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🇦🇺 Australia /Culture & Society

At 86, country pub owner says he is keeping the town’s ‘heartbeat’ alive

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Jim Pohl, 86, says he has owned 16 or 17 pubs since entering the industry after immigrating to Australia from Malaysia.
  • He now works with his son, Kirk, at the Perenjori Hotel, which can serve up to 100 meals on its weekly T-bone Tuesday.
  • The family-run pub has also become a meeting place for international backpackers, several of whom settled in the region after finding relationships there.

At 86, Jim Pohl still arrives before sunrise to prepare the evening special at the Perenjori Hotel in Western Australia. He has lost count of how many pubs he has owned, estimating the number at 15, 16 or perhaps 17.

I just kept going to the bush. Better people, greater atmosphere and people are real in the bush.

· Jim PohlHe explains why he preferred running pubs in regional Western Australia to working in Perth.

Pohl immigrated from Malaysia at 26, joined the air force and worked in abattoirs before entering the pub trade. He was working at a Katherine pub in the Northern Territory when an older customer told him he was wasting his time working for someone else and should buy his own pub. He soon purchased one in North Dandalup, south of Perth.

Over the years, Pohl owned 16 pubs, mostly in regional Western Australia, from Northampton in the Midwest to Mount Barker in the Great Southern. He also ran two pubs in Perth, but preferred the country. “I just kept going to the bush. Better people, greater atmosphere and people are real in the bush,” he said.

The pub is the heartbeat of a country town.

· Jim PohlHe describes the role the pub plays in local community life.

Pohl now works alongside his son Kirk in Perenjori, 350 kilometres northeast of Perth. Kirk has owned and managed the Perenjori Hotel since 2005 and grew up in pubs. The kitchen serves as many as 100 meals during T-bone Tuesday, while Jim prepares the food and helps behind the bar.

I grew up in pubs.

· Kirk PohlHe describes his upbringing and connection to the family’s pub business.

The hotel employs international backpackers, and some have made the town their home. Kirk met his wife, Silvia, when she arrived from Italy as a backpacker on her 27th birthday and took a job at the pub. Jim says the pub is the heartbeat of a country town, while Kirk credits cold beer, a warm shower, a good bed and reliable staff with keeping one going.

Just the basic things like cold beer and a warm shower and a good bed.

· Kirk PohlHe lists the basic features he believes help a pub succeed.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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