New chapter for the Walkabout Creek Hotel
For most Australians — and plenty of international visitors — the Walkabout Creek Hotel is best known for its cameo in the 1986 blockbuster Crocodile Dundee. But in McKinlay, a tiny outpost a little over 200 kilometres from Mount Isa, it’s much more than a movie icon. It’s the local, the bottle-o, the caravan park and even the post office.
Now, after sitting on the market since 2022, the outback pub has new custodians.
McKinlay local Angus Brodie and his wife, Jo Cranney, officially took over the Walkabout Creek Hotel this week, purchasing it for an undisclosed price. The sale marks the end of an 11-year run for outgoing owners Deb and Frank Wurst, who decided it was finally time to retire.
For 33-year-old grazier Angus, the pub has always been the heart of town life.
"I have memories running around with all the other kids, sneaking a packet of chips and a soft drink," Brodie told the ABC.
"Sometimes we'd take our sleeping bags and have a sleepover until it was time to go home."
Despite growing up around the pub, he’d actually never poured a beer until last week.
"The first beer I poured, I think there was half a glass of frothy head, and the second beer had absolutely no head at all."
"I wasn't off to a real good start, but I promise I've turned things around now."
Jo, 34, grew up in Goondiwindi before moving to Mount Isa as a nurse, where the pair met. These days they run a cattle property about 30 minutes from the pub, raising two young children with a third baby due in April. Buying the hotel is part lifestyle choice, part business decision — a way to smooth out the ups and downs of weather and cattle markets.
"In a drought, people probably drink more beer," Brodie said.
The couple also wants to bring a farm-to-table twist to the menu.
"That's one thing we're pretty keen to do, showcase our beef and have that on the menu," he told the ABC.
Decorated with memorabilia, the Walkabout Creek Hotel is a favourite with locals and tourists alike, and the new owners don’t see the need for big changes. They’re thankful to inherit a venue that’s already in top shape.
The new owners are not planning to change much and are grateful to the prior owners for keeping it in "fantastic condition". "It's a credit to Frank and Debbie. They've really looked after it over the 11 years they've been there," Brodie said.
While Crocodile Dundee put the pub on the global map, the building itself has a much longer history. Built in 1900 and licensed in 1901, it was originally known as the Federation Hotel, making it three times as old as the movie that made it famous. After filming wrapped in the mid-80s, the bar used on set was donated to the hotel and now sits out the back in the beer garden, where tourists line up to take photos with the memorabilia.
In 1986, Crocodile Dundee was the highest-grossing film of all time in Australia, and next year marks its 40th anniversary — a milestone the new owners fully intend to celebrate.
"We will have to do something, that's for sure," Brodie said.
"It's a crucial part of the identity of the pub, and we love it."
Jonathan Jackson, 27th November 2025
