Once a humble bar and family home, the Plainland Hotel has come a long way since it opened its doors in 1905.




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 trace their origins to the village of Fintona in Northern Ireland, for which our function room is named.  Dick's family ran the Demesne Tavern (today the Nag's Inn) in Fintona before emigrating to Australia in 1909.  Most of them went on to become hoteliers in their adopted country.

After gaining experience in Dalby at his father's Arcadia Hotel, Dick and his wife Rita Mary sought a pub of their own.  They chose Plainland for its prime location on the main western highway.

Dick and Rita Porter ran the Plainland Hotel for thirty years, where it was home to their children Bob, Robyn and Annette.




Dick Porter was a showman at heart, and 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 transformation into the entertainment destination it is today.  A bar and counter-meals service was expanded with TAB, then a liquor barn, and in 1995 a family restaurant.  In 2002, the hotel underwent a major QHA-award-winning redevelopment, and in 2007 added a drive-thru Bottlemart - the Valley's biggest selection.

Though much changed and expanded, the core of Porters modern pub is still the original 1905 building.

In 2019, Porters unveiled their exciting new onsite motel, function and gaming rooms.  Porters Plainland Hotel now caters for all manner of events, from weddings to conferences.

Still firmly under family management, today Porters Plainland Hotel is a thriving local business employing over 70 staff.

Whether you're looking for the Highway's best entertainment, award winning daily dining, the best local liquor selection, luxury motel accommodation or the perfect venue for your next function - Porters on the Warrego Highway have you sorted.  In fact, you'll want to stay all day.