Beloved Bush Inn celebrates 200 years

Australia's oldest continuously licensed hotel, The Bush Inn, will celebrate its 200th anniversary this weekend with live music, giveaways, mouthwatering food and, of course, a few drinks.

Named after DW Bush - the clerk of Reverend "Bobby" Knopwood, who was the first chaplain in the local colony - the hotel at New Norfolk was built in 1815 before being officially licensed and opened on September 29 1825.

Ann Bridger, a 54-year-old widow who arrived in Hobart in 1823, became The Bush Inn’s first licensee.

Since then, many others - including current Licensee Belinda Smith - have paved the way for the hotel to leave its mark on Tasmanian and Australian history.

There is debate as to whether The Bush Inn or The Hope and Anchor in Hobart’s CBD is the oldest pub in Australia.

The Hope and Anchor, which opened on July 5, 1807, claims that it's the oldest in the country.

However, it was closed for extended periods, while the Bush Inn has continually remained open and retained its license.

The Bush Inn displays memorabilia from its days as a chapel, before the construction of another church nearby in the 1830s. 

There are also records dating back to when opera singer Dame Nellie Melba stayed and sang there in 1924.

The first telephone call was made in Australia from the hotel in 1888 and the first international phone call was made to London from the "Bush" in 1939.

Underneath the hotel, there's a large wooden door that once led to a wine cellar and butchery.

There's also a tunnel underneath the pub that was used to transport patients from the Derwent River to the Royal Derwent Hospital so they wouldn't be seen on the public streets.

The "Bush", which was recently restored, has served the town of New Norfolk and many generations of families throughout the Derwent Valley for two centuries.