invite you to share with us yours. Send yours to baginski@travelindustrytoday.com.
Cheers!