Once a humble bar and family home, the Plainland Hotel has come a long way since it opened its doors in 1914.




Porters Plainland is a familiar landmark on the Warrego Highway just an hour's drive from Brisbane, at the eastern gateway to Queensland's beautiful Lockyer Valley.

Today the Hotel is managed by a third generation of Porters, Michael and his wife Shelley and sister Mel, following his parents Bob and Julie, and grandparents Dick and Rita who first leased it from Castlemaine Perkins in 1946.

The Porters arrived in Australia in 1909, already long involved in the hotel business in their native Ireland.  At one stage, seven of Dick's siblings either owned or leased hotels in south east Queensland.

After gaining experience in Dalby at his father's Arcadia Hotel, Dick with Rita branched out on their own, settling on Plainland for its prime location on the main western highway.




Dick Porter, a showman at heart, ran a pretty unique operation.  He and Rita never owned or drove a vehicle and never had more than one holiday in thirty years of running the pub.  In the days when the old swaggies were still on the roads, they would provide a night's rest on the verandah and a breakfast in the morning.

Bob and Julie Porter met working at the Commonwealth Bank, and in 1976 took the plunge in more ways than one, securing the freehold on the pub which was relocated to make way for a four-lane Warrego Highway.  It still served as their home when Michael was born in 1980.

Their investment spurred the hotel's gradual transformation into the entertainment destination it is today.  A simple bar and counter-meals service was expanded with TAB, then a liquor barn, and in 1995 a family restaurant.  In 2002, the pub underwent a major QHA-award-winning redevelopment.

Though much changed and expanded, the core of Porters modern pub is still the original 1914 building.

In recent years further work has added a drive-thru bottleshop - the Valley's largest selection - and upgrades to the pub including a second deck for smokers off the sports bar, new live entertainment facilities and a freshly refurbished dining room.  Still firmly under family management, today Porters Plainland Hotel is a thriving local business employing over 50 staff.

Whether you're looking for the Highway's best pub entertainment, award winning family dining seven days a week, the best local liquor selection, or a knowledgeable guide to Valley attractions and events, you can't beat Porters family hospitality.  In fact, you'll want to stay all day!