One of the region's oldest pubs will soon celebrate a milestone birthday, with a mini festival set to entertain the crowd as Bucca Hotel rings in 125 years in July.
The popular watering hole has been operated by Ron Kadel since 2016 with his partner Sarah Wessner managing the venue.
The duo said they were excited to bring the community together for the big birthday event and share in the history of Bucca Pub.
“It's lovely to see the pub still in operation after all these years,” Sarah said.
“It's great to hear the stories from patrons when they used to visit 15 or 20 years ago and how things have changed.”
Early history of Bucca Hotel
According to Bundaberg Regional Council's Heritage and Neighbourhood Character Planning Scheme Policy, the Bucca district began to take shape in the late 1800s.
A provisional school opened from 1890 indicating the modest population growth.
By 1897 Bucca Hotel had been constructed by Danish immigrant Neils (Niels) Christian Dahl and it now stands as one of the oldest hotels in the Bundaberg Region.
N C Dahl died in September 1900 and in 1902 the licence was taken over by Maria Anderson from Dahl's widow Ellen Marie.
While there are many timber-constructed hotels in the Bundaberg Region, the Bucca Hotel is significant as a small, single storey rural hotel and, in this sense, is considered rare.
During its life, the pub has been through changes and challenges, including being significantly damaged by Cyclone Fran on 5 March 1992.
As part of the pub's 125th birthday celebration, Ron and Sarah said they were hoping to collate as much history as possible and were asking the community for assistance.
“It's very hard to get a hold of the history of this gem,” Sarah said.
“I mean there's bits and pieces, but it would be great to showcase it in the future.
“Something I plan to do is have a wall dedicated to the history of the pub, so that everyone who passes by gets to enjoy the stories of the Bucca Hotel.”
Mini festival planned for Bucca Hotel 125 years celebration
During the Bucca Pub 125-year celebration on 9 July, Sarah said the community could expect a mini festival featuring 12 hours of live music, a selection of food stalls and a great atmosphere in the country.
The Wolfe Brothers, Catherine Britt, Jasmine Rae, Sammy White, Brooke Schubert and Bundaberg’s own Mark Lavender will entertain the crowd.
“We are very excited to have these musicians be part of the huge milestone, I mean it's not every day that a small country pub turns 125 years old,” she said.
“It's definitely something worth celebrating!
“We hope that this is the biggest event coming out of the Bucca Hotel to date.
“If It is a success we will continue to hold an annual event, Bucca's Birthday Bash has a good ring to it!”
To purchase tickets to the Bucca Hotel 125 years celebration, click here or head to the Facebook page.
- Earlier story: Local Worcestershire Sauce in demand at Bucca Hotel
