It's one thing to pop down to the local for a beer. It's another to come back owning the pub. But that's exactly what happened one afternoon at Sandy Hollow Tourist Hotel. When Justin Olive left the house one afternoon last December, he intended to go to his local, the Sandy Hollow Tourist Hotel, for a couple of beers. By the time he got home he had bought the pub. A former boiler maker, Justin was not the kind of guy who always dreamed of owning a pub, in fact it had never r

The Australian Hotels Association - Newcastle Hunter is proud to be this year’s major sponsor of the Kurri Coalface Pedal, raising money for Westpac Rescue Helicopter. As the new major sponsor of the Kurri Coalface Pedal cycling event, Australian Hotels Association (AHA) - Newcastle Hunter will work closely with both the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and Hunter-based cycling group The Kurri Mongrels to ensure the event is as successful as possible. Now in its fifth year,

When Tourist Hotel operators Geoff Hunt and Heidi Blackhall heard the annual Sandy Hollow Charity Horse Ride was in jeopardy, they knew they had to help For the past 18 years, the 35km Sandy Hollow Charity Horse Ride has been raising money for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. Every April hundreds of riders and their horses descend upon the rural town of Sandy Hollow, ready to help raise money for the cause - but this year there was a problem. The large parcel of land us

They set off from The Station Hotel Motel at Kurri every Thursday afternoon, cloaked in lycra and determined to make a difference. Who are they? They are the Kurri Mongrels, and to date they have raised more than $125,000 for charity groups across the country. Station Hotel Motel owner Billy Metcalfe and his best mate Martin Parker first started peddling around Kurri together more than 15 years ago, and what started as a way to stay fit, has now become one of the biggest comm