Oodnadatta Restaurants

In 1969, South Australia (in those days still run by good conservative souls) was the last bastion in Australia of 6pm closing, better known as “the six o’clock swill”. What that meant in Oodna was that all the blokes in town rushed to finish whatever they were doing so they could be at the pub before closing. On arrival, the bar was chockers! It then was a matter of gathering with your friends and swallowing as much beer as possible in the time available. At about ten past six, the police sergeant would give the nod to the barman who would shout ‘time’! All in all, it achieved nothing apart from encouraging bad drinking habits: when sensible drinking hours came, its cessation was no loss.

Back to the Transcontinental though. In those days you could get counter meals there, and I expect you still can. It is the only pub for hundreds of km in any direction, so it is an important watering hole and this is very dry country! I gather it now is run by the Aboriginal community and I’m sure it still is a great place for a beer. I’ll bet there still are a few dogs around the door too, just as there is in this photo.